This is such a fascinating topic, and I loved the anecdotes
and descriptions of experiments that show hints of what animal cognition means.
Though the concepts and processes the author explained were
very interesting and enlightening, at times it got a bit too repetitive, philosophical,
or historical for my tastes, and I wished he'd show more concrete examples of
the concepts he was expounding on. That said, the concrete examples he did
describe were fascinating.
I loved the discussion of how to create an experiment that
really tests what you're trying to test, and doesn't get caught in the filter
of your own world view. Proper
experiment construction has to be one of the hardest and most important parts
of science. I think too often we construct
tests that are designed to give us the results we want or expect—not just in
science, but in statistics, politics, business, and life in general.
I learned a lot and began to think about animal cognition
in a slightly different way.
I would read more by Frans De Waal.
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