JOSH KLEIN'S presentation on THE AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE OF A MURDER OF CROWS and what that might mean for us (CROW ATTACK, in my opinion) was one of my favorite things at the TED conference.
THE VIDEO HE SHOWS of the crow using the tool broke my brain for the rest of the day.
(TO BE FAIR, it was already half-broke from meeting Morgan Webb and Phil Zimbardo and Al Gore all within 24 hours).
IF THE EMBED FAILS, don't bother complaining. JUST GO HERE.
That is all.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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15 comments:
This, shortly after JoCo performs with Bill Corbett (aka Crow) -- what kind of deranged scientist millionaire crow doom do you two have planned for all of us?
Nevermore.
"Moral-Do not piss off crows."
No shit.
If you split the tongue of a crow when it's young it can actually learn to mimic human voices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nqpo9F_4Sc&feature=related
It's not reading the words of course, it's just trained to say different things on different cues, but it's very impressive nevertheless.
The first time I saw Zimbardo in person, his evil scientist beard broke my brain.
Obviously my brain is very fragile.
And you didn't ask Zimbardo what he was in the interstitial periods between filming his tv show? He always signed off, "until next time I'm Philip Zimbardo."
I'm glad the embed worked because you forgot to link to anything when you said "JUST GO HERE."
(I also like that you said "IF THE EMBED FAILS" and not "WHEN THE EMBED FAILS".
That shows you are learning!
Learning like a crow!)
Reminiscent of this awesome little piece that was in Harper's magazine a few years back: Count on Crows.
Very cool. I already knew a little bit about crow intelligence and was glad to learn more. Those critters have plenty to uh crow about.
The crow bending the wire made my head explode.
This episode of RadioLab also made my head explode.
Good thing I have a regenerating head.
Shit. THIS episode of RadioLab (damn you HTML!):
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2008/03/14
I would never suggest that Corvids have no place in the inevitable nonhuman revolution, but it is the chimpanzees with pointy sticks against whom we must remain ever vigilant.
Where do they find these smart people who want to fix the world? Why don't we just round up all the Ted speakers and put them in charge, in the fashion of Plato's Republic? That would solve EVERYTHING.
Very nice presentation, I love his vending machine.
I've been studying crows and other corvids as a hobby for a couple of years. Crows and Ravens are actually very personable animals, and have very quirky and unique personalities.
The speaker made a slight mistake in recounting the story of "Betty," the New Caledonian Crow, and her hook-making innovation. The researchers put two wires in the cage: a bent one, and a straight one. They wanted to see if the crows would pick the correct tool for the job (the hook). Unfortunately, one of the other crows figured out that the food was inaccessible without the hook, so he made off with it so he could monopolize all the meals. That is what left Betty bereft of a proper hook and inspired her tool-making.
lhyzz, that fact makes it even more mind warping...
thanks for sharing...
i can now commence wasting even more time on the internet researching a new topic...crow intelligence...
off to google!
Thanks so very much for introducing me to TED.org. This is a wonderful resource, especially for an educator who wants to illuminate minds.
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