Authoring, Researching, Reporting and other Work

Learning On-Line by Howard Taylor  

Articles to be used with the Intelligence Theme Project

Article #1--Study finds fish have personality

By Tom Spear , CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen

Published: Monday, November 26, 2007.     This article is by a Canadian person who uses English spellings of a few words.  See if you can find the words.

OTTAWA -- Fish have personalities. Ordinary Canadian brook trout exhibit different traits: some social, and others are not. Some are risk-takers, others are scaredy-fishes, and the list goes on.

University of Guelph scientists noticed the different personalities as they sat by and ran them through six days of personality tests in the lab, and even some swimming tests.

And the revelation suggests an answer to an old question: How can different species, with different types of behaviour, evolve from a single starting point?

A school of colorful Parrotfish cichlids swimming in a tank during an exhibition on July 14, 2003 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images

The idea of having personalities is starting to spread across our views of the whole animal kingdom, says Rob McLaughlin, the Guelph biologist who ran the study. This seems obvious in the case of dogs or chimpanzees, but less obvious among fish.

"We've known that out in the field, these young brook trout examine differences in their foraging behaviour – “what they're feeding on," he said.

In many lakes and rivers, there are two visibly different subgroups of the same fish species - a slower and fatter version near shore, and a sleeker, faster one out in open waters.

But the Credit River Brookies haven't reached that stage. They all looked the same, all living in a pool together, yet showing behaviour that differed. Some slower trout stayed near shore and hunted for tiny crustaceans while others rushed around in deeper water, picking insects off the surface.

Off the fish went to the Guelph aquarium for tests.

McLaughlin and student Alex Wilson found that the personalities stayed distinct even after the young fish, still just two to four centimeters long, left their natural homes.

For instance, he put the fish in a dark tube in the aquarium. The more active fish were always the ones that emerged into the main body of the tank first. They were more ready to take risks, and less afraid of unfamiliar objects in the water.

"What they do in the field predicts what they do in the lab," he said. "We were getting this sense that they perceive the environment differently, and the kind of things we measured are part of what people are starting to call personality traits in animals."

Most studies on species that subdivide, focus on groups that have already split from each other, he said.

"We were interested in, how does the split get started in the first place? There's this idea that you have these behaviourally flexible animals and they have an environment with different food types or habitats," and gradually they specialize to focus on one food type or habitat.

The study was published in a science journal called Animal Behaviour.

"The recognition that behavioural syndromes exist in a wide range of animal species is a key development in the understanding of animal behaviour," the journal says in an editorial. "The significance of these findings, and of other studies dealing with behavioural syndromes, is that we cannot assume that all animals in a population fit into precisely the same niche, or that they will all show the same degree of flexibility."

© CanWest News Service 2007

Questions to answer and things to do for G.E. students:

1.     This article is by a Canadian person who uses “English” spellings of a few words.  What are the correct English-spelled words in the article?

2.     The fishes were the same, but divided into two groups.  How did they differ?

3.     Why do you think the fishes divided into the two “behavioral” differing groups?

4.     What happened to the “baby” fishes when they were removed from the natural environment to the lab environment?  What did they do?

5.     What does “foraging behavior” mean, as described in this article?

6.     Do you think that animals like cold-blooded fishes have distinct personalities?

7.     List ten new words you read in this article and find the definition.

article #2--Monkey Helpers for the Disabled

Helping Hands:

          Monkey Helpers for the Disabled is a national nonprofit serving quadriplegic and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility-impairments by providing highly trained monkeys to assist with daily activities.

          We raise and train these monkeys to act as live-in companions who, over the course of 20-30 years, will provide the gifts of independence, companionship, dignity and hope to the people they help.

            Helping Hands also educates thousands of young people annually through the Spinal Cord Injury Prevention Program (SCIPP). SCIPP teaches preventive measures for safety awareness, heightens sensitivity to the challenges of being disabled, and promotes understanding of the human-animal bond.

WHAT ABOUT THE RHESUS MONKEY AND MAN’S INTELLIGENCE?

