That makes me think of this:
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[ETA] Sorry! @lamaranagram beat me to it anyways. I would add that I doubt it was just the educated who understood this, but they were the only people we have sources for from 500 years ago. We know much less of what your random peasant/serf thought or believed, because they tended not to write much.
Thatâs a myth, actually, from Washington Irving⊠the concept of a spherical planet dates to Pythagorous in the 6th century BC⊠Just, FYI! 
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¿Qué es este egocentrico de la que usted habla?
Keep in mind is in not about the number of neurons but the possible number of connections by individually unique neurons within the brain, each itâs own cellular identity and in turn when connected with other neurons and by extension the neurons they are connected, each pattern of connection as represented in each active thought cycle and the multiple concurrent associated thought cycles, keep in mind more and in fact many more than one thought chain reaction occurs at the same time, the possible number of patterns becomes huge, not infinite but in the trillions.
So not the size so much as the complexity, that governs the possible level of sustainable complexity, many more that just one thought at a time but many interrelated thoughts occurring simultaneously.
As someone who has spent some time hanging out with bugs, the most surprising thing about this is that for our species this is a controversial topic. It seems odd that the ability of a creature to navigate this endlessly complex world as a coherent and persistent entity wouldnât in-and-of-itself strongly imply the possession of this ineffable substance âconsciousnessâ. Such a feat can be imagined being efficiently achieved through employing an internal simulation containing both the outer world and ones own self-image within it. Is any more elaborate machination required?
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Yes, sorry, I posted after my brain had ceased functioning for the day.
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More cowbell, thanks.
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True, but more neurons gives more nodes and therefore opportunity for more complexity, so itâs likely that a beeâs 1mil neurons will have a more complex network of connections than the 250,000 (or even far less) of many other insects.
So if you can run consciousness on just a million neurons, how many copies of it might my brain be running?
You can get a lot done with a few neurons if you use them creatively.
The inimitable Peter Watts:
http://rifters.com/real/2009/01/iterating-towards-bethlehem.html
Thatâs a cucumer beetle! They invade my apartment every winter and drive my cats batshit. They donât smell.
Excellent. This lends valuable moral credibility to my âsend all mosquitoes to rot in the Hague for crimes against humanityâ initiativeâŠ
With north of 80 billion neurons to work with, Iâm going for âMy name is Legion; for we are many.â on that one.
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Yeah, I think all you ânormalsâ out there who donât hear voices just arenât listening.
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It does make one wonder exactly what we use all the brain meat for(obviously more than insects do; but people with substantially different brain sizes often show no obvious relationship between brain size and brain function either). The stuff is really, really, expensive to build and operate in metabolic terms, so youâd think that it would have been ruthlessly pruned if it were unnecessary; but youâd also think that if it were that critical, differences in volume would be a lot more pronounced in terms of cognitive capability.
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Maybe itâs just like goldfish growing bigger if you put them in a bigger tank. No good having a big empty skull. (I think Evolutionâs track record on efficiency is greatly overstated)
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