ALEX, THE PARROT.

ALEX, THE PARROT. Alex, the parrot, has died at the age of 31. This Economist article lists some of his accomplishments. He had a vocabulary of 150 words. His accomplishments would appear to require reasoning. He understood and could discuss the concepts of “bigger”, “same” and “different.” Apparently most researchers, with some dissenters, think that Alex’s accomplishments were the product of abstract thought rather than rote learning. Alex was originally chosen for education to test the theory that only social animals can be intelligent because intelligence evolves in response to a social environment rather than the natural environment. Of course, Alex is only a “white swan” so that all that can be said is that his accomplishments did not disprove the theory.