[mark your calendars ... I can *and will* return to ranting on my soapbox in just two weeks]
... don't count out the animal kingdom just yet.
Sure ... sure ... we allegedly sit at the apex (well, those of us who aren't allergic to bee stings, that is) ... but more and more studies show that we're not alone in our intelligence (emotional or otherwise).
The latest study to be released took New Caledonian crows (who had already proven that they too are adept at making tools) and demonstrated that they could remove the classification of "fable" from Aesop's "Crow and the Pitcher" tale. According to the study's findings, meat in tubes too far out of reach were made accessible when the crows dropped pebbles into the tube filled with water (instead of sand) and even knew enough to drop pebbles instead of floating pieces of rubber.
I know sometimes that I'm too quick to anthropomorphise an animal or two ... but demonstrating cognitive theory like this is starting down the path to reconsidering our role in this kingdom. And with physics no less ... something I barely understood as a senior in high school!
LITTLE BY LITTLE DOES THE TRICK (FORTUNE COOKIE STYLE ... ADD IN BED):
http://www.aesopfables.com/cgi/aesop1.cgi?sel&TheCrowandthePitcher2
CROWS AND PHYSICS 101:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/science/the-moral-aesop-knew-something-about-crows.html?_r=0
NO OFFENSE TO THOSE ALLERGIC TO BEE STINGS INTENDED:
http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com/2012/05/08/allergic-reaction-to-bee-stings/
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