I think many insects are far smarter than we have assumed.
Bumblebees can learn to pull a string to receive a reward [1]. But maybe that's just blind conditioning? Well if another bumblebee watches it happen from behind a glass wall, it can perform the task without being trained at all [2].
And of course Portia spiders show remarkable memory, planning, and on-the-spot flexibility in hunting strategies. Also they can do the same kind of counting that many human cultures do:
1, 2, and many.
Sounds like an instance of Clarke's first law: "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."
Over and over again we've assumed that something simply isn't possible for creatures other than humans to do, and over and over again we've eventually discovered that we're not that unique after all.
Bees are super cool, but [2] doesn’t say a glass wall, but describes a more physically-involved process.
From that link:
> A bee lands beside another one who had already pulled a string for reward, gaining the reward without pulling herself/himself.
> The observer learns to associate the other bee with reward and typically begins following her/him around, keeping in close contact as they walk.
> The observing bee would be in direct contact with the string-pulling bee throughout the pull, usually not touching the string, although sometimes ineffectively manipulating the string herself/himself as well, and ultimately gaining reward through the other bee’s efforts.
> The learners progressively change their foraging behaviors from observers to competent string pullers.
Having spent a lot of time with insects in my youth, I think carpenter ants are pretty intelligent.
My personal theory is that having a mind is pretty easy to come by, the difference between brain sizes affect how we perceive the universe. Brain size incrementally makes us smarter, but mostly it just changes how we perceive the universe.
> Queens took about ninety six-minute naps a day—and studies of their brain activity suggest they have dreams.
Over and over again we've assumed that something simply isn't possible for creatures other than humans to do, and over and over again we've eventually discovered that we're not that unique after all.