Do a smart person have a bigger brain or is it the same as normal people's brain?
141067
No, size in humans does not have much to do with intelligence. Rather it is the percentage of the brain actually used by the individual. Most people only use 30-31% of their brain for thinking functions. Smarter people use slightly more than that (though not much!). Intelligence also has to do with exposure during the infant and toddler periods. The period of time when language develops is the most crucial to brain development. Studies of "wild children" have confirmed this. Infants and young children who are more stimulated through a multitude of activities, using all of the 5 senses, are usually more intelligent. This is why doctors advocate colorful rooms, and playing music to infants, as well as toys with multiple textures and shapes.
1010077
It really depends on how you gauge intelligence. Now, if everyone thought that people were smarter, then there would be no worry of machines ever taking over the world. \n\nThe fact is, a computer can process information a lot quicker than a human can. Ultimately, we create machines that can outperform us in velocity and force, which is also true of a computer. That is the point of making them. A computer can be as smart as one programs them. We possess so many other possibilities within our brains and through our senses.  \n\nWe really only define our thought through the senses we perceive and draw unique conclusions, even expanding the bounds of reason. It is this expansion that gives way to new discoveries and understanding, hence, people on the whole are smarter. \n\nUnless we can create a computer to attain consciousness, but even then, we will have to be cognitive masters before we can do that. People are smarter than computers, because although a computer may process information faster and recall memory quicker, we are the ones that have the ability to expand the parameters of reason and logic. Machines are faster and stronger than we, but not smarter. We utilize speed and function in a machine to accomplish tasks, and a computer may only appear smarter due it's processing speed.
898350
Actually, "smarter" mammal have larger brains in ratio to the size of their body.  If you were to take the ratio of size/weight of a human brain and his body and compare that with an elephant, you would find that a human's ratio is much higher.  I've heard contradicting theories with regard to actual percentage used.  We do in fact use most areas of our brain.  Why other areas are not in use probably have to do with evolution.  What sets us apart from other mammals is the amount of things we create for comfort and not survival.  All animals, there may be case by case exceptions, operate under the need to survive.  We operate under what is comfortable.
664413
geniuses are usually creative. \nbut not all creative people are geniuses.\ngenius status is determined by IQ testing. \nbut creativity cannot be measured.
33672
Actually, its harder to be dumb and easier to be smart because you are constantly learning.  A person with knowledge is a person w/ power.  And a smart person would have to work really hard to be dumb because it tends to show in their personality and the way they hold themselves.
348403
It is a valid question, and one used against women for years (interestingly, nobody at that time seems to have thought elephants were smarter than men!).  The relationship of the anatomy of the brain to intelligence seems to have only two fairly clear correlations: 1) the amount of surface area folding (sulci and gyri) found on the frontal cortex and 2) the brain weight/body weight ratio.  Under these two correlates, men and women are the same.  There is absolutly no correlation between the size of a person and the intelligence..even though bigger humans tend to have bigger brains.  Now, using the folding and brain to body ratio, we can figure which animals "should" be very smart-and they include ravens, dolphins, and primates.  The raven finding is interesting, because every intelligence test ever given these birds (who have small brains, because they are small animals, but very large brain to body ratios) shows them to be smarter than dogs, and nearly as smart as primates.  Another interesting thing: the only animals that has *both* and larger brain to body ratio than humans *and* increased frontal cortex folding, is the dolphin...makes ya think, huh?
1027189
Yes, of course.\n\nYour brain is like a lot of muscles - if untrained, it works less well.\n\nWith regular training and thinking, especially "thinking around the bend" or "thinking out of the box" you will boost your capacity.\n\nProbably, even with the best training you won't reach the brain capacity of Einstein, but you will notice great improvements.
731325
my brain.  i have a high IQ.
55367
it's a matter of nature and environment. \n\na person's heredity and gene make-up has a lot to do with how intelligent they are. you can find evidence of this in many subjects, not just humans. some anilmals are "smarter" than other animals. sometimes chromosomes get crossed and a person is born with disabilities. it's just a part of nature.\n\nalso, the environment in which a person grows up effects their intelligence. if a child is raised in an environment that does not harbor knowledge and education, that child will not flourish mentally.