The Secret of Our (People’s) Success, the Most Successful Primates

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by the year 2050, the world’s human population will have quadrupled in size since 1950. You can find people almost anywhere on the globe and in all kinds of habitats, from the Inuit of the Arctic to the !Kung of the Kalahari Desert in Africa. Homo sapiens has clearly been the most successful of the more than three hundred primate species currently living on our planet, and it’s no secret that our big brains and sagacity helped facilitate our success.

By the same criteria of population size and geographic distribution, another very

successful primate on this planet is a monkey called the rhesus macaque. The rhesus macaque, however, is not one of the smartest primates. Other primates – the great apes - have bigger brains and are smarter than rhesus macaques, but unfortunately they are all on the brink of extinction. So being smart is not by itself a guarantee of success in this corner of the universe. There are different kinds of intelligence and different ways to use it.

Look in the Mirror and See What you See

Why rhesus macaques are the way they are is an interesting question, but the fact that human beings often act like rhesus macaques is even more interesting. Those readers who already see the monkey in the mirror may discover that this monkey looks more like a rhesus macaque than they ever thought possible, but they may not like what they see. Those who are used to seeing only themselves in the mirror will like it even less. Finally, for those who have never looked in the mirror at all, this may be a riveting place to start.

The Buddy Story

An adolescent rhesus macaque male has been captured by a group of researchers and taken into a dark concrete building for testing. He’s given a sedative and sleeps for a good hour on the floor of a cage. When the monkey’s eyes open, he stands up and drowsily assesses his location. More time goes by and the monkey is now alert, walking around in the cage, and looking anxious to get out of there.

A door is opened and the monkey darts out and back into the enclosure where the rest of the group lives. A hundred pairs of monkey eyes look at the newcomer for a second, and then look away. There’s no reason to be alarmed; it’s just Buddy. It was his turn today, and he’s back.

The older females go back to their grooming, the alpha male resumes his nap, infants continue to play on the jungle gym. Buddy’s favorite playmate walks up to him and seems eager to engage him. He pushes Buddy and then runs off, looking for a chase. But wait – Buddy isn’t coming. He fell on his side and is slowly getting back on his feet. Something’s wrong.

A hundred pairs of monkey eyes look at Buddy again. A tall and muscular subadult male, a bully, walks up to Buddy and stares him down. Buddy looks at him with a puzzled expression for a couple of seconds, and then turns his head away. The bully bites Buddy’s arm. Buddy screams in pain and runs away. But he is slow, too slow. The bully quickly catches up with him and bites him again, this time on his ear. More screaming occurs.

            Two other adolescents, Buddy’s playmate and an adult female, run toward Buddy, looking excited. Buddy runs away, but the two get him, and he’s on the ground again.   They are all over him, barking and screaming, grabbing his arms and face, and biting his fingers and tail.  Everything has happened quickly, but the researchers have been watching, and the moment they see Buddy fall awkwardly they know that they have to get him out as soon as possible.

The researchers catch him and put him in a cage by himself. He looks frightened but has no injuries. Two hours later he returns to the group. His playmate and another adolescent walk up to him and grab him. He grabs them back, and the three of them wrestle.

Then Buddy gets chased, but this time he runs quickly and is not caught. As he runs, he inadvertently bumps into a young infant and knocks him down. Immediately the infant’s mother arrives, picks the infant up, and threatens Buddy with a stare and a wide open mouth. Buddy shows his teeth to the mother and raises his tail, exposing his genitalia to any other monkey who might be behind him. Nothing else happens. The mother turns around and walks away. Buddy walks to the food pile, grabs an apple, and starts eating. No one pays attention to him now.

Buddy has spent every day of his life in the enclosure with all the other monkeys.  They all eat the same food and sleep under the same roof. Buddy’s family has low social status but there are other families below them in the hierarchy.

Buddy spends a lot of time with adolescents from other families and has been seen hanging out with older males and females as well. They were there when he was born. They held him and cuddled him when he was an infant. They have watched him grow, day by day, every day of his life.  Yet, that day, if the researchers had not taken Buddy out of the group, he would have been killed.      

