According to scientists, even the most highly developed of the birds can solve a well-defined range of tasks: for more they lack creativity.
There is a famous Aesop fable about the crow and the pitcher of water: the pitcher was not comprehensive, and to drink, crows began to throw stones into the pitcher, raising the water level.In recent years, the story is as though more and more evidence: zoologists found that corvids may use tools able to plan their actions, and even understand the language of other birds.Finally, in an experiment with water and floating on its surface was able to see the food, what Aesop said: bird threw various objects in the water as long as there have not been able to get food.
And yet, is believed by researchers from Cambridge (UK), a bird's thinking is very different from the human.The researchers repeated the experiment with a jug and water, just outside of the birds involved in it more and children from 4 to 10 years.And the experiment itself was also more complexity;.In the first case, in one jar was water in the second - sawdust.On the surface of the water or sawdust lying badge that children could be exchanged for a toy.It was necessary to get to the medal.
In the second experiment, it was necessary to understand that it is better to throw in a jug with water - heavy stones or cork balls that did not sink in the water.
Finally, a third option was the most difficult.Children appeared in front of three vessels, two of which were connected like communicating.In one of the communicating vessels could not throw anything, but prize it still was.To get it, ought to throw stones into another vessel.The third "jar" has been usual - the same as in other experiments.The task was complicated by the fact that the bottom of the vessel did not see the children, that is about the hidden mechanics could only guess.
In each embodiment children made five attempts, two minutes each.As expected, the older children were more savvy: eight-year solved all three tasks on the first try.Younger needed more attempts to reach the reward.But, as the researchers wrote in a Web journal PLoS ONE, human approach in all cases different from the bird.The same experiments were performed with Jay.The very first "Aesop" is involved experiments jays and rooks: they both successfully perform simple tasks, where you had to just throw stones in a container of water.
This time the bird by trial and error overcame the first two experiments (with sawdust and cork balls), but it is hopelessly stuck in third.This, the researchers believe, lies the fundamental difference between human thinking from the "almost human" thinking of birds.Birds retreat from the problem, if you do not understand what was going on, if the mechanism is hidden from them.The human brain, on the contrary, continues to look for a solution, even if what is happening is counter-intuitive: we do not understand how it works, but it works, and this is important.In other words, children begin the task without being constrained ideas about what to eat, how it should be.And this, by the way, the key to successful learning: this allows the brain impartiality acquire new knowledge, even if they are at odds with everyday experience.
can say that a bird - a "narrow specialists", which are perfectly adapted to solve a certain limited number of issues.Here, however, you will notice that people over time gradually turn into a bird's condition - who is faster, someone slower.As for the birds themselves, then most likely, the results can be extended to all the birds.While it may be worthwhile to repeat the experiments on their main "experts" - New Caledonian crow, and Grey parrots.
Articles Source: compulenta.ru
