http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/weekinreview/16john.html?em&ex=1190088000&en=f80cef9b8cc5723e&ei=5070
Alex the African gray parrot is extremely fascinating. I think that every child wants to believe that their pet really knows what they are saying and has feelings just like everyone else, but it amazing that Dr. Pepperberg was so close to proving that Alex had inner life. The fact that this bird had inner life instead of just following comands is significant. It is absolutely amazing that this bird could follow and understand commands and even answer questions about the objects in front of him. The article tells about a time where Dr. Pepperberg tries to teach the parrot phonemes using colored tokens marked with the letter combinations like sh and ch. When asked "What sound does green make?" the parrot answered correctly by making the sound written on the green token. This not only shows that the parrot can repeat sounds and words but it can learn these sounds, colors, and words. The parrot was doing more than simply memorizing all of these things, it wass learning to think on its own when asked a question.
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2 comments:
Jennifer,
This is a good entry! Be sure to include your owm opinions about each article.
I also think this is pretty amazing. I have only had one interaction with a large bird like that which was a green winged macaw while I was managing at a pet store in Michigan. Although the bird was very young, a year and a half, it was incredibly smart and was learning and picking up different sayings and sounds during its stay. It reminded me of a small child, who learns to talk by picking up things that those around it are saying. The bird knew different commands and instructions and really had a personality, which is kinda wild and so amazing to think about.
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