Week 3 Reflection Blog

As we approach a new week, we delve deeper into research and new insight/intelligence amongst animals. It has been an absolute breakthrough for me being able to learn about such interesting topics amongst wildlife. Some of the most insightful information I have learned thus far has come from the Safina chapter I chose to read an annotate. The chapter I chose to annotate was Whineas and Pet Peeves; in which it focuses mainly on dogs which is one of my main interests, hence my current job at a veterinary clinic. This chapter is concerned mainly with the evidence for Theory of Mind in nonhuman animals. Like Safina, we believe that animals have a Theory of Mind, and like Safina, we question the utility of such concepts. There are many studies that Safina could have used to support his argument, and although some are mentioned, he prefers to make his point mainly by relying on anecdotes and introspection. The end result, we believe, is to devalue the scientific process. In some moments, the author walks us through his personal life and includes examples of his own common household pets displaying the ability to show that dogs have theory of mind; the dog knowing that going in the car likely means an outing for them, or waiting to go outside or come back in. All these are prime research of animal intelligence and cognition.

This week, most of my research has taken place on twitter. I find it to be a very helpful platform for my researching, and I use it to my advantage. There is an entire new side to twitter that I did not know existed, nor did I think it would be helpful toward academics, but here I am ! :)