Pet intelligence wank
The Guardian: Cats outsmarted in psychologist's test.

You can imagine how well this goes with the readers. Besides the predictable flood of pet owner butthurt and anecdotes of clever / stupid cats / dogs / mice / owls, there are plenty of genuinely funny comments as well as a side wank on the validity of test methods and statistics, obligatory calls to talk about world hunger instead or discuss the intelligence of various nationalities, and, naturally, Hitler and his pets make a bonus appearance. I think one could play classical wank bingo in here, but some of the stories make it all worthwhile.

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keiji_miashin
2009-06-19 06:59 pm UTC (link)

The one thing I truly dislike about studies like these (and most animal studies) is the assumption that all cats are created equal.

Because 15 individuals obviously will account for a species covering nearly the whole globe.

Good studies on humans take into account economic status, upbringing, environment, etc.

All the same elements can be applied to animals. All the things that can degenerate intelligence (neglect, abuse, etc.) or increase intelligence (games, interaction, social environment) in humans do the same for animals.

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	tetradecimal 2009-06-20 12:57 am UTC (link)
	There's also the problem of defining what intelligence is. Is it the ability to retrieve objects from sticks? Recognize musical notes? Refrain from embarrassing yourself on the internet? And now, the most important question of all: Who's a good kitty? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

sisterelwood
2009-06-20 01:21 am UTC (link)

That's exactly what I was thinking. Any more, the idea of measuring IQ seems to be considered incomplete if you're looking to evaluate a human. I have to think that other animals would have a similar issue with measuring intelligence because there are different types of intelligence. That's the wonderful thing about evolution- animals developed skills bed suited for their environment.

As for who's a good kitty- I have it on good authority (Jack and Creegan) that all kitties are good kitties. I think they might be bias, though.

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