His mother and aunts would have tried to protect him, but probably to no avail.  Buddy had not fully recovered from the anesthesia when he was first reintroduced into his group. The others could immediately tell there was something wrong with him.  He wasn’t running as quickly as usual. He didn’t respond to a threat with a submissive signal. He didn’t run back to his mother seeking protection. He was weak and vulnerable.

The behavior of the other monkeys changed swiftly and dramatically - from friendliness to intolerance, from play to aggression. Buddy’s vulnerability became an opportunity for others to settle an old score, improve their position in the dominance hierarchy, or eliminate a potential rival for good.

In rhesus macaque society, maintaining one’s social status, being tolerated by others, and ultimately surviving at all may depend on how quickly one runs and how effectively one uses the right signal, with the right individual,

at the right time.

A rhesus macaque can wake up one morning, feel a little drowsy, and find himself in danger of being killed by his best friends.

Human Intelligence and how we get along with Each Other

Imagine a society in which citizen’s walks around wanting to fight and argue with others for little reason. The citizens of this society -- some more than others -- must constantly watch their backs and avoid any situations that may lead their comrades to attack them.

Rhesus macaque society has a strong hierarchical structure and individuals of high status use their power against their subordinates without mercy.

Genuine altruistic behavior is shown only with one’s closest relatives and sometimes friends

Questions to answer and things to do for G.E. students:

1.  What are the physical characteristics of the rhesus macaque?    (body size, color, special physical characteristics, how they live in the natural environment, and how they do when raised by humans in captivity)

2.  When looking into a mirror at our own faces, why and how could we compare ourselves with a rhesus macaque?  Do we think this is an insult to our own intelligence and pride of being human? 

3.  Buddy was captured by human researchers and removed from his group.  He was given a sedative and for about an hour was asleep.  What happened to Buddy when he was returned to his group?   How do you think Buddy felt when 200 eyes were staring at him? 

4.  Why did his former friends become mean to him?

5.  Have you ever noticed human friends in your class or neighborhood acting funny toward another friend if something happened to them?   Describe something that could happen to you to cause you to be “picked on” by human friends.  What would you do to take care of this?

6.  What do these terms mean: “strong hierarchical structure;”  “individuals of high status;” subordinates; and “genuine altruistic behavior.”

7.  Do you think the rhesus macaque monkeys are happiest living in their own group or as a pet for a human?

Penn State University conducted research between 1996 and 1998. They showed that pigs can be taught to maneuver a modified joystick to move a cursor on a video monitor.

For rewards of M&M's, Skittles or Reese's Pieces, the pigs moved the cursor over to a target, then used the cursor to distinguish among scribbles drawn by the researcher's grandchild.
            The pigs were shown one scribble, then a few seconds later shown the same scribble along with a second. They used the joystick and cursor to distinguish between the scribble they had seen before and the one they were seeing for the first time.
The pigs learned these tasks within 5 to 10 attempts, "very quickly, as quickly as chimpanzees", said researcher Stanley Curtis, then professor of dairy and animal science and now an adjunct animal sciences professor at the University of Illinois.

 

But are pigs smarter than dogs?

       Both pigs and dogs are quite smart, says Brenda Coe, adjunct assistant professor of animal science, who helped Curtis in the initial stages of his work and also teaches dog behavior in a canine management class. But "intelligence" in animals is typically defined in a limited way, as the ability to learn what people try to teach them.

Questions to answer and things to do for G.E. students:

1. If you would get a pot-belly pig for a gift, what you do first in its’ training?
2. The pig needs to know that you are the one that provides all of his ___________?
3. Are the cute pot belly pigs always gentle and fun?  What can happen to them concerning food, that you must be aware of?
4. Describe how a pig can actually use a computer?  Do you think the pig knows what he is doing?  How many attempts on using the computer did the pig require to learn the skill?
5. Do pigs use a language?  Can humans learn the language? 
6. What is the two-letter word that a pig can learn to obey, and sometimes you nearly need to yell it?
7. What does “establish your dominance” mean concerning pig/human relationships and training of the pig?

