11–20 of 103 posts
I mean the signature characteristic of the most famous Cephalopod in fiction is that it waits dreaming in its house in R'lyeh. Evidently not coming out until the food on offer is better, either.
Says more about how hard it is to design tests, than it does about this particular test. Lots of reasons for delayed gratification. Not all of them mean "as smart as humans".
Some birds remember thousands of locations of their stashed food. Some animals have a detailed internal map of many square miles of land on which they live. Pick just about anything a typical 3 year old can do, and we can find an animal to outperform them in that respect.
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Smart-Enough-Know-Animals/dp/0393...
If anyone is interested in cephalopod intelligence I heartily recommend the book: "Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life" by Peter Godfrey-Smith.
Theory of Mind is much more a test of human-ness - a stage person-ness really. And yes, quite a few animals qualify.
Says more about how hard it is to design tests, than it does about this particular test. Lots of reasons for delayed gratification. Not all of them mean "as smart as humans".
That's not the conclusion: no one is claiming "as smart as humans". Intelligence is multidimensional, and along some dimensions animals outperform us by a long shot. Some birds remember thousands of locations of their stashed food. Some animals have a detailed internal map of many square miles of land on which they live. Pick just about anything a typical 3 year old can do, and we can find an animal to outperform the…
If anyone is interested in cephalopod intelligence I heartily recommend the book: "Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life" by Peter Godfrey-Smith.
Related: I highly recommend the documentary My Octopus Teacher https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007
As someone who trained my dog to sit and wait for me outside a shop while I got coffee, which was a similar delayed gratification and I didn't even use treats, I think science might be underestimating just how stupid human children are.
On the other hand, human children are incredibly curious and experiment with everything. It may not be stupidity that keeps them from following directions.
Says more about how hard it is to design tests, than it does about this particular test. Lots of reasons for delayed gratification. Not all of them mean "as smart as humans".
That's not the conclusion: no one is claiming "as smart as humans". Intelligence is multidimensional, and along some dimensions animals outperform us by a long shot. Some birds remember thousands of locations of their stashed food. Some animals have a detailed internal map of many square miles of land on which they live. Pick just about anything a typical 3 year old can do, and we can find an animal to outperform the…
And I'm curious if those studies of animal intelligence, actually tried a human. Could I remember thousands of place I put stuff? I think I do. I have a whole house full of stuff, and can find most of it quickly. I remember where I kept my socks in an apartment I lived in 30 years ago.
So yeah no, animals maybe aren't ahead of us in cognitive function.