At one point I was going to call this blog Flipper’s Last Theorem (hat-tip to Brent for suggesting the name). It turns out I made the right choice to go with Kian‘s idea of Abstract Nonsense, since a new study has just shown that contrary to previous belief, dolphins are very far from the second most intelligent species on the planet:
Dolphins and whales are dumber than goldfish and don’t have the know-how to match a rat, new research from South Africa shows.
For years, humans have assumed the large brains of dolphins meant the mammals were highly intelligent.
Paul Manger from Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand, however, says it is not intelligence that created the dolphin super-brain — it’s the cold.
To survive underwater, these warm-blooded animals developed brains that have a lot of insulating material — called glia — but not too many neurons, the gray stuff that counts for reasoned thinking.
Douglas Adams is flipping in his grave.
Abstract Nonsense 
I knew it – why else would a creature swim in harms way to save man.
“For years, humans have assumed the large brains of dolphins meant the mammals were highly intelligent.” This isn’t correct. Dolphins have been assumed to be intelligent for millenia; large brains had little to do with it. They’re famous for curiousity — which is not a trait found in goldfish. They also do things for no obvious reason besides ‘fun’: this seems rather human. Like whales they communicate with complex signals. Dolphins are mentioned in Homer. Wikiepedia: “They are also famous for their willingness to occasionally approach humans and playfully interact with them in the water. In return, some cultures such as the Ancient Greeks treated them with welcome; a ship spotting dolphins riding in their wake was considered a good omen for a smooth voyage.” Also they use tools.
Because we thought they were smart, we looked at their brains. Not the other way round.
The comment thread on Majikthise cites the same study as explaining that actually the communication signals are fairly simple.
Many animals used to playfully interact with humans; however, humans hunted them down to extinction. These animals simply hadn’t evolved fear of humans because they lived in continents far away from Africa, such as America and Australia. Dolphins never needed that fear because it was nigh impossible for humans to hunt them down.
I found this site under my bookmarks, probably bookmarked it my wife. Please tell me it worked right? I dont want to sumit it again if i do not have to
I have observed that of all forms of insurance, medical health insurance is the most questionable because of the turmoil between the insurance cover company’s need to remain profitable and the user’s need to have insurance policies. Insurance companies’ revenue on overall health plans are certainly low, thus some corporations struggle to earn profits. Thanks for the concepts you share through this site.
It’s actually a nice and helpful piece of information. I am satisfied that you shared this useful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
For the reason that the admin of this website is working, no
hesitation very quickly it will be renowned, due to its feature contents.
I’ve been exploring for a little bit for any high quality
articles or blog posts on this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this web site.
Reading this info So i am satisfied to show that
I’ve a very just right uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed.
I such a lot indubitably will make sure to do not forget this web site and provides it a glance on a continuing basis.