Humans use a variety of cues to infer an object’s weight, including how easily objects can be moved. For example, if we observe an object being blown down the street by the wind, we can infer that it is light. A team of scientists tested now whether New Caledonian crows make this type of inference. After training that only one type of object (either light or heavy) was rewarded when dropped into a food dispenser, birds observed pairs of novel objects (one light and one heavy) suspended from strings in front of an electric fan. The fan was either on—creating a breeze which buffeted the light, but not the heavy, object—or off, leaving both objects stationary. In subsequent test trials, birds could drop one, or both, of the novel objects into the food dispenser. Despite having no opportunity to handle these objects prior to testing, birds touched the correct object (light or heavy) first in 73% of experimental trials, and were at chance in control trials. These results suggest that birds used pre-existing knowledge about the behavior exhibited by differently weighted objects in the wind to infer their weight, using this information to guide their choices.
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5 Future off Road Transportation 2019
5 Future Off Road Transportation 2019 That Will Blow Your Mind
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Data over Democracy: How China maintains Power through Technology China is using technology to maintain domestic stability and become a global A.I. superpower. The government is working to keep citizens financially satisfied so they’ll consider democracy unnecessary. CBSN contributor and Signal new
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What will War in Space look like in the Future
One day humanity will take to the stars, and just like it did in the sea and the air, it will bring its weapons with it. Though we can hope that the rise of mankind from the cradle of its infancy to the heavens above will be accompanied by a similar
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