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Anonymous
how intelligent are animals? do you think they can be aware of stuff at all really? or is it all mostly reflexes to stimuli? after all they do have memory at least, since your dog still remembers you when you get home, and the cat finds its way back home
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
There are mainly two types of ways of thinking of animal intelligence: the other is to assume that they are more human-like than they really are and the other is to think they're completely unlike us, basically reacting machines. Both are wrong.

Also, emotions and intelligence are two different things. While cats and dogs are not going to be contemplating the essence of reality, they have the same basic brain areas as we have to process emotion. That is to say, they might not think much like us, but they at least have the hardware (wetware?) to feel much like us.
>> Anonymous
Two postulates: There is no creator and there is no soul.

All mammals had a common ancestor about 100mya. The only thing that separates us from the animals is a brain capable of speech and complex reasoning. For this reason, I think that animals are a lot more like us than most people accept, or at least that they aren't just machines like Descartes thought. They're basically extremely dumb people. They feel tired, hungry, happy, sad, pain, pleasure, and fear. They love their young, laugh (Literally. Look up rat laughter), and play.

Some animals like dolphins, elephants, and apes can recognize themselves in a mirror, suggesting that they ARE capable of understanding reality and who they are. Most other animals aren't as smart, but can still learn from their environment, retain knowledge, and be trained to use tools (some of them).

Read: http://ratfanclub.org/nonfiction.html
>> Anonymous
I don't know about intelligence, but this new fucker rabbit that I got wakes me up every goddamn morning at 6 AM, so I will feed him. He jumps in my bed and today he scratched me until I gave signs that I was alive. Rabbits are called stupid, but this little fucker sure knows what to do to get what he wants.
>> Anonymous
>>310864
once animals get into a routine they don't like to variate from it. some animals have basic rudimentary intelligence but have the capacity to learn (ie dogs and cats and some rodents and birds). Through evolution animals like some parrots, elephants, some seals, dolphins, apes and pigs have larger brain cavities allowing for more advanced brains and therefore have learned how to use tools and common knowledge to help them survive. the more primitive the animal, the more instinctive the thought process is.
>> Anonymous
>>310863
You know, humans have a THROAT capable of speech. Apes on the other hand have brains that would be capable of speech if they had throats to produce it. That's why they can learn to sign. It's even less certain if there is any such difference between humans and dolphins, as dolphins do have a language, they just don't use same sort of vocalizations as we do.
>> Anonymous
Isn't it awesome that there are apes out there capable of carrying on a conversation with a person using sign langauge?
>> Anonymous
The one emotion I'm always fascinated over is the jealousy I see in my 2 cats over eachother. It seems like a complex emotion.
>> Anonymous
Many animals are much more intelligent then we give them credit for, I have had rats, dogs, ferrets, cats, and birds all of which showed complex emotions(envy, concern) and have all worked out ways to do things the way a small child would (i.e. open lever door handles, open drawers to use them as steps to get somewhere higher). Then there is all the evidence of animals learning sign language, parrots learning speech, shapes, colors, etc.
>> Anonymous
>>310892

Even then, this is mostly an illusion. Apes can sign responses to objects and activities and sensations, but they do not have "language" in terms of comprehension of grammar.

There have been a lot of studies on this, and most of them say flat out that no, there is no grammar, and the few that do have a lot of questionable issues with them if you read thru the independant reviews of them.
>> Anonymous
>>310940
Ah, I see you are not following your time. The latest study just went on to show that the old claims of apes not being capable of using language in a human way is bogus. They are capable of actually holding conversations with humans and getting what they want through the use of language:
http://www.physorg.com/news139161961.html
>> Anonymous
did you read about that artistic monkey? they gave it a pen and paper and let it draw pictures, and it drew pictures of its cages bars! ROFL
>> Anonymous
chickens are actually really smart too. there was a recent study at the macquarie university in australia, and apparently chicken's clucks each have a certain meaning. And they can learn by watching others on a TV screen. And they can use a litterbox and come when called.

I personally have four pet chickens (not to eat, just for pets). they're so cuddly. its nice to know theyre smart, too.
>> Anonymous
i saw on discovery how they train some pigs to play videogames using the mouth to move the joystick, and if they scored in the game they got some chocolate

after some training they became fucken awesome gamers! fun shit!
>> Anonymous
The list of animals that pass the mirror test of self-awareness is pretty weird. Apes, dolphins, elephants, grey parrots and magpies make sense, since all are animals with proportionally large brains and known complex cognitive functions, but that pigeons pass it too is just odd. Not only that, pigeons are better at recongizing their own image on video than 3 year old children.