In the conventional view, "intelligent" function—complex and flexible behavior, the capacity to innovate and learn—requires the large, highly developed brains of animals such as chimpanzees and dolphins. More primitive creatures, whose behavior is commonly guided by instinct, have small, comparatively simple brains made up of relatively few neurons. A spider's brain, for instance, fits comfortably on a pin-head, and it seems unlikely that such a small collection of neural components could organize complex and flexible behavior. Yet recent work on Portia, a genus of jumping spider, illustrates that although a spider may have a small brain, its behavior need not be simple.
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