CROWS ARE GOOD AT GEOMETRY

A couple of scientists in Germany have discovered that crows have the ability to understand basic geometry. Andreas Nieder, a cognitive neurobiologist at the University of GottaLottaTimeOnOurHands (* actually it’s the University of Tübingen), tested the abilities of two crows that live in their lab. First, they showed the birds a group of six shapes, of which one was different, such as five moons and one flower. If they could pick the one that was different, they got a mealworms. Then they started showing them sets of geometric shapes. For example, five perfect squares along with one four-sided figure that was just slightly off. No matter the shape or size, the crows could pick out the one that was different. They said this shows that crows clearly had a sense of right angles, parallel lines, and symmetry.
* Yes, but you give them a piece of graph paper and they just crap on it.
* “A sense of right angles, parallel lines, and symmetry.” Unlike the guys who put in my new windows.
* I suppose, in a practical sense, you could put a crow on an assembly line at General Mills and have them pick out the deformed Cheerios.
* Maybe this is why I sucked at geometry – our teacher didn’t feed us mealworms.
* This study is, literally, for the birds.