Scientists Find Crows Are Capable of Recursion — A Cognitive Ability Thought to Be Unique to Humans and Other Primates

 https://www.beautyofplanet.com/scientists-find-crows-are-capable-of-recursion-a-cognitive-ability-thought-to-be-unique-to-humans-and-other-primates/?fbclid=IwAR1fYyrlKv4Vo_kSSgpUddEUwcsXMeW8kbY45gQg0UP2UgltDxd4ytxb2g4

According to a new study, crows possess the cognitive ability for one of the linguistic elements that make human language so complex.

Image credit: Ian Sane

In the early 2000s, Noam Chomsky and other linguists thought that if there was one thing that belonged specifically to human language, it was recursion, and that this was what distinguished human language from animal communication. As it turns out, this is not the case: a 2020 study proved that rhesus monkeys can do the thing too, and a newly published study shows that crows can also do recursion.

OK, so what’s recursion? It’s the capacity to recognize paired elements in larger sequences – something that has been claimed as one of the key features of human symbolic competence. Consider this example: “The rat the cat chased ran.” Although the phrase is a bit confusing, adult humans easily get that it was the rat that ran and the cat that chased. Recursion is exactly this: pairing the elements “rat” to “ran” and “cat” to “chased”.

Put somewhat more simply, similarly to humans monkeys and crows can recognize that a structure can contain other structures with meaning. But for decades scientists thought that humans, or at least primates, are the only animals capable of understanding recursion. Yet, following the discovery, about two years ago, that rhesus monkeys can understand the idea of recursion on a par with three- to four-year-old human children (albeit with some extra training), a team has now conducted similar experiments with crows, and they turned out to outdo monkeys in certain aspects!

Are crows capable of understanding language? Image credit: h.koppdelaney

Researchers from the University of Tübingen have studied crows using the same method as their colleagues used in the previous Wisconsin study with monkeys. In this one, the animals had to find a pair of symbols in a sentence of symbols, so they had to find out, for example, where in the <()> symbol sequence the pair of brackets was located.

When they did, the researchers created longer and longer sentences to see if the test subjects would still pick out the embedded ones.

As with the rhesus monkeys, the subjects could pick out the embedded characters in 40% of trials, but without the extra training that the monkeys received!

So, recursive capabilities are not limited to the primate genealogy, as it turns out. Which also helps reiterate just how smart crows are.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Is Yogurt Good For Dogs?

 August 25, 2022 | 3 min read

Updated August 25, 2022

By Becca Trigg

 

Published: August 25, 2022
Updated: January 23, 2023

Summary: In this blog, we’ll discover if dogs can eat yogurt. Does yogurt offer any health benefits or is it something to avoid giving to your pooch? Keep reading to find out if yogurt is good for dogs…

 

Yogurt; it has many positive connotations! We know, for us humans, the ample health benefits it can offer us. From being a natural source of nutrients (including vitamin B, D, B12, calcium, and potassium) to supporting our digestive health, yogurt has been touted as a miracle food for many years…

But does it offer the same health benefits for our furry companions? 

Well, it turns out the answer isn’t that simple. In fact, you can give your pup yogurt, but it may not offer as many positive benefits to your dog as you may think…

Is Yogurt Good For Dogs?

In short, yes, dogs can eat yogurt, but there are actually a few things we pet parents need to know before we start adding it to our pup’s daily diet…

High in calcium and protein, yogurt is also packed with gut-friendly live cultures that can help support gut health - acting as a natural probiotic. Yogurt also contains lactose - which can cause some issues when your pup is trying to digest it…

You see, once your dog has grown into a young adolescent and no longer feeds from their mother, they often lose the ability to digest lactose properly, unable to make enough digestive enzymes to break the lactose down - meaning many dogs actually have a lactose intolerance…

And, if your pup is lactose intolerant, yogurt can do more harm than good!

