minds of their own

[Guest guest]

Minds of their Own

Animals are smarter than you think

 

Page 1 of 8 copied here. For the entire article, please visit

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/featurehub

 

By Virginia Morell

 

In 1977 Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University, did

something

very bold. At a time when animals still were considered automatons, she set out

to find what was on another creature's mind by talking to it. She brought a

one-year-old African gray parrot she named Alex into her lab to teach him to

reproduce

the sounds of the English language. " I thought if he learned to communicate,

I could ask him questions about how he sees the world. "

 

When Pepperberg began her dialogue with Alex, who died last September at the

age

of 31, many scientists believed animals were incapable of any thought. They were

simply machines, robots programmed to react to stimuli but lacking the ability

to

think or feel. Any pet owner would disagree. We see the love in our dogs' eyes

and know that, of course, Spot has thoughts and emotions. But such claims remain

highly controversial. Gut instinct is not science, and it is all too easy to

project

human thoughts and feelings onto another creature. How, then, does a scientist

prove

that an animal is capable of thinking—that it is able to acquire information

about

the world and act on it?

 

" That's why I started my studies with Alex, " Pepperberg said. They

were seated—she at her desk, he on top of his cage—in her lab, a windowless

room

about the size of a boxcar, at Brandeis University. Newspapers lined the floor;

baskets of bright toys were stacked on the shelves. They were clearly a

team—and

because of their work, the notion that animals can think is no longer so

fanciful.

 

Certain skills are considered key signs of higher mental abilities: good

memory,

a grasp of grammar and symbols, self-awareness, understanding others' motives,

imitating others, and being creative. Bit by bit, in ingenious experiments,

researchers

have documented these talents in other species, gradually chipping away at what

we thought made human beings distinctive while offering a glimpse of where our

own

abilities came from. Scrub jays know that other jays are thieves and that

stashed

food can spoil; sheep can recognize faces; chimpanzees use a variety of tools to

probe termite mounds and even use weapons to hunt small mammals; dolphins can

imitate

human postures; the archerfish, which stuns insects with a sudden blast of

water,

can learn how to aim its squirt simply by watching an experienced fish perform

the

task. And Alex the parrot turned out to be a surprisingly good talker.

 

Thirty years after the Alex studies began, Pepperberg and a changing

collection

of assistants were still giving him English lessons. The humans, along with two

younger parrots, also served as Alex's flock, providing the social input all

parrots crave. Like any flock, this one—as small as it was—had its share of

drama.

Alex dominated his fellow parrots, acted huffy at times around Pepperberg,

tolerated

the other female humans, and fell to pieces over a male assistant who dropped by

for a visit. ( " If you were a man, " Pepperberg said, after noting Alex's

aloofness toward me, " he'd be on your shoulder in a second, barfing cashews

in your ear. " )

 

Pepperberg bought Alex in a Chicago pet store. She let the store's assistant

pick him out because she didn't want other scientists saying later that she'd

deliberately chosen an especially smart bird for her work. Given that Alex's

brain was the size of a shelled walnut, most researchers thought Pepperberg's

interspecies communication study would be futile.

" Some people actually called me crazy for trying this, " she said. " Scientists

thought that chimpanzees were better subjects, although, of course, chimps can't

speak. "

 

Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas have been taught to use sign language and

symbols

to communicate with us, often with impressive results. The bonobo Kanzi, for

instance,

carries his symbol-communication board with him so he can " talk " to his

human researchers, and he has invented combinations of symbols to express his

thoughts.

Nevertheless, this is not the same thing as having an animal look up at you,

open

his mouth, and speak.

 

 

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

Confucius

[Guest guest]

My opinion - just because science hasn't yet found a way to prove

something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

Jo

 

, fraggle <EBbrewpunx wrote:

>

> Minds of their Own

> Animals are smarter than you think

>

> Page 1 of 8 copied here. For the entire article, please visit

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/featurehub

>

> By Virginia Morell

>

> In 1977 Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard

University, did something

> very bold. At a time when animals still were considered automatons,

she set out

> to find what was on another creature's mind by talking to it. She

brought a

> one-year-old African gray parrot she named Alex into her lab to

teach him to reproduce

> the sounds of the English language. " I thought if he learned to

communicate,

> I could ask him questions about how he sees the world. "

>

> When Pepperberg began her dialogue with Alex, who died last

September at the age

> of 31, many scientists believed animals were incapable of any

thought. They were

> simply machines, robots programmed to react to stimuli but lacking

the ability to

> think or feel. Any pet owner would disagree. We see the love in our

dogs' eyes

> and know that, of course, Spot has thoughts and emotions. But such

claims remain

> highly controversial. Gut instinct is not science, and it is all

too easy to project

> human thoughts and feelings onto another creature. How, then, does

a scientist prove

> that an animal is capable of thinking—that it is able to acquire

information about

> the world and act on it?

>

> " That's why I started my studies with Alex, " Pepperberg said. They

> were seated—she at her desk, he on top of his cage—in her lab, a

windowless room

> about the size of a boxcar, at Brandeis University. Newspapers

lined the floor;

> baskets of bright toys were stacked on the shelves. They were

clearly a team—and

> because of their work, the notion that animals can think is no

longer so fanciful.

>

> Certain skills are considered key signs of higher mental

abilities: good memory,

> a grasp of grammar and symbols, self-awareness, understanding

others' motives,

> imitating others, and being creative. Bit by bit, in ingenious

experiments, researchers

> have documented these talents in other species, gradually chipping

away at what

> we thought made human beings distinctive while offering a glimpse

of where our own

> abilities came from. Scrub jays know that other jays are thieves

and that stashed

> food can spoil; sheep can recognize faces; chimpanzees use a

variety of tools to

> probe termite mounds and even use weapons to hunt small mammals;

dolphins can imitate

> human postures; the archerfish, which stuns insects with a sudden

blast of water,

> can learn how to aim its squirt simply by watching an experienced

fish perform the

> task. And Alex the parrot turned out to be a surprisingly good

talker.

>

> Thirty years after the Alex studies began, Pepperberg and a

changing collection

> of assistants were still giving him English lessons. The humans,

along with two

> younger parrots, also served as Alex's flock, providing the social

input all

> parrots crave. Like any flock, this one—as small as it was—had

its share of drama.

> Alex dominated his fellow parrots, acted huffy at times around

Pepperberg, tolerated

> the other female humans, and fell to pieces over a male assistant

who dropped by

> for a visit. ( " If you were a man, " Pepperberg said, after noting

Alex's

> aloofness toward me, " he'd be on your shoulder in a second, barfing

cashews

> in your ear. " )

>

> Pepperberg bought Alex in a Chicago pet store. She let the

store's assistant

> pick him out because she didn't want other scientists saying later

that she'd

> deliberately chosen an especially smart bird for her work. Given

that Alex's

> brain was the size of a shelled walnut, most researchers thought

Pepperberg's

> interspecies communication study would be futile.

> " Some people actually called me crazy for trying this, " she

said. " Scientists

> thought that chimpanzees were better subjects, although, of course,

chimps can't

> speak. "

>

> Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas have been taught to use sign

language and symbols

> to communicate with us, often with impressive results. The bonobo

Kanzi, for instance,

> carries his symbol-communication board with him so he can " talk " to

his

> human researchers, and he has invented combinations of symbols to

express his thoughts.

> Nevertheless, this is not the same thing as having an animal look

up at you, open

> his mouth, and speak.

>

>

> Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

> Confucius

>