When it comes to intelligence, we humans are second to none - at least that's what we think. The BBC Future columnist tried to find out if we are really smarter than other animals.
Visitors gathering at the entrance to a gallery in Brisbane, Australia, are nothing like art lovers. Moreover, until recently, they never saw a single picture.
However, in order to develop their own artistic taste, they only needed a little practice.
Walking idly through the halls, they showed a clear preference for the geometric shapes of Picasso and the romantic misty landscapes of Monet.
No wonder their talents made so much noise, since their brains are no larger than a pinhead. These true connoisseurs of art were the honey bees, who were taught to find sweet treats behind the paintings of this or that artist.
It turns out that the ability to recognize artistic styles is far from the bees' only achievement.
Honeybees can count to four, understand complex signs, extract useful information from observations, and communicate with each other using a secret code (the famous "wagging dance").
In the process of finding food, they estimate the distance to various flowers, planning difficult routes in order to collect as much nectar as possible with the least effort.
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In addition, in the hive, each bee has its own responsibilities. Bees take care of cleanliness, take out the bodies of dead fellows from the dwelling and even regulate the temperature in the hive by pouring water on the combs in the heat.
There are about 100,000 times more neurons in the human brain than in the brain of a bee, but many of the features of our behavior that we value so highly are also observed in the social life of bees, albeit in their infancy.
So why do we need so much gray matter? And how does it help us stand out from other animals?
These and many other issues were discussed at the BBC Future Forum "Ideas that will change the world", which will be held on November 15 in Sydney.
Is a big brain a waste of space?
About one fifth of the energy we get from food is spent by the body in transmitting electrical impulses between 100 billion small gray cells.
If the big brain did not give us any advantages, such an expense would be extremely irrational. However, there is still benefit from this. At least a big brain allows us to function more efficiently.
So, for example, when a honey bee looks at its environment, it perceives objects one by one, while larger animals with more developed intelligence are able to see the whole picture at once.
In other words, we are capable of performing several tasks at the same time.
A larger brain also allows us to remember more information. The honeybee can only pick up a few relationships that indicate food is present, and the increase in their number is already causing it to become confused.
At the same time, even a pigeon can be taught to recognize more than 1800 pictures, although this is nothing compared to human knowledge.
For comparison, it can be noted that championship winners from memory can memorize thousands of decimal places of pi.
So we have a good memory. What else?
Darwin wrote that all these differences are "differences of degree, not kind," and many strongly dislike this conclusion.
Looking at human civilization and all our achievements, it seems logical to assume that we have exceptional abilities that are not inherent in all other animals.
We have long been convinced that culture, technology, altruism and many other traits can serve as signs of a person's greatness, but the more you delve into this topic, the shorter this list becomes.
For example, it has long been known that macaques use stones to chop nuts, and New Caledonian crows make hooks from broken sticks to get their own food. Both are rudimentary forms of the use of tools.
Even invertebrates do not stand aside. For example, short-armed octopuses have been spotted collecting coconut shells, which they dragged to the bottom of the ocean for cover.
And one chimpanzee in Zambia was found carrying a bundle of grass in its ear for no apparent reason. Most likely, she just thought it was beautiful.
Soon, many other chimpanzees in her group began to imitate this "fashion." Scholars interpret this desire to decorate itself as a form of cultural expression.
In addition, many creatures seem to have an innate sense of justice and may even empathize with others.
This may indicate that they are experiencing a wide range of emotions previously thought to be unique to our species.
Recently, a humpback whale saved a seal's life by protecting it from a killer whale attack. This further confirms that we are not the only animals capable of exhibiting altruistic behavior.
What about conscious thinking?
Perhaps here we should talk about the awareness of its own "I" - the ability of an animal to perceive itself as a person. It is the capacity for introspection that is a rudimentary form of consciousness.
Of the many qualities that could make us unique, this sense of self is the most difficult to measure reliably.
One of the most common experiments on this topic is that paint is applied to the body of an animal and then placed in front of a mirror. If an animal notices a stain and tries to erase it, we can conclude that it understands that it sees its reflection and, therefore, has some idea of itself.
In a person, this ability appears only at a year and a half, however, here we are not alone.
Bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, magpies, dolphins, and killer whales also show signs of self-awareness.
So we're not that special?
And here you should not rush to conclusions. Some mental faculties may be unique to us, and the best way to illustrate this is to consider a family dinner conversation.
First, the amazing thing is that we can speak. It doesn't matter what thoughts and feelings visited us during the day - we will find words to express our experiences and describe them to our loved ones.
No other living creature is able to communicate so freely.
With the help of the wagging dance, bees can inform each other about the location of the flower bed and even warn other bees about the presence of a dangerous insect. But they cannot express what they have experienced during the day: their "vocabulary" allows them to convey only a few facts about the current circumstances.
The human language has no such limitations. We can choose from an infinite number of word combinations and express our deepest feelings or formulate the laws of physics.
And even if we cannot find the right term, we will simply invent a new one.
Even more interesting is the fact that most of our conversations are not about the present, but about the past and the future. This leads us to another distinctive human trait.
We have already mentioned that humans are able to remember more than other animals. This is the so-called semantic memory. But we can also have "episodic" memories - this means that we can mentally recreate the events of the past in great detail.
There is a big difference between knowing that Paris is the capital of France and being able to remember what you saw and heard on your first excursion to the Louvre.
But most importantly, the ability to think about the past allows us to look into the future, as we can use our experiences to predict possible events.
You are able to imagine your upcoming vacation based on the experience of previous travels and, based on this knowledge, understand what hotels and dishes you will like and what attractions you would like to visit during your trip.
No other animal has had such complex personal memories combined with the ability to plan entire chains of action in advance.
Even bees, with their complex social organization, are likely to simply react to current circumstances. Their thoughts are limited to flying to the next flower or the danger of intruding strangers into the hive.
They are unlikely to be able to indulge in memories of what it is like to be a maggot.
Both language and mental "time travel" allow us to share impressions and hopes with many other people, combining disparate knowledge into information networks that grow with each generation.
Without this, it is impossible to imagine science, architecture, technology, literature - in short, everything that allows you to read and understand this article.