620132
It's answer 4 - you only have two people to compare, so you have to use -er terms.  You wouldn't say that of the two, he is the smartest or biggest, you'd say he is the smarter or bigger.
1079718
Gender has nothing to do with intelligence. If you were as smart as you think you are, you would know that.
750339
Well, depending on what kind of "mentally challenged" you mean, the answer could be yes or no.\n\nThere are several kinds of neurological disorders that result in a brain that is simply differently wired, with IQs in the normal range or higher. Because the brain is extremely adaptable, it will often compensate for deficits in one area by making other areas work more efficiently. That's why a blind person often has very good hearing: He doesn't have any visual input to process; so his brain specializes on the next most informative sense: Hearing.\n\nSome disorders are like that. ADHD is associated with originality; autism with very good visual-spatial skills; bipolar disorder with creative talent, especially in the arts. So people with these disorders are also more likely to have talents that people without them don't have. People with these disorders look at them as mixed blessings, or even as gifts.\n\nI don't know what it's like to be anyone but myself; so I don't know which disorders other than my own (Asperger Syndrome, a mild form of autism) fit into the category I just described. And I do consider AS to be a gift, in some ways. I'm socially clumsy, and I can't tolerate some sensory input; but I also have very good logical reasoning skills, I approach problems in original ways, and I have quite a lot of talents in my areas of special interest.\n\nBut all in all, people with psychological, neurological, or biological isorders that affect their mental functioning have one big problem: They are square pegs trying to fit into round holes. They are not the majority; so the world is not designed for them. It could be prejudice or the need for accomodations or some aspect of the disorder itself; but being ill-suited for the world you live in can be a difficult thing. Even your talents may not be the sort of thing the world is looking for.\n\nRegarding people with low IQs and severe disorders with no positive aspects. Individual personalities may indeed make them feel superior to others, just as neurologically average people may feel superior to people in general, whether their IQs are higher or lower than their own; but that seems to be a personality trait unconnected to any disorder.\n\nFrom what I can tell, all but the most profoundly affected are aware that they are different; but in a loving family, with good support and the accomodations they need to live in the world, they need not feel inferior or unwanted. These folks have the same goal that any of us have--the pursuit of happiness, in whatever form that takes for them; and why should a happy life ever be called an inferior one?
443445
Doesn't really. A persons IQ is fairly constant, basically almost the same throughout its entire life. It is only our level of education that changes. \nThe more educated people a country has the more productive it becomes. \nEconomy and politics are more or less the same thing nowdays. Without a well-trained work force with a high level of education a country cannot be competitive on the global market.
31114
I.Q. does NOT determin how smart a person is, all it determins is how EASILY they figure things out. If a person has an extordinairly high IQ but never tries then that person will be dumb, regardless. However, even people with really low I.Q.'s can still learn and acheive anything, they just have to work much hard to understand.\n\nWhen trying to determin if you can obtain a certain job do not evaluate your I.Q., but do evaluate your desire and work ethic. This is what determins how successful you will be.
312953
Alas, I have but a humble, non-mutant, regular sized brain.\n\nFortunately, it takes but little of even that modest resource to find the answer here...\n\n1
1082280
who has brains that dont work, and y??
177571
Your question is difficult to answer because it is rather general, and I am not quite sure what you need to know.  \n\nIt's a matter of everyday experience that some people are smarter than others. But how do we measure "smartness"?\nGlobal intellligence is made up of many specific abilities.  It consists of verbal abilities and "hands on" types of abilities.  Very few people are good in all the different abiities measured by an intelligence test for example.  Some people are very very good in just one area, sometimes called a splinter skill, but not in any others.  Some people are "book smart" while others are "common sense smart".\n\nThen we need to consider multiple intelligences theory.  The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:\n\n Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"): \n Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart") \n Spatial intelligence ("picture smart") \n Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart") \n Musical intelligence ("music smart") \n Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart") \n Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart") \n Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart") \n\nI have attached a couple of websites that should help you.