ARTICLE #4--Brains, Behavior and Intelligence in Cetaceans
(Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises)

-                     Margaret Klinowska -Research Group in Mammalian Ecology and Reproduction,
Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge University

-                      

            Dolphin and porpoise brains are about the same size as humans, and they possess an amazing ability to learn and imitate. Much has been written about their intelligence and the consensus in the scientific community is that they have a level of intelligence comparable to humans. In hunting for prey, dolphins and porpoises use their developed sense of hearing in a very sophisticated way known as echolocation, a process whereby they emit a steady series of rapid "clicks" through their blowholes.          These outgoing clicks bounce off objects, similar to radar, and a portion of the signal is reflected back to the dolphin for analysis. Through this process, they are able to determine the distance to a school of fish or other prey by measuring the time between emitting and returning clicks. This allows these amazing animals to hunt prey over great ranges in which visibility is limited.  Dolphins feed mainly on schools of prey and as a result most species have developed cooperative hunting practices which are much more efficient than hunting alone.
            Clearly, the cetacean type of mammalian brain is sufficient for the purpose, but it is anatomically simple and lacks the new structures which are conventionally associated with the development of "intelligence" among land mammals. However, as we have seen, there are good reasons for questioning these conventions.

            Dolphin brains are relatively large, but again there are reasons for questioning the assumption that brain size is related to "intelligence". Crick and Mitchison's (1983) theory of the function of dream sleep may provide an alternative explanation for such large brains. They propose that rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep acts to remove undesirable interactions in networks of cells in the cerebral cortex. They call this process, which is the opposite of learning, but different from forgetting, "reverse learning". Animals which cannot use this system need another way to avoid overloading the neural network, for example by having bigger brains. The spiny anteater and dolphins are the only mammals so far tested which do not have REM sleep (Allison, Van Twyner and Goff, 1972; Mukhametov, 1984) - and they also have disproportionally large brains. So, following this line of reasoning, dolphins and spiny anteaters would have to have big brains because they cannot dream.

            The behavior of dolphins is frequently cited as evidence for high "intelligence". The capacity of some smaller cetacean species to learn performance tricks in captivity is often taken as "proof" of cetacean intelligence, but many other animals from elephants to fleas can achieve such feats, without this being taken as evidence for a special order of "intelligence".

            People who have been in close contact with dolphins and whales often speak of a feeling that they are with an "intelligent" animal , but many dog-owners, for example, have a close rapport with their pets and also speak of "intelligence" and an ability to "understand every word I say". The complexity of cetacean societies is another point frequently cited, but ants and bees, for example, have indisputably complex societies and we do not usually acknowledge these creatures as highly "intelligent". What about the cetacean's "sophisticated communication abilities"?

            We still know very little about the social significance of many of their sounds (excluding echo-location, which is only an aid for hunting and exploring the environment), body language and other communication systems, but in general the repertoire is far too limited to provide anything like our kind of "language". Experiments have shown that some dolphins may have the basic skills necessary for understanding and use of language, but these skills seem fairly common, and have so far been found in a range of species including pigeons, pinnipeds and apes. Again, what could be more "sophisticated" than the multiple communication systems of bees? And how do we usually regard bees?

            Friendliness and helpfulness towards people are often discussed, but are we flattering ourselves in believing that the animals really "intended" to help? For perhaps obvious reasons we hear less of unhelpful behavior, but there are well-documented cases. Many species of wild animals have been tamed or habituated to humans. Sometimes such animals become a danger to themselves or to people. Even tamed wild dolphins can become a considerable nuisance (for example setting boats adrift by pulling up anchors) and sometimes dangerous. Instances of "friendly" dolphins attacking swimmers (apparently unprovoked) are well documented, as are instances of swimmers being pushed out to sea, "abducted" or prevented from re-entering boats and other craft (e.g. Lockyer,1990).

            Gaskin (1982) has concluded that there is abundant evidence that cetaceans communicate information about "what", "where" and "who". There is no substantive evidence that they transmit information about "when", "how" or "why". So with respect to Kipling's (1902) "six honest serving men" of learning and intellect, cetaceans appear to be three servants short.

Conclusion

            There is another less anthropomorphic or "specialist" way of looking at the question of general "intelligence". All living species must be highly "intelligent" in a broad sense in order to survive.

