My Brain Is Big: Difference between revisions

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Void, the leader of the God Hand from ''[[Berserk]]'' is a particularly nightmarish example.

* Exedore/Exsedol's retconned form from the ''[[Macross]]'' universe (left out of the ''[[Robotech]]'' continuity).

== Comic Books ==

* [[DCU]] examples

** The Ultra Humanite's albino gorilla form

* The cover story in issue 93 of ''Tales of the Unexpected'' involved this guy who invented an "evolution-devolution" ray then accidentally got caught in both beams at once, resulting in his head "evolving" into larger and more grotesque versions while his body was "devolving" into that of a prehistoric man/ape/etc. Eventually, his brain became so super-advanced that he was able to repair the broken device telepathically.

* In ''[[All Fall Down]]'', IQ and IQ Squared had extra-large heads while they were super-geniuses. Their craniums were reduced to normal in The Fall.

== Film ==

== Literature ==

* In Edmond Hamilton's ''The Man Who Evolved'', a scientist has [[You Fail Biology Forever|accelerated his own evolution]]. Five examples are shown; first a giant human, then two cases of the trope, then a naked brain.

* Taken to its logical conclusion in ''Last and First Men'' where the Fourth human species were basically giant, immobile brains. They were created as the equivalent of computers, [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|and naturally rebelled against their creators.]] But in an interesting subversion, having wiped out the Third species they realized that their intellectual powers were crippled by the lack of bodies and created a Fifth species that was closer to natural humanity.

* [[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves]]'s head bulges out slightly at the back, and Bertie believes that this is a sign of his intelligence. He also attributes the size of Sir Roderick Glossop's head, which resembles "the dome of St. Paul's", to his vast intellect: "I suppose he must have taken about a nine or something in hats. Shows what a rotten thing it is to let your brain develop too much.”

* The Talosians of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', parodied in the ''[[The Simpsons]]'' example below.

* This was one of the forms of John Crichton in the "My Three Crichtons" episode of ''[[Farscape]]''.

== Magazines ==

* Played so straight it's [[Narm|hilarious]] in a 1953 [https://web.archive.org/web/20120222071747/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/15/how-nuclear-radiation-can-change-our-race/ article] in ''Mechanix Illustrated'', warning us of the [[I Love Nuclear Power|terrible danger of nuclear radiation]] which, as [[You Fail Biology Forever|everyone knew]] in [[The Fifties]], would [[Evolutionary Levels|accelerate our evolution]] and produce a race of giant-brained [[Mutants]] who would [[Transhuman Treachery|turn against us]] and [[What Measure Is a Non Super|consider us inferior]].

== Newspaper Comics ==

* In one ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'' arc, this is an "unanticipated physiological consequence" of the thinking cap Calvin uses to give himself an intelligence boost.

** Strangely, this doesn't seem to alarm his parents. Then again, they never notice anything, anyway.

== Tabletop Games ==

* [[Mortasheen]] subverts this with the [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/abcoulix.htm Abcoulix], which has a giant brain not for purposes of intelligence, but rather for the purpose of generating electricity, as the Abcoulix was designed as an organic battery. This is played straight, however, for [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/krankenhyde.htm Krankenhyde].

* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' has Tyranid Zoanthropes which have stunted bodies with tiny vestigial limbs and a [[Aliens|xenomorph]] like head with extra brain sticking out the back. It uses its psychic powers to float around and act as psionic artillery.

* In ''[[Space Quest|Space Quest V]]'', Roger starts out in a class at the space pilot's academy, ''completely'' unprepared for the test he has to take, and can only pass by copying the answers from one of his classmates. Fortunately, he's sitting next to a big-brained alien who gets all the questions right. Curiously, despite his smarts (not to mention that Roger was late to the class), he's ''always'' on the same question you are.

* Parodied in [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1 this] [[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]] strip. The big brain is only good if the ''useful'' parts get bigger.

** Although it can still have [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=321#comic other] uses.

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Orion's Arm]]'': The [http://www.orionsarm.com/xcms.php?r=oaeg-view-article&egart_uid=47ed99bea6c67 Highbrows].

== Western Animation ==

* Dexter from ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' gained one of these in a dream sequence. Mandark also has this to some degree.

** Even normally Dexter's head is huge compared to the rest of his body, which in a musical retelling of his birth had him diagnosed as "clinically genius".

* Yugopotamians on [[Fairly Oddparents]], of the "generic alien" variety

* Spoofed in [http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/241/ this post] at Dial B for Blog.

* ''Garbage Pail Kids'''s Brainy Janey

== Real Life ==

* This has been the cause of much dispute among the scientific community about whether or not [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|size really does matter.]] On one hand humans have a larger brain than most of the world's creatures, then again, so do sperm whales and elephants.<ref>although humans have most vertebrates beat in brain-to-body mass ratios</ref>

* Women on average have smaller brains than men, but they make up for it with denser neuron distribution. Proportionate to body mass, there's little difference between men's and women's brain mass. Especially when you exclude fatty tissue (which women have more of due to breasts being almost entirely fat, and which don't contribute much in the way of sensory input for the brain to process) from the body mass.

[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]

[[Category:Intelligence Tropes]]