Human intelligence is a process that runs on a 2-dimensional substrate of cortex plus the magic of older portions of the brain. Volume isn't the key to intelli

Human intelligence is a process that runs on a 2-dimensional substrate of cortex plus the magic of older portions of the brain. Volume isn't the key to intelligence: big brains are a red herring. Brain size is poorly correlated with measures of intelligence but the idea sells lots of books and wastes lots of readers' time. People think it's like Gary Larson's famous cartoon: "Freeze! ...Okay now...Who's the brains of this outfit?"': http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BCA1_FLFCxU/UMpbOPEH2xI/AAAAAAAAiOM/fi4TULSkAaM/s1600/far_side.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BCA1_FLFCxU/UMpbOPEH2xI/AAAAAAAAiO... There are cases of human hydrocephaly where the cortex has been reduced to a thin sheet. These people can live normal lives and some have above-average IQ. "Is your brain really necessary? by R Lewin": http://science.sciencemag.org/content/210/4475/1232 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/210/4475/1232 "No Brainer: IQ of 126 and first-class honors degree in mathematics": http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=6116 http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=6116 "Man with a small brain shows that size isn't everything!": https://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/07/22/27900.aspx https://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/07/22/27900.aspx A Good slide show on hydrocephalus and its effects: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwI95WRbQAHbMGFjYzQ1YjYtOTNjMy00ZTQyLWIyZjAtNjZiZWQ0NzMzZWM0/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwI95WRbQAHbMGFjYzQ1YjYtOTN... And don't think the cerebellum is critical either: here’s a woman without a cerebellum with mostly normal motor function (mild impairments; can still walk and talk): http://www.wired.com/2014/09/24-woman-discovers-born-without-key-brain-region-cerebellum/ http://www.wired.com/2014/09/24-woman-discovers-born-without...