Is there a specific size range for intelligent life under biological constraints, or could smart aliens be as much smaller than bugs or much larger than whales?

Question

I read a long time ago an essay by Asimov that described what elements could support life as a building block and why most elements cannot. I didn’t fully understand that at the time but it was interesting to see why carbon based makes sense and some other random element does not work.

Similarly, I wonder if under different planetary conditions, smart alien life (so not single cell life) can be very tiny or very large, or if there are biological constraints that would restrict that size range regardless of basic setup.

In: 324

Answer 1

I sort of wonder if a eusocial species that is somewhat larger than ants, with highly differentiated castes, could develop into being a sort of sentient hive mind. Eusocial species are incredibly complex and intelligent on Earth, and I wonder if that social and intellectual structure could lead to a legitimately sentient species. I have no idea how that would work, but I imagine a highly ordered society, perhaps with innovation done by sepecific castes of the creature, or done by queens/kings of competing colonies. Something along the lines of the Formics in Enders Game, or the Trisolarans (who are the size of ants) from Three Body.