I always wanted a pet bulldog, ever since I was a wee engineer. A slobbery, wide-eyed stubby little bag of meat I could call my own. Of course, whenever I asked my cross-armed-foot-putting-downer mom, she refused to provide.
Luckily, that fix came about four years ago, thanks to my favorite television program, Rob & Big. The show's highlight was almost always their bulldog, Meaty. His lovable demeanor and silly hijinks had me rolling on the floor every week.
At times, Meaty seemed smarter than his owner, and in that statement lies a scary thought.
Are dogs smart? Can our furry friends think? Do pets trotting around campus this Spring Quarter question their surroundings?
Most everyone could think of at least one instance where an animal seemed to completely outsmart them. Is that simply human tendency to impose human characteristics onto everything relevant in our lives? Or are animals really solving long division problems and playing us for fools?
This remains an important topic for debate, because the possible cognitive abilities of animals could influence and change our day-to-day lives. If they can think, it would change the way farmers treat livestock and redefine animal rights.
German philosopher Martin Heidegger argued that unlike inanimate objects, animals die like humans. However, animals are not self aware of death and therefore cannot fully understand the meaning of existence.
Scientists remain inconclusive in their animal behavior studies. In several experiments, they trained animals to differentiate between objects, solve simple mathematical calculations and ride bicycles.
In other scenarios, scientists present animals with a task or obstacle they must overcome. Experiments assess the natural thinking capabilities of our friends in the animal kingdom.
For example, in a multitude of experiments carried out in the 1920s, scientists placed a monkey in a room with a banana bunch hanging down from the ceiling. Despite the monkey's valiant efforts, he could not reach the delectable bananas. The kicker was that a host of crates also sat in the room, which the monkey took full advantage of.
Eventually, he stacked the crates together and quickly ate his delicacy.
Eat your heart out, Lassie.
Unlike other experiments done with primates, there was no repetitive training and zero outside hints from scientists. The monkey gathered information and drew conclusions - a process we call thinking.
Animals have quite a knack for evaluating different problems and finding new solutions. Monkeys use twigs to probe termite nests and eat any termites unfortunate enough to grab onto the branch. Lions hunt in packs and work together as a team to take down prey. Beavers build dams. Cats have even walked hundreds of miles to find their owners.
The previous examples have been around for quite some time, and many wonder if these remarkable feats are really what one would call cognitive thought.
Perhaps monkeys have an innate ability to stack things together. Maybe a mouse swiping cheese from a trap was pure luck.
And it's possible Meaty learned to skateboard from mimicking his skateboarding owner. You cannot really call this instinct, because few dogs manufacture skateboards. Whether or not a bulldog has the genetic ability to nose grind is still debatable.
When you break down the argument, the fact that animals are capable of a wide variety of skills shifts the squabble. Instead of concluding their behavior does not rely on thought, maybe something else going on.
No longer would anyone debate animal rights or the moral implications of mistreating them for personal use. Sound evidence is present, but the majority of the public remains unconvinced.
But as researchers continue analyzing and developing more concrete data, the way people think is changing. We are moving from believing animals cannot comprehend their environment to acknowledging they have at least some simple thoughts.
Thoughts that are not too different from our own.
Luis Delgadillo is a sophomore studying chemical engineering and Thursday columnist for The Post. If Timmy is stuck in a well, send Luis an e-mail at ld199907@ohiou.edu
4 Opinion
Luis Delgadillo