Signs Of Lactose Intolerance & Dairy Allergy

The signs of canine lactose intolerance are actually very similar to what us humans experience, too - commonly causing some digestive issues, including:

• Loose stools
• Constipation
• Gas
• Vomiting
• Abdominal cramps

If you notice any of the above symptoms after your dog has consumed yogurt, seek medical help as soon as possible.

Is Yogurt A Natural Probiotic For Dogs?

While yogurt is a good source of probiotics, it isn’t the best way to provide your dog with gut support. With the risk of causing stomach upsets, it would be ideal to add a specific probiotic supplement to your dog’s daily routine.

PetLab Co.’s Probiotic chews for dogs have been formulated to provide a unique blend of properties, antioxidants & live cultures to help balance healthy bacteria and support the digestive system.

What Yogurt Is Safe For Dogs?

If you do decide to add yogurt to your pup’s diet, it would be wise to find a plain, natural yogurt with lots of live cultures, free from any additives, artificial ingredients, or sweeteners - especially xylitol as it is very toxic to dogs!

With the right type of yogurt, in the right quantity, yogurt can be a delicious, healthy treat for your pooch. 

Whether you use it to help your pup gobble up a supplement, spread it over a lick mat, or freeze small amounts with other foods for your dog as a summer treat, yogurt has its positives and negatives.

Sources

Author Riley, Katherine “Can Dogs Eat Yogurt?” American Kennel Club, May 11. 2015 https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-yogurt/ 

Author Grewal, Gogi “Is Yogurt Good For Dogs?” Dogs Naturally Magazine, Jan 04. 2022
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/can-dogs-eat-yogurt-probiotics/

https://thepetlabco.com/learn/dog/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-yogurt?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=yogurt_dogs&fbclid=IwAR2jX7Ir7tX5watXq2dwM5g3VlVoCExmZste1TBvIEgo73SBRfTilLYFQlg

Best Quotes from The Chronicles of Narnia

By Adrienne Rivera. Sep 24, 2023. 6:16 AM.

Topics: Legendary Authors, Children's Books, Movie Tie-Ins


https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/best-quotes-from-the-chronicles-of-narnia?utm_campaign=General%20Blogging&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=275524758&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8LKWfgmyBVX9gRHlChf4zzJoIwGNU-tvkIV-VVH40MYfUquktBCQKV8uq6NNxa_8lTxZHPpUTV-p4pD8O-q42q19Ph_w&utm_content=275524758&utm_source=hs_email


Irish writer, professor, and amateur theologian C.S. Lewis is best known for his children's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Inspired by Beatrix Potter and his strong Anglican faith and strong friendship and rivalry with another British fantasy heavyweight, JRR Tolkien, Lewis' Naria series has captivated readers for years with its imagination, heart, and allegory. The Chronicles of Narnia have been adapted numerous times for television, film, and radio, most notably as a BBC series and as a series of several films by Walden Media. It was recently announced that director Greta Gerwig will adapt at least two Narnia films for streaming service Netflix. Let’s take a look at some of the more moving passages from this timeless and beloved fantasy series:

None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do, but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words, everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something that you don't understand, but in the dream, it feels as if it had some enormous meaning--either a terrifying one that turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan, each one of the children felt something jump in it's inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt like some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of Summer. –The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

"Your Highness speaks as you have been taught," said the Doctor. "But it is all lies. There are no ghosts there. That is a story invented by the Telmarines. Your Kings are in deadly fear of the sea because they can never quite forget that in all stories, Aslan comes from over the sea. They don't want to go near it, and they don't want anyone else to go near it. So they have let great woods grow up to cut their people off from the coast. But because they have quarreled with the trees, they fear the woods. And because they are afraid of the woods, they imagine that they are full of ghosts. And the Kings and great men, hating both the sea and the wood, partly believe these stories and partly encourage them. They feel safer if no one in Narnia dares to go down to the coast and look out to sea--toward Aslan’s land and the morning and the eastern end of the world." –Prince Caspian.