            From this point of view, humans are no more and no less than one of the species living on this planet with particular adaptations (specialized "intelligence") for their own way of life. This perspective allows us to view the superb professionalism of all species with equal respect, and not in some artificial ranking order of higher or lower "intelligence" (with the hidden assumption that they are more or less worthy of conservation and consideration, and that as humans are, of course, in the first rank, their wishes have priority).

            Dawkins (1980) recognizes that suffering in animals may be difficult to measure and that misinterpretations of the meaning of animal behavior can arise from projecting human feelings on to animals. Being "human-like" or "higher" or "more intelligent" is considered a poor guide to whether an animal experiences suffering. Behavioral and physiological evidence are more reliable and, taken together with information on the treatment of the animals, the situation can be evaluated. Without this basic preparation, suffering may be seen where there is none or, worse, may be overlooked because it does not wear a human face.

            Thus, while it is not yet possible to make any final scientific judgments on cetacean "intelligence", there are sufficient doubts to render the unqualified perpetuation of the dogma highly questionable - and possibly even counter- productive in the wider conservation and animal welfare context.

Questions to answer and things to do for G.E. students:

1.  How is dolphin “hearing” more advanced than that of a human?  What is echolocation?

2.  Can dolphins dream?  Do they have REM while they sleep?  What is REM, and do humans have this ability?  Why is a larger brain required if an animal does not have REM?

3.  “Specialized intelligence” occurs with dolphins and other animals, including bees, and land mammals.  What does this phrase mean?  Is this the same kind of intelligence that humans have including feelings, understanding, logic and ability to make conclusions?  If you think specialized intelligence is not the same as human intelligence, WHY?

4.  If a person is around a dolphin a lot (much like we are around our dogs and cats a lot), we begin to think we can communicate with them.  It is like they have words we can understand.  Why do you think that “closeness” to an animal causes an advance in communication ability?  If your pet, or maybe dolphin understands NO! does that mean it is communicating? 

5.  A dolphin and a porpoise have large brain, a complex hearing sense, and can be very cooperative with humans.  Do you think they are intelligent as humans?  Why or why not?

6.  Cetacean intelligence is often good toward humans, but why would this same intelligence turn mean or dangerous toward humans?

7.  Humans tend to apply human traits of “suffering” to animals.  Do you think that animals are always suffering when things happen to them that would cause us to suffer?  How can you tell if an animal is suffering?  Do the animals cry or writhe in pain as we humans do?

ARTICLE #5--Smart Plants

The Albany Pitcher Plant (loves to catch meat!)

This is a rather scientific article.  It would be wise to be sure to know what the underlined words or phrases mean.  You can use an on-line dictionary to find the meanings.

Questions to answer and things to do for G.E. students:

1. Plants are living organisms.  How could you describe a plant brain (if it is actually a brain)?  Re-read about the mustard plant.
2. Describe some of the ways that plants seem to think, plan, and live in the environment they grow in.
3. Some biological researchers do not believe in plant intelligence, but try to explain that it is all due to what? 
4. Plant neurobiology is becoming an important area of study.  Symposiums are even conducted to study it.  “The Green Plant as an Intelligent Organism,” was presented at this meeting?  Where was the meeting? 
5. A man by the name of Sederoff from North Carolina had a different opinion than that of plants being intelligent organisms.  What was his opinion?
6. Researchers at the UBC (Univ. of British Columbia) describe the theory that plants have neurotransmitters much like humans.  What are neurotransmitters, and describe them for plants and then for humans (us). 
7. What American government agencies have studied SMART PLANTS?   What could humans learn from plants?  Write a short story (one or two pages) about your relationship with smart plants.  Consider your neurotransmitters, brain matter, and then compare with your favorite carnivorous plant (meat eating).

ARTICLE #6-- MEET MOLLY...SHE'S A VERY SMART GREY SPECKLED PONY

            She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana.  She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled.  While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier and almost died.  Her gnawed right front leg became infected, and her vet went to LSU (Louisiana State University) for help, but LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind.  He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her.  She protected her injured leg.  She constantly shifted her weight and didn't overload her good leg.  She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic. Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee, and a temporary artificial limb was built.  Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.

