Animal Intelligence

I’m back from vacation, and have just posted the following as this site’s “about” page.

This is a weblog about animal intelligence. Its premise is that the birds and beasts are smarter than most people credit, that they’re capable of leading rich emotional lives.

I do not believe that animals possess human intelligence. That is not to say that humans are smarter (though this may be true), but that each type of animal has its own thought processes, its own means of evaluating the world. Comparing intelligence across species is a tricky thing.

A couple of important notes:

• I am not a vegetarian.
• I am not an animal-rights activist.

Though I respect both camps, these are not choices I have made for myself. (Though I toy with the idea of vegetarianism.) How do I reconcile my personal choices with my belief that animals are intelligent? I don’t. Cognitive dissonance, my friend, cognitive dissonance. (And an uncomfortable thing it is, too, especially each January when my wife and I hold our annual Ham Feast.)

Animal Intelligence will feature copious quantities of animal stupidity, too. And, because I think it’s a similar topic, I’ll mention feral children from time-to-time. (See the entry coming Monday.)

Basically, if it’s about animals, I’ll publish it. Send me your stuff! If you find something that would work well on this site, drop me a line.