The reality is that we already use 100 percent of our brains. In my line of work, I’ve heard all kinds of justifications for keeping dolphins confined, the most frequent being education, conservation, and research. While a complex neocortex usually indicates high intelligence, there are exceptions. It is generally agreed that the growth of the neocortex, both absolutely and relative to the rest of the brain, during human evolution, has been responsible for the evolution of human intelligence, however defined. I have spent much time in the company of wild dolphins over the last twenty-something years. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. It is what we’ve hoped for and expected.”. And the statement that these programs help endangered or threatened species is faulty, especially considering that the endangered species are generally not the ones being kept in captivity. But the world and science have changed and we now have the technology and means to more effectively study dolphins in their own habitats. The big difference in opinion here rests on one’s definition of educational value. Ron DeSantis has OK’d full stadiums in the state, the Dolphins are more likely to allow fewer (or no) fans rather than more fans since COVID-19 numbers are increasing not decreasing. As it happens, I've written a book all about brain myths (Great Myths of the Brain; due out this November). In fact, cetacean brains have even more encephalisation than human brains, with the dolphin brain having 40 percent more cerebral cortex than a human. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business, science to design. This shows how readily the brain utilises all available neural tissue. Elephant brains also show a complexity similar to dolphin brains, and are also more convoluted than that of humans, and with a cortex thicker than that of cetaceans. The cetacean cerebral cortex is also divided into distinct layers, just like the human’s, and it is thought that this indicates a … Removing dolphins from their natural habitat to live in tanks will not address environmental issues. Neuroanatomical studies of their brains have shown that dolphins possess an intricate and developed neocortex as compared to other species, including humans, and a distinctive folding of the cerebral cortex, which in cetaceans is even more prominent than in primates. You must be logged in to leave a comment. And like us, they can recognize themselves as individuals and are self-aware, even if the extent of dolphin self-awareness still remains to be explored. It pretends like it’s quoting actual science when it says that other animals use at most three percent of their brain. Cetaceans such as the bottlenose dolphin (the most common species found in aquaria and marine parks today) have flexible and remarkable social and communication skills. © 2020 Condé Nast. Pilleri G, Gihr M, Purves P.E, Zbinden K, Kraus C 1976 On the behaviour, bioacoustics and functional morphology of the Indus river dolphin (Platanista indi Blyth, 1859). Ad Choices, All You Need To Know About the 10 Percent Brain Myth, in 60 Seconds. Whales and dolphins have quite large brains. “I don’t see an increase in capacity anytime soon,” Tom Garfinkel, Dolphins CEO and vice chairman, said Tuesday, via Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post. The new Luc Besson movie Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, opens tomorrow in theaters countrywide. Marine parks and delphinaria tend to play the “research card” every time there is a question about why we keep dolphins in captivity. Spending thousands of hours at sea, I began to know some of them by sight and, like my human friends, they became an integral part of my life. WIRED is where tomorrow is realized.