What is smart made of? I tend to assume that brain size and complexity are the determining factors in the level of intelligence a living thing displays. What, then, do we make of this this:
Fish are socially intelligent creatures who do not deserve their reputation as the dim-wits of the animal kingdom, according to a group of leading scientists. Rather than simply being instinct-driven, the group says fish are cunning, manipulative and even cultured.The scientists added: "Although it may seem extraordinary to those comfortably used to pre-judging animal intelligence on the basis of brain volume, in some cognitive domains, fishes can even be favourably compared to non-human primates."
Now this might just be hyperbole, or a kind of defensive pride deriving from affection. People can be awfully fond of fish. Just a few weeks ago, I was staying at a Resort in Estes Park, Colorado, where I failed miserably in all my attempts at trout fishing. I finally concluded that the manager of the resort, to whom I turned for angling advice, was actually trying to protect the fish from me by giving me all these bizarre tips, e.g.,
"Try corn niblets! Works every time!"
On the other hand, maybe the trout are so smart that they somehow got to the guy. Maybe he didn't even realize that these fishing tips were coming from the trout.
Even if they're not quite that smart, the notion that fish are a lot more intelligent than we thought is an intriguing one. Perhaps there are some things that we can learn about human (and even machine?) intelligence from studying them more closely.
via KurzweilAI.net
Posted by Phil at September 9, 2003 09:15 AM | TrackBack