Of course, that can apply within our own species too. We observe someone else doing something and assume that they are exhibiting the same mental processes that we would if we were doing it.
Crows and ravens ARE impressive; they're one of the few species other than our own to exhibit play behavior. Higher primates appear to, and maybe cephalopods. Crows brains are structurally different from ours (and other primates), but compare with chimps in terms of brain weight/body mass ratio. On Jan 17, 2012, at 9:01 AM, Michael Britt wrote: Or perhaps the video might serve us better during a lesson on critical thinking. Digging a tiny bit deeper: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/2012/01/16/snowboarding-crows-the-plot-thickens/ “Human beings have a strong, strong, strong tendency that if we see an animal do something that’s analogous to what we do, like use a tool or answer an arithmetic question, we assume that the animal is doing it and understands the situation in the same way we do,” [Alan Kamil, an expert on corvid behavior] said. “And sometimes that’s true but more often it’s false.” Also, http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/01/science-can-neither-explain-nor-deny-the-awesomeness-of-this-sledding-crow/251395/ Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=15383 or send a blank email to leave-15383-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
