Are we humans simply remodelled apes? Chimps with a tweak? Is the difference between our genomes so minuscule it justifies the argument that our cognition and behaviour must also differ from chimps by barely a whisker? If “chimps are us” should we grant them human rights? Or is this one of the biggest fallacies in the study of evolution? NOT A CHIMP argues that these similarities have been grossly over-exaggerated - we should keep chimps at arm’s length. Are humans cognitively unique after all?
Monday, 16 May 2011
I know you, bad guy! Magpies recognize humans
For anyone who has read my chapter CLEVER CORVIDS nothing a member of the crow family can do should amaze them. Here's a nice story about magpies at the campus of Seoul National University who were able to discriminate a researcher from facial recognition, among thousands of Asian individuals, as the culprit who had "raided" their nests to record data on eggs or young for a science project.