One thing which might be of interest relating to this topic is education. When we compare people and animals in terms of intelligence, it's not really a fair comparison. Even ignoring the biases that might be in the tests, humans spend a lot of time in school and further learning how to approach certain problems. So it's hard to really sort out what is learned versus what is innate. Obviously an educated human will do better than one who has never been to school. Or we're just wasting years of our lives.
When it comes to Griffin the parrot or Chaser the border collie, who are doing this amazing feats, we need to ask ourselves whether they are exceptional animals. I'm not sure that is the case. So why are they able to do so much more than others of their species? It's probably that they've had better teachers. Many birds sit in a cage, often alone, and talk to a mirror all day. Few people are teaching their birds to speak, at least beyond repeating phrases. The same with dogs. Some get no training and others learn a few words and commands but not many owners will try to teach them 1000 words and basic grammar. I think a large part is opportunity and teaching, rather than exceptional animals.
That's what also makes experiments with wild animals really interesting. If they are able to solve complicated puzzles without extensive training, it gives an even better idea of what is possible. And I think that largely people haven't looked for animal intelligence. Either various animals only started using tools in the last few decades, which seems like a large coincidence, or they were doing it and we just weren't paying attention. The more we pay attention, the more I think we will see.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
One thing which might be of interest relating to this topic is education. When we compare people and animals in terms of intelligence, it's not really a fair comparison. Even ignoring the biases that might be in the tests, humans spend a lot of time in school and further learning how to approach certain problems. So it's hard to really sort out what is learned versus what is innate. Obviously an educated human will do better than one who has never been to school. Or we're just wasting years of our lives.
When it comes to Griffin the parrot or Chaser the border collie, who are doing this amazing feats, we need to ask ourselves whether they are exceptional animals. I'm not sure that is the case. So why are they able to do so much more than others of their species? It's probably that they've had better teachers. Many birds sit in a cage, often alone, and talk to a mirror all day. Few people are teaching their birds to speak, at least beyond repeating phrases. The same with dogs. Some get no training and others learn a few words and commands but not many owners will try to teach them 1000 words and basic grammar. I think a large part is opportunity and teaching, rather than exceptional animals.
That's what also makes experiments with wild animals really interesting. If they are able to solve complicated puzzles without extensive training, it gives an even better idea of what is possible. And I think that largely people haven't looked for animal intelligence. Either various animals only started using tools in the last few decades, which seems like a large coincidence, or they were doing it and we just weren't paying attention. The more we pay attention, the more I think we will see.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~