Oceanic dolphin another indication of animal intelligence. Killer whales have the second largest brain mass of any animal on earth, next to the sperm whale. The brain to body mass ratio in some is second only to humans. Self-awareness is seen, by some, to be a sign of highly developed, abstract thinking. Self-awareness, though not well-defined scientifically, is believed to be the precursor to more advanced processes like meta-cognitive reasoning (thinking about thinking) that are typical of humans. Research in this field has suggested that cetaceans, among others, possess self-awareness. The most widely used test for self-awareness in animals is the mirror
Mammal at approximately the ⅔ or ¾ exponent of the body mass. Comparison of a particular animal's brain size with the expected brain size based on such allometric analysis provides an [[encephalization quotient|encephalisation quotient]] that can be used as another indication of animal intelligence. [[Sperm whale]]s have the largest brain mass of any animal on earth, averaging and in mature males. [[Self-awareness]] appears to be a sign of abstract thinking. Self-awareness, although not well-defined, is believed to be a precursor to more advanced processes such as [[metacognition|metacognitive reasoning]]. The traditional method for measuring this is the [[mirror test]], which determines if