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Also, there's what is termed "The Silurian Hypothesis[0]," which is a thought experiment about whether or not there was an advanced civilization of dinosaurs (i

Also, there's what is termed "The Silurian Hypothesis[0]," which is a thought experiment about whether or not there was an advanced civilization of dinosaurs (in particular, theropods). Since birds came from theropods, it's not so far off. I read that bird brains have a high neural density (lots of neurons, packed tight). That's why they can be so smart, with such small brains. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silurian_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silurian_hypothesis

rstuart4133 2y ago
One thing intelligence seems to require is a lot of energy to drive it. You have to get that energy from somewhere. Humans probably get it by cooking food. Normally animals have to use a lot of energy to break down the food, humans solved that by using an external energy source to break it down before eating it. Birds need a lot of energy for flying. They don't cook. They solved the energy problem by developing the most efficient mitochondria on the planet. They pay a fairly high price for that in terms of infant mortality, but I guess the ability to fly is worth it. It means when they aren't flying, they have a lot of excess energy to power an highly intelligent brain. They could then use that brain to detect when their mate was screwing around, and decide if it was worth ditching them. That's all guess work of course. I'm no expert, just belly button gazing really.
- Tor3 2y ago
  An important factor is bird lungs, which essentially have a mechanism which keeps the lungs perpetually inflated. Air flows through. This makes it possible to provide way more oxygen to the body than our own inefficient lungs. Which again makes it possible for birds to fly over the Himalayas and still get enough oxygen to drive those power-hungry mitochondria.
TMWNN 2y ago
Some of my favorite SCP entries are based on the idea of an ancient advanced civilization before recorded history. <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1115 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1115> <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1050 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1050> (not main subject, but what anomaly references) <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4001 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4001>, then <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alexandria-burning https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alexandria-burning>
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness also posited a Cretaceous civilization, although not a dinosaur one.

rstuart4133 2y ago

One thing intelligence seems to require is a lot of energy to drive it. You have to get that energy from somewhere. Humans probably get it by cooking food. Normally animals have to use a lot of energy to break down the food, humans solved that by using an external energy source to break it down before eating it. Birds need a lot of energy for flying. They don't cook. They solved the energy problem by developing the most efficient mitochondria on the planet. They pay a fairly high price for that in terms of infant mortality, but I guess the ability to fly is worth it. It means when they aren't flying, they have a lot of excess energy to power an highly intelligent brain. They could then use that brain to detect when their mate was screwing around, and decide if it was worth ditching them. That's all guess work of course. I'm no expert, just belly button gazing really.

Tor3 2y ago
An important factor is bird lungs, which essentially have a mechanism which keeps the lungs perpetually inflated. Air flows through. This makes it possible to provide way more oxygen to the body than our own inefficient lungs. Which again makes it possible for birds to fly over the Himalayas and still get enough oxygen to drive those power-hungry mitochondria.

TMWNN 2y ago

Some of my favorite SCP entries are based on the idea of an ancient advanced civilization before recorded history. <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1115 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1115> <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1050 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1050> (not main subject, but what anomaly references) <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4001 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4001>, then <https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alexandria-burning https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/alexandria-burning>

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness also posited a Cretaceous civilization, although not a dinosaur one.