Why elephants never forget - Alex Gendler

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I have to take issue with the title of this post. All animals are conscious. The question is how conscious, and of what, but to claim any animal isn't conscious in the sense of having some sort of internal experience is absurd. Similarly, all animals are sentient beings because sentient = "having sensation / internal experience", i.e. conscious.

What you're looking for is either SAPIENT - that is, capable of complex thought like that of humans - or SOPHONT - self-aware and having the capacity to understand oneself or others. Note that these are not equivalent, as theoretically an artificial general intelligence could be sapient without being sophont - but vice versa is likely impossible.

I don't mean to be a jerk, by the way, but you do need to be careful about wording. It can confuse people.

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 63 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/[deleted] ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

I genuinely learned something today

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 15 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/zack-76 ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

Most animals are sentient. The word you mean is likely โ€œsapient.โ€

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 9 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/Squidmaster129 ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

Was their any doubt that elephants are conscious, sentient beings? I mean, it's sort of common sense.

I don't get all this nonsense about whether animals like dogs, monkeys, or elephants feel pain or can think. It feels like such an outdated topic that doesn't even need to be talked about because it's so blatantly obvious.

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 49 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/StrangeAlternative ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

Uh.. Do some people question wether elephants are conscious or not? I don't get it...

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 7 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/Clockwork_Elf ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

TED is not a credible source of information.

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 13 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/liveeweevil ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

i think there is something to social animals and intelligence.

that being said i think most animals are sentient , just have a pet to realize that, most have pretty robust memories too.

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 5 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/robespierrem ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

Are you saying my dog isnโ€™t conscious nor sentient? Iโ€™d venture that all vertebrates are conscious and sentient at the very least.

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 6 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/jamesstrotter ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies

Conscious?

Yeah, if the elephant in the room is awake, you will know it.

๐Ÿ‘๏ธŽ︎ 4 ๐Ÿ‘ค๏ธŽ︎ u/Thoreau80 ๐Ÿ“…๏ธŽ︎ Jul 21 2019 ๐Ÿ—ซ︎ replies
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It's a common saying that elephants never forget, but these magnificent animals are more than giant walking hard drives. The more we learn about elephants, the more it appears that their impressive memory is only one aspect of an incredible intelligence that makes them some of the most social, creative, and benevolent creatures on Earth. Unlike many proverbs, the one about elephant memory is scientifically accurate. Elephants know every member in their herd, able to recognize as many as 30 companions by sight or smell. This is a great help when migrating or encountering other potentially hostile elephants. They also remember and distinguish particular cues that signal danger and can recall important locations long after their last visit. But it's the memories unrelated to survival that are the most fascinating. Elephants remember not only their herd companions but other creatures who have made a strong impression on them. In one case, two circus elephants that had briefly performed together rejoiced when crossing paths 23 years later. This recognition isn't limited to others of their species. Elephants have also recognized humans they've bonded with after decades apart. All of this shows that elephant memory goes beyond responses to stimuli. Looking inside their heads, we can see why. The elephant boasts the largest brain of any land mammal, as well as an impressive encephalization quotient. This is the size of the brain relative to what we'd expect for an animal's body size, and the elephant's EQ is nearly as high as a chimpanzee's. And despite the distant relation, convergent evolution has made it remarkably similar to the human brain, with as many neurons and synapses and a highly developed hippocampus and cerebral cortex. It is the hippocampus, strongly associated with emotion, that aids recollection by encoding important experiences into long-term memories. The ability to distinguish this importance makes elephant memory a complex and adaptable faculty beyond rote memorization. It's what allows elephants who survived a drought in their youth to recognize its warning signs in adulthood, which is why clans with older matriarchs have higher survival rates. Unfortunately, it's also what makes elephants one of the few non-human animals to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The cerebral cortex, on the other hand, enables problem solving, which elephants display in many creative ways. They also tackle problems cooperatively, sometimes even outwitting the researchers and manipulating their partners. And they've grasped basic arithmetic, keeping track of the relative amounts of fruit in two baskets after multiple changes. The rare combination of memory and problem solving can explain some of elephants' most clever behaviors, but it doesn't explain some of the things we're just beginning to learn about their mental lives. Elephants communicate using everything from body signals and vocalizations, to infrasound rumbles that can be heard kilometers away. And their understanding of syntax suggests that they have their own language and grammar. This sense of language may even go beyond simple communication. Elephants create art by carefully choosing and combining different colors and elements. They can also recognize twelve distinct tones of music and recreate melodies. And yes, there is an elephant band. But perhaps the most amazing thing about elephants is a capacity even more important than cleverness: their sense of empathy, altruism, and justice. Elephants are the only non-human animals to mourn their dead, performing burial rituals and returning to visit graves. They have shown concern for other species, as well. One working elephant refused to set a log down into a hole where a dog was sleeping, while elephants encountering injured humans have sometimes stood guard and gently comforted them with their trunk. On the other hand, elephant attacks on human villages have usually occurred right after massive poachings or cullings, suggesting deliberate revenge. When we consider all this evidence, along with the fact that elephants are one of the few species who can recognize themselves in a mirror, it's hard to escape the conclusion that they are conscious, intelligent, and emotional beings. Unfortunately, humanity's treatment of elephants does not reflect this, as they continue to suffer from habitat destruction in Asia, ivory poaching in Africa, and mistreatment in captivity worldwide. Given what we now know about elephants and what they continue to teach us about animal intelligence, it is more important than ever to ensure that what the English poet John Donne described as "nature's great masterpiece" does not vanish from the world's canvas.
Info
Channel: TED-Ed
Views: 4,463,900
Rating: 4.9644098 out of 5
Keywords: TED-Ed, TED Education, TED Ed, TED, TEDx, Elephants, Poaching, Animal intelligence, Tusk, Trunk, Animal behavior, Largest land mammal, African elephant, Asian elephant, Indian Elephant, Animal captivity, Zoology
Id: lSXNqsOoURg
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 5min 23sec (323 seconds)
Published: Thu Nov 13 2014
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