A recent study showed that survivors had brains that were 53% larger, which was perhaps useful in avoiding predators. The problem is, it is genuinely unclear what role brain size plays in intelligence.
Tag: brain size
At Mind Matters News: When a tiny brain is actually an advantage
Small size — which includes having a small brain — hones the ogre gnat’s remarkable neurological abilities
At Mind Matters News: Can science really engineer a bigger human brain?
The human brain has actually been shrinking in the last 30,000 years, the same period that has also shown great intellectual achievements.
Birds must choose between big brains and big guts
This is further indirect evidence— not, of course, drawn out here—that the human brain did not develop the way it did simply to enable survival.