Terminalchaos said:
I think the octupi and squid have been hiding their true intelligence for some time now. They evolved neural complexity to a degree that is eerie for when they developed it evolutionarily.
I'd hope they'd develop something comparable to our myelin sheaths because an axon's diameter can only grow so large before becoming impractical. They truly are very intelligent (and even the most intelligent invertebrates), but this flaw would be quite difficult to overcome.
But really, it'd depend on what kills off us humans (and thereby perhaps other species as well).
If we, say, died from, I dunno, a disease that only affects humans and doesn't mutate, then I'd put my money on either some other ape, dolphins or whales.
Possibly, and this is interesting, birds!
There are very intelligent and social birds that have developed massive cerebellums (while retaining a rather small cerebrum) with the cerebellum fulfilling similar roles to the cerebrum in mammals. They cooperate in experiments to get food, they imitate behaviour and learn, they even use primitive tools (such as simple sticks) to accomplish their goals.
An intelligent bird-people? Quite possible!
