--On Wednesday, October 28, 1998, 3:44 PM -0600 "Joe E. Dees" <jdees0@students.uwf.edu> wrote:
> From: CALYK@aol.com
> Date sent: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 15:40:20 EST
> To: extropians@extropy.com
> Subject: Re: no dolphine language
> Send reply to: extropians@extropy.com
>
>> In a message dated 10/27/98 6:37:33 PM Central Standard Time, >> bostrom@ndirect.co.uk writes: >> >> << That dolphins don't have abstract language was recently >> established in a very elegant experiment. A pool is divided into two >> halves by a net. Dolphin A is released into one end of the pool where >> there is a mechanism. After a while, the dolphin figures out how to >> operate the mechanism which causes dead fish to be released into both >> ends of the pool. Then A is transferred to the other end of the pool >> and a dolphin B is released into the end of the pool that has the >> mechanism. The idea is that if the dolphins had a language, then A >> would tell B to operate the mechanism. However, it was found that the >> average time for B to operate the mechanism was the same as for A. >> >> >> >> >> Perhaps dolphin A knew dolphin B would figure it out and let him have the >> prize of discovery.
They should have done the experiment in such a way that two levers at opposite sides of the pool need to be pulled simultaneously to get the fish. Teach two dolphins to do the trick, then remove one of them and put in a new dolphin who doesn't know the trick.