At that moment, she heard soft, heavy footfalls coming along the corridor behind her; of course, she remembered what she had been told about the Magician walking in his bare feet and making no more noise than a cat. It is always better to turn around than to have anything creeping up behind your back. Lucy did so.

"One word, Ma'am," he said, returning from the fire, limping because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right; I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always likes to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one more thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed or made up all those things and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow." –The Silver Chair.

"I was the lion." And as Shasta gasped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. "I was the lion who forced you to join with Avaris. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses new strength of fear for the last mile to reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you." – The Horse and His Boy.

But inside itself, in the very sap of it, the tree (so to speak) never forgot that other tree in Narnia to which it belonged. Sometimes it would move mysteriously when there was no wind blowing: I think that when this happened, there were high winds in Narnia, and the English tree quivered.... However that might be, it was proved later that there was still magic in its wood. When Digory was quite middle-aged...there was a great storm all over the south of England that blew the tree down. He couldn't bear to have it simply chopped up for firewood, so he had part of the timber made into a wardrobe, which he put in his big house in the country. And though he himself did not discover the magic properties of that wardrobe, someone else did. –The Magician's Nephew

And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion, but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I could not write them. And for us, this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now, at last, they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before. – The Last Battle

Nigel Slater’s 10 best recipes over the past 30 years

 This is the link to the full article -

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/sep/24/nigel-slaters-10-best-recipes-over-the-past-30-years-at-the-observer?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

This recipe below is my favourite. -

Roast pumpkin with couscous and date syrup

 Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

It would be a Herculean task to count how many recipes for roasted vegetables have appeared in this column. The first was in the opening one – red peppers with garlic and olive oil – and over the years there is barely a vegetable that hasn’t had its edges charred in my scorching oven.

There is no doubt that date syrup and za’atar turned up more regularly after my trips to the Middle East and in particular those to Lebanon. The slight tartness of the date syrup, not unlike pomegranate molasses, has much to offer the sweet, fudgy flesh of the roast pumpkin. Serves 4.

pumpkin 1kg (unpeeled weight)
olive oil 60ml
za’atar 1 tbsp
dried chilli flakes 1 tsp
couscous 65g
coriander 20g
parsley leaves 10g

For the dressing:
date syrup 4 tsp
garlic 1 clove
olive oil 5 tbsp
lemon juice of ½
grain mustard 1 tsp

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Peel the pumpkin, remove the fibres and seeds and discard, then cut the flesh into 2cm thick slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet. Mix together the olive oil, za’atar and dried chilli flakes, then spoon over the pumpkin. Bake for 35-40 minutes until tender and translucent.

Bring a kettle of water to the boil. Put the couscous in a bowl, pour over enough of the hot water to cover the couscous and set aside.

Make the dressing: mix the date syrup with the crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and grain mustard.

Chop the coriander and the parsley. When the couscous has soaked up the water, run a fork through it to separate the grains, then fold in the chopped parsley and coriander and a seasoning of salt and black pepper.

Remove the pumpkin from the oven, place the couscous on a serving plate together with the pumpkin, then trickle over the date dressing.

Bright blessings for Mabon (the autumn equinox where light and dark are balanced).

 Taken from a friends blessing 

Leonard Cohen

 

Dena Bain Taylor

eosoptdSrnYf71:m09y4sa0f9c 31h422r4e93mht5t8 5uc5eda1402aa0g  · 

Happy birthday to Leonard Cohen (1932-2016), poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter whose work carried an existential bite and explored themes like religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, and romantic relationships.

"There is a crack in everything.

That's how the light gets in."

"Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash."

"If you don't become the ocean, you'll be seasick every day."

"I've seen your flag on the marble arch

But love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah"

"Like a bird on a wire

Like a drunk in a midnight choir

I have tried in my way to be free"

***

Image: Rolling Stone Magazine

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