Animal Architects: Building and the Evolution of Intelligence - Hardcover

Gould, James L.; Gould, Carol Grant

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465027822 ISBN 13: 9780465027828

Publisher: Basic Books, 2007

Synopsis

Animal behavior has long been a battleground between the competing claims of nature and nurture, with the possible role of cognition in behavior as a recent addition to this debate. There is an untapped trove of behavioral data that can tell us a great deal about how the animals draw from these neural strategies: The structures animals build provide a superb window on the workings of the animal mind. Animal Architects examines animal architecture across a range of species, from those whose blueprints are largely innate (such as spiders and their webs) to those whose challenging structures seem to require intellectual insight, planning, and even aesthetics (such as bowerbirds' nests, or beavers' dams). Beginning with instinct and the simple homes of solitary insects, James and Carol Gould move on to conditioning; the “cognitive map” and how it evolved; and the role of planning and insight. Finally, they reflect on what animal building tells us about the nature of human intelligence-showing why humans, unlike many animals, need to build castles in the air.

About this title

About the Author

James L. Gould is Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University and one of the world's leading experts in animal behavior. With science writer Carol Grant Gould he has written The Animal Mind, Sexual Selection, and The Honey Bee, all considered classic books on animal behavior for lay audiences. They live in Princeton, New Jersey. Science writer Carol Grant Gould and James L. Gould have written The Animal Mind, Sexual Selection, and The Honey Bee, all considered classic books on animal behavior for lay audiences. They live in Princeton, New Jersey.

Reviews

In order to elucidate the thought processes of animals-and those processes' evolution-the Goulds (The Animal Mind) consider those animals' egg caches, cocoons, webs, nests and other structures. According to the authors, "complex nervous systems exist to make sense of the world"; therefore, by examining the material construction sprung from those nervous systems, one can begin to understand how those systems function. It makes a fascinating journey, with plenty of surprises. Beginning with the simplest structures of ants, wasps and bees, the authors introduce concepts of neural mapping to show what levels of brain complexity are necessary for the construction of such structures. Distinguishing instinctual neural program from questions of spontaneity and creativity, the Goulds suggest that creatures as small as wasps can react with spontaneous problem solving behaviors. The creativity of bower birds and beavers is more astounding: the former is known to build and decorate "maypoles," clearly demonstrating aesthetic sense; and the latter display abstract reasoning, and even insight, in the maintenance and repair of their lodges, dams and canals. This book is filled with fascinating vignettes illuminating the intelligence capabilities of species us humans would like to think of as inferior; again and again, the Goulds show that human beings aren't necessarily the smartest kids in class.
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The Goulds (he's a leading animal behavior expert, and she is a science writer) present an eye-opening survey of an underappreciated facet of animal life--the building skills of insects, birds, and mammals. Because most animal architecture is hidden from human view, we are unaware of the extent of animal ingenuity, so the revelatory tour the Goulds conduct elicits one wow after another. They dissect the sophisticated construction and elegant aesthetics of coral reefs, webs, cocoons, hives, nests, dams, lodges, and towers, marveling at the resourcefulness of animals in terms of the materials they produce and collect, the tools they fashion, and the "astonishing complexity" of their structures. They also dispel the old assumption that animals are simply programmed to build, creating out of instinct. Instead, as painstakingly gathered evidence reveals, animals invent new skills to solve problems and communicate their intentions. As our ancestors knew, there is much to be learned from other species, especially now as we endeavor to create ecologically sound human architecture and technologies. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465027822
• ISBN 13: 9780465027828
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336