            'This was the right horse and the right owner,' Moore insists.  Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient.  She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood that she was in trouble.  The other important factor, according to Moore, is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse. Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana.

            The little pony gained weight, and her mane finally felt a comb.  A human prosthesis designer built her a leg. The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. And she asks for it.  She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on.  Sometimes she wants you to take it off too.  And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca.  'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse,' she laughs.

            Most important of all, Molly has a job now.  Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers.  Anywhere she thought that people needed hope.  Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck.  She inspired people, and she had a good time doing it. 'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life,”  Moore said.  “She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.” Barca concluded, “She's not back to normal, but she's going to be better.  To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.”

            This is Molly's most recent prosthesis (top photo).  The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which a smiley face is embossed into it.  Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.

Questions to answer and things to do for G.E. students:

1. What happened in Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina hit?  Why did so many animals and pets get abandoned by their owners after the big hurricane?
2. How do you think Molly survived before being found and placed in the animal farm?
3. Describe why you think Molly was smart and survived the hurricane and then the pit bull attacking her.
4. Rusty Moore took over the care of Molly.  Why do you think he went to so much trouble?
5. What is a prosthesis?  Did Molly like her prosthesis?  Did she accept it as a part of her life, and treat it as help?
6. Molly ended up being taken to hospitals, nursing homes, and places so people could see her.  What did she do for those people?
7. Why did Rusty put a smiley face on the bottom of the prosthesis hoof?  What does it symbolize? 

Article #7   --Human Intelligence:  We are so complicated!

From a Thinkquest website by students at Riverside High School, Greer, SC, United States

"All man by nature desire to know."  --Aristotle

From ARISTOTLE  to Albert Einstein

            Intelligence is indeed a very wide topic and the best way to start exploring such a topic is by reading some background information which will aid in your understanding.

            Human intelligence, although some may argue, is based upon talent and/or giftedness from birth, and can be further developed through practice, regular usage and training. With linguistic (the language we use to communicate with others)  intelligence, the more you speak and use a language, the better you will be at it. Also with psychomotor (using our bodies for sports and physical activity) intelligence, the more the physical skill is practiced, the better you get.  Because of being able to improve the intelligence by self-motivated practice, human intelligence definitely surpasses artificial intelligence (what computers or robots can do), because of the ability of development. Talent, we feel, only affects the ease and extent at which the human intelligences can be developed.

            If you have read the background to intelligence, you would have read about some of the types of intelligence. Studying these types of intelligence will help us to understand how we think and operate in our environment.

            Here are descriptions of the types of intelligence.

Linguistic Intelligence

            Linguistic Intelligence is basically (as the name suggests) the intelligence of language and communication. This includes the ability to speak, articulate, and express, and convey one's thoughts and feelings to the outside would.

            Language, in its most basic principle, is a set of tools and materials used to build up and express thoughts and feelings of one to another. As in building a structure, there is a certain method, a way of arranging the steps of what you should do first, and this is commonly known as grammar. But although the same principles are used for building any sort of structure, the end products are usually very vastly varied, ranging from the boring, squarish shape, to great feats of architecture like the Sydney Opera house.

            Likewise, those who are gifted in linguistic intelligence are able to communicate their viewpoints in a clear, beautiful, and refined manner. Take poets for example. Poets have already reached such a high state of linguistic ability that they are able to convert the expression of language as an art, attempting to use language to describe an abstract idea and concept in a few words.

Arts & Sciences

The Intelligence of the Arts and Sciences is the intelligence of appreciation of important things of life, aimed at a deeper understanding of life (including other people and all creatures on earth), intelligence of concepts, ideas and logical reasoning, as well as appreciation and creation. A broad definition of this intelligence would include talent in any of the following: music, visual arts, drama, general science, psychology and philosophy.

Usually, all the above aspects of intelligence in the Arts and Sciences, would not all exist together. For example, good musicians may not necessarily be as good at understanding concepts of science; neither would a scientist necessarily be talented or even interested in visual arts.

But as we mentioned earlier, this intelligence, encompassing both the arts and sciences, is the intelligence of life in general. With this in mind, regardless of which type of intelligence somebody practices most, the person the person will utilize two attributes, comprehension and sensitivity.

