You could set up monastery* where you wrap the science with sufficient doctrine to attract great devotees. Their real mission?, selectively breed intelligent crows. Then vary the methods and open 10 more monasteries. That would speed things up or fail in interesting ways.
* A conventional research lab won't do.
Not grad students who would only give 5 years to the cause.
While a fun idea, I think we are already breading intelligent crows.
Human trash provides high energy food, good for developing and supporting large brains. And the urban landscape is a complex environment with many dangers, but high reward for the curious and smart bird.
Actually, urban environments are probably a lot safer for birds than the wilderness. Unlike predator species, humans in cities don't actively hunt birds. In fact many people feed them. Buildings also provide really good shelter.
I've seen crows in Berlin on multiple occasions dropping chestnuts on the road near traffic lights, wait until they are cracked open by cars driving over them, then picking up the marrow when the traffic light goes red. Probably not as advanced as tool usage but still impressive to watch.
I wonder whether it was discovered independently, or if it has been communicated somehow. Or maybe they've "always" done this, except with horses before cars.
Amazing. In Berlin, the crows are mostly grey 'hooded crows' (Nebelkraehe in German), they seem to have displaced the pigeons that were common 5 to 10 years ago.
When there are no cars, the strategy is to simply drop them from high onto a hard surface (such as a road). They always fly off with their nuts when I try to help though..
Lots of crows and walnut trees in my 'hood. When I see a crow drop a nut into the street when I'm out and about, I walk over and crush it. I'm hoping someday they'll recognize me and start dropping near me when I'm walking :-)
It isn't new. It's probably older than man. Birds drop seashells onto rocks to break them open, something you don't need roads for. Car's parked at my local dog beach are constantly under attack from mussel-wielding crows.
But placing the shells on the road for the cars to squash. That's new.
Tool-using and tool-building are arbitrary distinctions. Once upon a time scientists thought there was some magic deciding line between man and beast, some key element found in us and no other animal. We now know that to be silly superstition.
Intelligence is a multi-spectrum gradient. Our brains are better at calculus, but a crow's brain can adjust for crosswind on landing better than any topgun veteran. To say one animal is smarter or more able than another speaks only of the adopted standard and says nothing of innate intelligence.
My understanding is that tools are things used as a way to achieve an objective. Nests would BE the objective, aka shelter. Thus, an ant hill would not be considered a tool.
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[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 63.2 ms ] threadYou'll know when this happens.
* A conventional research lab won't do.
Not grad students who would only give 5 years to the cause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0
I wonder whether it was discovered independently, or if it has been communicated somehow. Or maybe they've "always" done this, except with horses before cars.
But placing the shells on the road for the cars to squash. That's new.
cough
Intelligence is a multi-spectrum gradient. Our brains are better at calculus, but a crow's brain can adjust for crosswind on landing better than any topgun veteran. To say one animal is smarter or more able than another speaks only of the adopted standard and says nothing of innate intelligence.