- We've clearly underestimated the intelligence of every animal we've ever dealt with.
We only ever revise our estimates of animal intelligence upwards.
- would you say we've "underestimated the intelligence" of, say, jellyfish?
Jellyfish question remains open, but underestimating the intelligence of the amoeba is even more impressive.
Amoebas are often underestimated. What many geeks -- even those with a keen interest in biology and neural networks -- don't realize is that Eukaryote cell membranes are capable of impressive computational feats.
Just pause to reflect: An amoeba's membrane can sense object and grab them. Paramecia and Euglena can navigate their environment and find food. Where is the computation that facilitates these behaviors happening? It turns out that much of it happens at the cell membrane.
Guess what synapses are? Synapses are the same mechanisms repurposed for data processing.
More seriously, I could see this turning into a major development in the pharmaceutical industry. If amoebas could be bred to farm beneficial types of bacteria, I can imagine all sorts of products could be produced much faster. This could lead to a seismic shift in that industry!
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2113830
Jellyfish question remains open, but underestimating the intelligence of the amoeba is even more impressive.