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Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

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Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#3
Dolphins are exactly why I feel SETI is such a misguided (in a sweet way) effort.

Here we are, searching for extraterrestrial intelligence while we can't even communicate with the other intelligent species on our own planet.

Glad to see we're making progress though!

Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#4
post #3

Dolphins are exactly why I feel SETI is such a misguided (in a sweet way) effort. Here we are, searching for extraterrestrial intelligence while we can't even communicate with the other intelligent species on our own planet. Glad to see we're making progress though!

We communicate with dolphins, gorillas, elephants, etc. all the time.

SETI is looking for technological species.

Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#5
"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars, and so on -- while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons." -- Douglas Adams

Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#6
They are also known to build difficult to make toys (air bubble vortex rings) to entertain themselves.

They have to discover how to make it. Sometimes they can be quite possessive, they would break the toy if someone not so knowledgeable wants to play with it. Once a dolphin figures it out how to make one, his/her peers eventually figure it out too. So it kind of spreads within a group like fashion. This behavior has been observed both in captivity and in the wild.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dolphin+vortex+ring (a time sink right here)

They also have what appears to be fratricide were they bludgeon another to death targeting vital organs (I dont have a reference to this, but I recall reading it on BBC).

I have seen dumber people on and around TV.

I am sure there are HN'ers who are divers and have first had experience with dolphins, we would love to hear the stories.

Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#7
post #2

That is an interesting result. Some birds mimic other bird's songs but I don't know of an example in the bird family where an individual had a unique song.

How about Emperor Penguins? When one of a pair returns from feeding, it finds the other by recognizing its unique calls.

Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#8
post #3

Dolphins are exactly why I feel SETI is such a misguided (in a sweet way) effort. Here we are, searching for extraterrestrial intelligence while we can't even communicate with the other intelligent species on our own planet. Glad to see we're making progress though!

Parrots call each other by names as well[1] and crows have been shown to speak in two different dialects depending if they are with a group or among individuals[2]. In the same link about crows, they have also been seen using tools in the wild and in experiments using "meta tools", something that only primates have been observed doing (using one tool to reach another tool that will be used for their end goal [generally food]).

It's quite amazing how much we take the animals around us for granted sometimes since all of this, like the dolphins is really new research that has only hit the tip of the iceberg.

The documentary about crows from PBS is quite insightful (full episode is at the link below if your region allows it). I was never much of a fan of crows and considered them kind of an annoyance. However, after watching it, I gained much more respect for their intelligence and complexity.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed9A4HPdXgQ

[2] http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/a-murder-of-crows/fu...

edit: the OP link actually mentions those particular crows and their tool usage in one of the slides.

Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#9
post #7
post #2

That is an interesting result. Some birds mimic other bird's songs but I don't know of an example in the bird family where an individual had a unique song.

How about Emperor Penguins? When one of a pair returns from feeding, it finds the other by recognizing its unique calls.

I think the finding here is not that dolphin A has a unique call, but that dolphin B calls out to A using A's unique call in order to find A. This is as opposed to B simply listening for A's call.

Re: Dolphins Call Each Other By Name

#10
post #3

Dolphins are exactly why I feel SETI is such a misguided (in a sweet way) effort. Here we are, searching for extraterrestrial intelligence while we can't even communicate with the other intelligent species on our own planet. Glad to see we're making progress though!

SETI isn't about communication though, at least not the conversational type; the speed of light is a cruel mistress.
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