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Rooked!
The BBC reports ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8181233.stm ) about clever rooks.
A feel-warm-and-cozy story.
Until the last paragraph:
"The birds were extremely accurate, using the exact number of stones needed to raise the worm to a height where they could reach it."
Not true!
Or, it being Friday and I'm in a good mood, Misleading.
The paragraph suggests that the rooks were clever enough to "work out" the number of stones required to float the worm to the top, and I feel certain that the scientists did not make that mistake.
The rooks continued to add stones, one stone at a time, until the work was within reach.
One could build a robot that did that from parts obtainable at the local electronics store.
No counting required at all.
Just keep on mindlessly dropping stones in until the worm was within reach, then grab the worm.
I'm not saying that there is intelligence (defined as "Devising a solution to achieve a goal"), but I'd argue against and counting method, beyond recognizing a single stone!
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Toronto and Mississauga, Thursday, March 18, 2010 7:20 PM
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