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- Title
Parrot "understands" zero.
- Abstract
This article cites a study according to which the walnut sized brain of the African gray parrot may actually be capable of comprehending abstract mathematical concepts. The bird seems to understand a numerical concept akin to zero--an abstract notion that humans don't typically understand until they are three or four years old. Alex, the 28-year-old parrot who lives in a Brandeis University lab, run by cognitive scientist Irene Pepperberg, spontaneously and correctly used the label "none" during a testing session of his counting skills to describe an absence of a numerical quantity on a tray. Alex is the first bird to demonstrate an understanding of the absence of a numerical set. Pepperberg was quick to dispel any notions that the behavior was the result purely of training. Alex has a zero-like concept; it's not identical to that of humans but he repeatedly showed that he understands an absence of quantity. The findings of the research were published in the "Journal of comparative Psychology."
- Subjects
AFRICAN gray parrot; ZERO (The number); PEPPERBERG, Irene; BIRD training; LEARNING in animals; PARROTS
- Publication
Journal of College Science Teaching, 2005, Vol 35, Issue 1, p18
- ISSN
0047-231X
- Publication type
Article