tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post5588285747825996529..comments2024-02-29T03:57:00.088-05:00Comments on The Mermaid's Tale: Are bees intelligent? Anne Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-65416669021833380282014-06-24T07:29:44.352-04:002014-06-24T07:29:44.352-04:00The PNAS paper? Sure, let me know where to send i...The PNAS paper? Sure, let me know where to send it. avbuchanan at gmailAnne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-11068969447444762852014-06-24T04:17:41.699-04:002014-06-24T04:17:41.699-04:00Any chance you could help with access to the cogni...Any chance you could help with access to the cognitive map article?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494273791983899002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-62729063835427043832014-06-23T08:55:58.812-04:002014-06-23T08:55:58.812-04:00Thanks very much. This is good to know. Thanks very much. This is good to know. Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-8665603397139943382014-06-23T08:49:40.546-04:002014-06-23T08:49:40.546-04:00I thoroughly recommend Louise Barrett's book &...I thoroughly recommend Louise Barrett's book 'Beyond the Brain' for a more embodied analysis of animal (and human) intelligence. The field is moving away from computational, representational models and towards a more dynamical systems embodied approach, and her book is an excellent place to begin if you're interested in this topic. Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16732977871048876430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-70450585837909378622014-06-20T15:09:04.544-04:002014-06-20T15:09:04.544-04:00To me we are SubjectiveLand, where terms people us...To me we are SubjectiveLand, where terms people use may be as important to discussion as the substance, and hence not much discussion and probably lots of miscommunication.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-29823602882468891842014-06-20T11:07:59.981-04:002014-06-20T11:07:59.981-04:00I wouldn't say they're not a problem to ps...I wouldn't say they're not a problem to psychologists, but they relate more to bioethics than to psychology because, as you say, its hard to operationalise something so internal whereas ethicists must use psychology to infer their conclusions, even from poorly defined and easily abused constructs. The well-known mirror test for example fails, because psychopaths can self-recognise in a mirror yet lack other aspects of self-consciousnes such as internal dialogue (something that sounds to them as though it is schizophrenia or demonic possession.)<br /><br />In bioethics the fuzziness of consciousness gets abused so as to justify just about any ethical appeal. Its quite clear that when deciding upon the most ethical treatment of animals, separate standards and criteria are accidentally on purpose chosen to make a 'side' look more scientifically correct. Its hard not to be cynical when people talk about 'consciousness' even though there exists demonstrable difference between general anaesthesia and full awareness, and I wish it would be downplayed a bit more in ethics.Bones and Behavioursnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-56639830433088283552014-06-19T19:02:31.757-04:002014-06-19T19:02:31.757-04:00I knew of but have not read the book, but I think ...I knew of but have not read the book, but I think that's the general issue. We personally are not knowingly over-stressing sentience in that we are simply fascinated by the idea of problem-solving ability and purposiveness, or 'intelligence', without self-awareness and (to me) it's because we can't personally experience it very well, though we know we can drive our car and so on without explicit conscious awareness. In people we often have discussions with, one issue is whether animal food species are sentient and whether there is an ethical issue about how we treat or kill them. Maybe among psychologists these things are not a problem.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-76012479458380148612014-06-19T17:51:15.869-04:002014-06-19T17:51:15.869-04:00It is true that the concept of intelligence is ill...It is true that the concept of intelligence is ill-defined, but I think you are overstressing the role of sentience in typical psychological constructs of intelligence.<br /><br />I think I know what you're thinking of, its the kind of subject at the heart of Watts' Blindsight. Intelligence without the 'awareness' we take for granted, right?<br /><br />http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts/PeterWatts_Blindsight.pdfBones and Behavioursnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-3121819198901842262014-06-19T13:07:09.541-04:002014-06-19T13:07:09.541-04:00I personally think the issue is semantic and ultim...I personally think the issue is semantic and ultimately boils down to whether one thinks the organism is 'aware' or 'self-aware' or, basically, 'conscious'. If that is the issue about what is 'intelligent', it is really a matter of definitions that we currently have no way to test in terms of whether they mean what we think they mean....and they mean different things to different people. Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-41299836199778971152014-06-19T12:58:50.371-04:002014-06-19T12:58:50.371-04:00Why would most psychologists not credit crows with...Why would most psychologists not credit crows with intelligence? Crows and other birds actually are assessed by psychometrics. For such measures to apply to crows they must have intelligence as is normally defined.<br /><br />As for Manoj's link about the chimps, it would be interesting to see whether hunter foragers have higher memorisation skills than ours. Out in environments such as the Aussie outback or the Kalahari I'd expect memory to be much more important for human survival than it is for us.Bones and Behavioursnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-36240623855039519302014-06-17T19:10:22.880-04:002014-06-17T19:10:22.880-04:00Amazing. But I don't buy the evolutionary exp...Amazing. But I don't buy the evolutionary explanation -- why would we have lost the ability, if it's 'for' assessing dangerous situations or finding food? Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-14199183874628928962014-06-17T18:59:31.261-04:002014-06-17T18:59:31.261-04:00http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/02...http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/02/can-you-beat-chimpanzee-in-memory-test.htmlManoj Samantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04264467983614167240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-71066166902356911792014-06-17T08:22:47.587-04:002014-06-17T08:22:47.587-04:00Excellent post. Thank you. Shared on G+Excellent post. Thank you. Shared on G+Kenny A. Chaffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594992494662507238noreply@blogger.com