Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

by Frans de Waal

The difference in intelligence between humans and animals is not as much as we'd like to think. A lot of this book -in the beginning at least- is showing a history of animal cognition studies, how every time scientists demarcated humans from animals (we can use tools! we have language!) experiments showed certain animal species entirely capable of doing the same things. Even birds and fish have proved able to do complex problem-solving. Dolphins recognize each others' names. Chimpanzees plan ahead.  It turns out that in many cases, earlier studies that failed to illuminate animal smarts often weren't taking into account how that animal perceives the world. What matters to it. What motivates it. Or even physically how it could manipulate the offered tools. Their brains are not necessarily higher or lower on a scale to ours, they are simply other. That's not to say all are equal in ability- there's a seabird that can't recognize its own young- but then it would never have to, since it nests on cliff faces and in no natural circumstance would another chick stumble into its nest. But it performs other feats we could never match. This book is dense with information and very intriguing studies and I fail to do it credit here- I've been unwell the past week so read this in pieces with a lot of breaks for easier fare (mostly Chi's Sweet Adventures). I really would like to revisit it someday when I can give it better attention. At the end of this book, I could totally see how de Waal was gearing up to write Mama's Last Hug next. Similar reads: Animal Wise and Bird Brains. I'm sure there's more titles I could link to but I can't think of them now.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5         340 pages, 2016

more opinions: Reading the End  . . . anyone else?