Comprehension is the general ability to understand things around us, such as learning why things are done or happen in certain ways. This is called logic.  The ability to understand and reason out things is the logic behind our thinking and living.

Sensitivity is the ability to sense and feel particular feelings about life that cannot be proven. The arts require more of this. To feel the music flowing from within while playing it on an instrument is a similar characteristic of all famous musicians. The sensitivity to know another's thoughts and feelings in particular situations and circumstances is the basis of psychology.

Spatial Intelligence

Spatial Intelligence is the ability to visualize things. It is probably the most commonly known and recognized intelligence by the common man, because of the fact that this is the most commonly recognizable intelligence found in intelligence tests. One example of displaying spatial intelligence would be to take a flat piece of cardboard and fold it several time to make a six sided dye (3-D shape).  Putting puzzles together could be another example.

Spatial intelligence can be used in all aspects of life. To represent a problem, some such as in a graph, to make flowchart, diagrams are examples of spatial intelligence. An individual who is gifted in this intelligence would generally be able to learn concepts much faster, as they would be able to represent and store a complicated concept or theory in a simple diagram in their memory. They would love the practical side of learning because they would find it easier to understand and commit to memory. Spatial Intelligence involves the seeing and feeling of shapes and organization.

Psychomotor Intelligence

Psychomotor intelligence involves the physical, outward side of a person as opposed to the other intelligences which are more internal.

It is determined by the ability to do any skilled movement with the body, actions like running, jumping, sports, or even just a simple thing like raising a right hand. It is not so much the build of a person or physical strength that constitutes psychomotor intelligence, but rather the ability to control and move the parts of the body as desired.

Be it the virtuoso pianist, the basketball game player, the runner, or the gymnast, can all be considered talented in psychomotor intelligence. While the runner is able to move his leg back and forth rapidly, and assume bodily postures to enable him to surge forward with power, the virtuoso pianist is able to have full control of his fingers to hit the desired notes with speed and incredible accuracy, but both are able to attain full control of the specific parts of the body to move them to the utmost efficiency.

General psychomotor intelligence can be detected very easily, even among the friends around you. Some of them may display clumsiness in movement, lumbering around wherever they go, while others may be able to move around quickly with ease, finding dodging and running away in a catching game a breeze.

Psychomotor intelligence comes from the two sub words, "psycho" and "motor". "Psycho" refers to "physical", while "motor" refers to "movement", which gives the meaning "physical movement". That is what psychomotor intelligence is all about.

Personal Intelligence

Personal intelligence is the intelligence of knowing one's inward self, a direct opposite of psychomotor intelligence. It is subdivided into two components, the inward ability of knowing one's own talents, capabilities, and character, and the ability to outwardly relate to people in a suitable manner.

The inward ability of knowing oneself is possibly the most important of all the intelligences, because it is only when you recognize your true capabilities and intelligences, that your can truly live your life to the optimum. A simple illustration of this is having an extraordinary hidden talent but never discovering it or using it. Another would be to overrate yourself and get a false sense of pride out of it, only to be shattered when the truth sets in.

The outward ability to relate to people, is what is commonly known as "emotional quotient". It is most important to success in career life as the world develops, and is also why it is being so strongly emphasized in the world today. How you carry yourself, how you speak publicly, your manners, your charisma and influence, all constitutes this "emotional quotient".

Questions to answer and things to do for G.E. students:

1.    Humans relate to the world and other beings through special intelligences.  What are the intelligences? 

2.    When is a human’s intelligence placed within him or her?  Can intelligence be improved?

3.    How does a talent help humans?

4.    Create a table to describe the five intelligences you listed in question #1.  Here are the cells to include in your table:   (Make your own table anyway you like, but this is a plain example.  You could illustrate your table, and make a poster out of it.  Sounds very CREATIVE, huh!

     5.   Choose either Aristotle or Einstein, and write a half-page telling about how we     know they were very intelligent. 

   6.    Draw a diagram of the human brain and label all parts.

7.   What is the biggest difference between human intelligence and animal intelligence?  (use your favorite animal such as monkey, pig, dog or cat and “yourself” to describe the difference.

