Science Writing Tries to Smash Human Exceptionalism

Africa, Amanda Richardson, animal behavior, antiquity, BBC News, Bronze Age, chimpanzees, Claire Asher, Côte D’Ivoire, Culture & Ethics, England, Homo sapiens, human exceptionalism, human mind, humans, Ice Age, Merlin, metal tools, monkeys, Neuroscience & Mind, New Stone Age, paleontology, polar bears, Royal BC Museum, Salisbury, Stone Age, stone tools, vultures, walruses
Stone tool use among animals versus the Stone Age provides a useful illustration of the tendency. Source
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By Using Floor Buttons, Can Dogs Talk?

abstractions, animal behavior, Bunny (dog), Carl Sagan, chimpanzees, confirmation bias, crows, Dogs, emotions, floor buttons, gibberish, humans, language, Life Sciences, marine biologists, Neuroscience & Mind, puppies, Sarah Sloat, Scientific American, sheepadoodle, Stephanie Pappas, Thomas Fudge, TikTok, Washington State, wolves
The latest fad in the “Talk to the animals” arena appears to be a classic in confirmation bias. Source
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Are Birds Really Smarter than Reptiles?

animal behavior, babies, birds, brain size, brain volume, cognitive capacity, Cornell University, cuckoo, Diane Colombelli-Négrel, eggs, facial recognition, fairy wrens, intelligence, Intelligent Design, lemurs, lizards, Malurus cyaneus, neurons, Neuroscience & Mind, Pavel Němec, penguins, reptiles, The Scientist
Scientists clash over how to measure animal intelligence: brain volume, brain organization, numbers of neurons…? Source
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For Evolution, Monarch Butterfly Migration Is a Mystery

animal behavior, antennae, biology, butterflies, Canada, circadian clock, compound eyes, Danaus plexippus, Evolution, genomes, Intelligent Design, latitude, magnetic compass, Mexico, migration, milkweed, monarch butterfly, navigation, neurobiology, Stonehenge, sun compass, United States
It typically takes up to three generations of butterflies to make the complete journey. This means that the navigation information is genetically programmed. Source
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