Subject:      Intelligence and warm blood
From:         sasha1@netcom.com (Alexander Chislenko)
Date:         1995/08/04
Message-Id:   <sasha1DCsMI7.ApD@netcom.com>
Newsgroups:   comp.ai.alife

Keith Wiley <keithw@wam.umd.edu> writes:

>...
> I'm not sure how well a cold-blooded animal
> would fare compared to a warm-blooded animal.


 As I understand, the main point of being "warm-blooded" is not
being _warm_, but having a _stable_ body temperature.

  The body biochemistry can be optimized to work under any particular
temperature, but it's very difficult to have it work equally well under
a wide range of conditions. It's much better to pick and maintain one
temperature range, and optimize all the chemistry for it.
  When choosing this range, one should take into account that it is easier
to warm the body up, than to cool it down - so the temperature shelf
should be chosen just above the highest usual temperatures in the
existing climate.  Which is exactly where it is.

  I am not sure brain biochemistry is more demanding than that of the
rest of the body, but it sure should help the intelligence to have the
body warm-blooded.