AP – A West African dwarf crocodile rests under a heat lamp in a pool at the zoo on Friday, June 4, 2010 in …

Charles Q. Choi

livescience Contributor
 

How did the world's largest living reptile, the saltwater crocodile, reach so many South Pacific islands separated by huge stretches of water despite being a poor swimmer?

Apparently, like a surfer catching a wave, these goliaths can ride currents on the ocean surface to cross large areas of open sea, researchers now reveal.   The saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is a ferocious giant that can grow at least 23 feet long (7 meters) and weigh more than 2,200 pounds (1000 kilograms). These scaly monsters have been known to devour sharks, and even attack things they can't eat, often assaulting boats in the mistaken belief they are rivals or prey, biting down with nearly 2 tons of pressure - powerful enough to crush bone or punch through aluminum hulls.

These deadly predators hunt in tropical areas throughout eastern India, southeast Asia, northern Australia, and on an untold number of the islands in-between. Although these crocodiles spend most of their lives in saltwater, they cannot be considered marine reptiles the same way sea turtles are, because the crocs rely on land for food and water.

There were already many anecdotal accounts of large crocodiles sighted far out at sea, but nothing confirmed. Now, for the first time, using sonar transmitters and satellite tracking, scientists now find that saltwater crocodiles actually do ride surface ocean currents for long-distance travel, enabling them to voyage from one oceanic island to another.

"Because these crocodiles are poor swimmers, it is unlikely that they swim across vast tracts of ocean," said researcher Hamish Campbell, a behavioral ecologist from University of Queensland in Australia. "But they can survive for long periods in saltwater without eating or drinking, so by only traveling when surface currents are favorable, they would be able to move long distances by sea."

Working at the remote Kennedy River in northeastern Australia, the team of scientists - which included the late Steve Irwin, "The Crocodile Hunter" - tagged 27 adult seawater crocodiles with sonar transmitters, employing 20 underwater receivers deployed along a 39-mile-long stretch of the river (63 km) to track the reptiles' every move for more than 12 months. They found both male and female adult crocodiles undertook long-distance journeys, regularly traveling more than 30 miles (48 km) from their home area to the river mouth and beyond into open sea.

The scientists also discovered the "salties" always began long-distance travel within an hour of the tide changing, allowing them to go with the flow. They halted their journeys by hauling out onto the river bank or diving to the river bottom when the currents turned against them.

The researchers originally were just aiming to investigate the territorial habits of the crocodiles and how they divvied up land among themselves.

"I never thought they would be making these long-distance journeys out to sea," Campbell told LiveScience.

After they made their discovery on the river, Campbell and his colleagues re-analyzed archival data from the few crocodiles that have been satellite tracked while undertaking ocean travel. By overlaying the reptiles' movements with surface current estimates, they found the strategy of ocean-swimming crocodiles was similar to what they employed with rivers.

One satellite-tagged crocodile, 12.6-foot-long male (3.8 meters) - left the Kennedy River and travelled 366 miles (590 km) over 25 days, timing its journey to coincide with a seasonal current system that develops in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Another croc - a 15.8-foot-long male (4.8 meters) - traveled more than 255 miles (411 km) in only 20 days through the Torres Straits, which are notorious for strong water currents. When the reptile arrived at the straits, the currents were moving opposite to his direction of travel - he then waited in a sheltered bay for four days and only passed through the straits when the currents switched to favor his journey.

These findings could explain why this crocodile species did not split into many other species despite occupying islands across such a large range, where in principle populations could have been isolated and diverged from their relatives over time.

"Regular mixing between the island populations probably occurs," Campbell said. "Crocodilians have crossed major marine barriers during their evolutionary past."

Although scientists now know that salties seem to make long-distance journeys on purpose, "we presently do not know what these are for," Campbell noted. However, it was recently discovered that considerable numbers of the reptiles congregated to feast on an annual fish migration, so these long trips might be a way for the predators to satisfy their hefty appetites.

The scientists will detail their findings June 8 in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

• Original Story: Secret Revealed: How Crocodiles Cross Oceans