this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 102 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I bet a crow would know what to do with that information.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago

Here's the thing...

[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 years ago (4 children)

You’re supposed to reevaluate brain size as a measure of intelligence. The expression “bird brain” is so outdated we need to stop using it. Bird neurons are significantly smaller than ours, so they can fit a lot more brain in a smaller volume.

While you’re at it, you should probably reevaluate everything about intelligence and memory because apparently jellyfish have memories despite having no brain or ganglia of any kind.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm not an older sibling in a 90s-era kids sitcom, so I haven't used the phrase "bird-brain" in decades...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Well, no one in a 90s-era sitcom has used the phrase in decades either ;P

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago

I haven't heard anyone say bird brain in the past decade

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

Also some insects dissolve in their cocoons to a handful of cells and yet still maintain memories from their larva stage

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Bird neurons are significantly smaller than ours

The neurons themselves? Because human axons are already as small as can be; they sometimes missfire because of this (brain is built around that, no worries).

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 years ago

It's only the beginning. Then they will get negative numbers, integers, reals, you name it

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Not only that, corvids understand the concept of zero fucks given.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

They also understand social order and merc crows that are excessively rude thieves and whatnot. It's a bit brutal but it's indicative of individual identity and longer term memory.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

if they start understanding complex numbers I will get scared

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 years ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 years ago

i meant zero makes sense

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 years ago (2 children)

It means DONT GIVE THEM A CALCULATOR.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 years ago

Crows WILL divide by zero, DO NOT GIVE THAN A CALCULATOR

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 years ago

TIL Euler invented crows, but Poe got to name them because he was 2nd.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 years ago

Oh no! They understand my bank statement!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

If I've learned anything from Stargate, such knowledge leads directly to the ability to build self-propelled autonomous space mines.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Then they are already smarter than the average Mangalore.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago

Now a real killer, when he picked up the ZF-1, he would have immediately asked about the little red button on the bottom of the gun.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

i really enjoyed the mangalorian though. it had weak moments but otherwise was a solid show.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

They are not the smartest guys out there, but at least they managed to kill the main bad guy of the movie:

oh sorry

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Apparently even crows know how useful this is to me.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah but imaginary numbers are a very real problem, and the solution of which affects you every day.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

🤨 Is this an elaborate joke, or is this query itself demonstrative of the reality of the statement?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes.

But seriously yeah, imaginary numbers (square root of -1) just so happens to be a key part of the definition of a sinusoidal waveform, which is what all electromagnetic radiation flows by. Especially power delivered by alternating current, but also digital stuff and general quantum particles and things. So it really affects everything.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

The latter, I believe.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

There’s a crow and seagull war around where I work. Pretty wild sky fights, but otherwise typical bird business. One time I heard what sounded like a tornado of crows outside, so I went out to see if some kind of crow Voltron was assembling. Outside was every crow I’ve ever seen screaming and swooping around one unlucky seagull that was tangled in fishing line and hanging from a tree. I cut it down untangled it and it flew off but what really freaked me out was how quiet all of the crows got when I got involved. I can’t prove it and I don’t know how they did it but I know the crows did this.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Crows laying traps for other birds would be wild. Survival books sometimes talk about laying snares for birds in trees using wire.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

That’s what I thought at first too but there were no knots, bait, or hooks. Just a tangled messy of fishing line. When it all went silent and I could see that seagull swaying upside down it felt like something out of True Detective.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago

Everytime I hear this I can't help but imagine some researcher out in the wild taking a twig or something off of a magpie, the swoopy boi retaliates and the researcher is like "corvids understand the concept of zero?!"

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

They also have the capabilities to divide! 😱

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Post a tweet asking wtf you’re supposed to do w that information obviously

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

That's a gonna make the history books

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

It means they're more intelligent than humans, because unlike them, crows won't go into debt.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Don't take anything away from them.