Synthesize

Reporter: Today we are lucky to have with us two animal experts, Temple
Grandin and Gita Simonsen. They are both especially interested in the question
of animal intelligence. Ms. Grandin, how would you define animal intelligence?
Temple Grandin: Let me start by saying that many people confuse extreme
perception with intelligence. Many animals have extreme perception at least
compared to humans, but that alone no determine the animal be intelligent. I
think seizure alert dogs are a good example of animal intelligence because they
use their extreme perception figure out when someone is going to have a
seizure. This is not something they need to do or have been taught to do, but
something that they decide to do. This is what shows intelligence.
Gita Simonsen: I definitely agree that seizure alert dogs are showing
intelligence, but, in my opinion, what can be considered intelligence in animals
differs from species to species.
Reporter: How can animal intelligence be assessed?
Temple Grandin: One problem that we have in assessing animal intelligence is
that We too often use human standard to asses animal’s intelligence.
Gita Simonsen: Yes, I agree. For example, those animals that are able to
imitate human’s behavior and show human like traits are thought to be
intelligent
Temple Grandin: In the case of the "counting" horse, Clever Hans, many
people judged him to be intelligent when he was able to correctly solve
mathematical problems. However, as soon as they realized that he was getting
unconscious cues from the audience, he was considered as a “dumb animal”. I
don't agree with them. I think Clever Hans was showing intelligence because he
was able invent a job for himself.
Gita Simonsen: That's a good point. However, let me say one more thing about
the problems with assessing animal intelligence. Because for human’s
intelligence is so linked to language, the fact that we don't understand animal
language, makes it very hard to accurately assess their intelligence.
Reporter: Are all of these apparently amazing things that animals are capable
of doing really a sign of intelligence, or are there other explanations for their
actions?
Temple Grandin: Sometimes there are other explanations. For example,
forensic dogs that work at airports looking for explosives or illegal drugs have
been trained to develop “extreme perception”.
Gita Simonsen: Yes, similarly, a recent test of intelligence across species
(including humans) found bees to be smarter than all other species including
humans. However, the explanation might not be intelligence, but rather an
instinct that allowed them to outscore everyone on the test.