Overview
How intelligent are dolphins? Is their communication system really as complex as human language? And are they as friendly and peaceful as they are made out to be? The Western world has had an enduring love affair with dolphins since the early 1960s, with fanciful claims of their 'healing powers' and 'super intelligence'. Myths and pseudoscience abound on the subject. Justin Gregg weighs up the claims made about dolphin intelligence and separates scientific fact from fiction. He puts our knowledge about dolphin behaviour and intelligence into perspective, with comparisons to scientific studies of other animals, especially the crow family and great apes. He gives fascinating accounts of the challenges of testing what an animal with flippers and no facial expressions might be animal behaviour, Gregg challenges many of the widespread beliefs about dolphins, while also inspiring the reader with the remarkable abilities common to many of the less glamorized animals around us - such as chickens.
Full Product Details
Author: Justin Gregg (Research Associate, Dolphin Communication Project)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 13.00cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 19.60cm
Weight: 0.238kg
ISBN: 9780199681563
ISBN 10: 0199681562
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 26 February 2015
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
Gregg has produced an authoritive account, disentangling myths from hard evidence. Daily Mail, Julia Richardson
Gregg has produced an authoritive account, disentangling myths from hard evidence. * Daily Mail, Julia Richardson * Although Justin Gregg challenges some preconceptions in Are Dolphin's Really Smart?, it's a testament to his skill as writer that none of cetaceans' lustra wears off. The book is a masterpiece of popular science writing and a contender for my book of the year. * Fortean Times, Greg Greener *
[S]erves as both a rigorous litmus test of animal intelligence and a check on human exceptionalism Bob Grant, The Scientist [T]horough and engaging [Gregg's] writing skills are solid and his observations are often fascinating. Booklist Are Dolphins Really Smart? makes an important contribution to discussions of animal intelligence. Justin Gregg examines the 'myth of the intelligent dolphin' and gives us a rational, scientific view of what dolphins are really capable of doing. He writes in a very readable and convincing way about the various claims that have been made and leaves us with a realistic, if not entirely flattering, picture of dolphin life and behaviour. Marian Stamp Dawkins, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford Highly recommended. J. A. Mather, Choice,
Author Information
Justin Gregg is a research associate with the Dolphin Communication Project, and Co-Editor of the academic journal Aquatic Mammals. He received his doctorate from Trinity College Dublin in 2008, having studied social cognition and the echolocation behavior of wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. With an undergraduate background in linguistics, Justin is particularly interested in the study of dolphin communication as it pertains to comparisons of human (natural) language and animal communication systems.
