I am just finishing my work to get my masters degree in Education and about
to start the doctoral program. So I am involved in many discussions on
intelligence and communication. I am always surprised that people have such
strict categories on who has intelligence and who doesn't. They are very
reluctant to accept the notion that non-human animals can think. I pass
along these notes as examples of what I consider thinking. They respond
periodically that it is really advanced stimulus response. So the debate
goes on.
While people "admire nature" and maybe will consider Darwinian concepts,
they are still reluctant to consider that we may have more in common with
other animals than we thought.



At 11:35 AM 7/1/99 -0600, Rick Romea wrote:
>
> several times I observed them
>putting their sick down to grab the insect, then later retrieving the same
>stick. Many of the birds were using sticks, as if the skill had been passed
>around.
>
>
Jim Rosso
Issaquah, Washington
425-392-8440
jrosso at mediaseek.com