[extropy-chat] FWD [Skeptic] Re: Crows Invent Machine

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Ian Goddard
...
>  A few days ago I posted that same link here. Thanks
> for the other examples of corvid intelligence. There
> are so many! I find this video most impressive:
> 
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/av/crow_080802.ram

Thanks Ian!  I know crows are smart, as are seagulls.

If you saw Jurassic Park you will surely agree that it was a silly movie.
Even the scientist babe Laura Dern couldn't save that script, however it did
have an interesting take on the velociraptor.  Their notion was that this
particular dinosaur had a large cranial volume to body ratio, so its
ecological niche might have been one that would favor relatively high
intelligence.  Why did one species of dinosaur end up with the brains?  The
other species seemed to do fine without much in the old cranium.

My notion is that ecosystems should produce remarkably smart species, such
as gulls and crows.  Consider lions: they do some behaviors that one would
think would require some form of communication and organization, such as
lining up spaced at appropriate intervals, singling out some hapless beast
from the herd, then tag team chasing it until it drops.  Yet no one has ever
seen any cat roaring instructions.  That's a trick!  HOw do they know to do
that?

I find this interesting because it demonstrates the group survival value of
intelligence.  The crows and lions might help explain why humans evolved
these wildly oversized heads, which is something I have pondered for years.

spike