Parrot understands concept akin to zero

[emad]

Parrot understands concept akin to zero

A Brandeis University researcher in Massachusetts has shown that an African grey parrot understands a numerical concept akin to zero.

Zero is an abstract notion that humans don't typically understand until ages 3 or 4.

Alex, a 28-year-old African grey parrot, lives in the lab run by comparative psychologist and cognitive scientist Dr. Irene Pepperberg. The parrot 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.

The discovery prompted a series of trials in which Alex consistently demonstrated the ability to identify zero quantity by saying the label "none."

http://www.physorg.com/news5049.html

[Birthmark]

1. Bah! That's nothing!

[warrens]

2. That's pretty cool

Those things are brilliant. I wish I had gotten one when I was younger. They live so long that getting one in middle age means it will be orphaned and they tend to bond with only one person.