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Bird. Birdy birdy... bird bird.

Bird.

tiger. tiger tiger.

bird.

Whoopty fuckin do...a bird saw itself in a mirror. OMG isn't it amazing! Everyone quick, call CNN. Birds see themselves in mirrors, it completely changes everything we think we know about...well...everything. Maybe humans aren't as smart as we all thought. Maybe chickens aren't really happy. Maybe parakeets need real love too, the kind of love that a priest can feel for a boy child.
You know what I watched a fish swimming toward the side of its tank suddenly turn around and go in another direction. it was amazing...completely blew my mind. Quick call Fox news. Also, I saw a centipede jump in startled suprise, when my mother entered the room with it. Proof of a higher intellegence, quick give it a math test and call Dateline NBC.

(This sacrcasm was brought to you by the letters J-O-S and H)

see, the thing is, scientists are a stodgy lot, set in their ways and tending toward making sweeping classifications regarding a topic until something comes along to prove their classification incorrect.

animal thought has long been a subject of controversy. hell, it has taken years to convice science that people have thoughts (ex: early behaviorists). and complex thought... well, the idea in science is to assume the simplest, percievable, and reproducable answer available. why say something is thinking, when you could just say it is following a set program? the program is a more simple explanation.

and while some scientists prefer to think of humans in this fashion, most are forced, at least in part, to acknowledge things like independent thought, sentience, communication, etc. after all, they do it, and others interact with them and tell them they see themselves in the mirror. but animals can't do this, thus anything an animal does that might display human traits is veiewed with much more skepticism. and prejudice, as even if an animal "passes the test" so to speak, it still doesn't measure up if it doesn't pass it the same exact way as a human (thus the article's reference to the idea that certain brain pathways were required for self-awareness).

basically, this is important because it could signal some shifting in the scientific community regarding the working of the brain, and of evolutionary pathways. this is a good thing, as it will likely allow for greater understanding.

Crows here is a interesting video

Holy cheezits! crows are amazing!