[13] Listing Alex's accomplishments in 1999, Pepperberg said he could identify 50 different objects and recognize quantities up to six; that he could distinguish seven colors and five shapes, and understand the concepts of "bigger", "smaller", "same", and "different", and that he was learning "over" and "under". [23], Pepperberg was training Alex to recognize English graphemes, in the hope that he would conceptually relate an English written word with the spoken word. I spent a few afternoons with Alex, playing with corks (his favorite thing at the time) and 'talking' with him. expecting him to say blue. [16] This made him the first and only non-human animal to have ever asked a question—and an existential question at that. In 1977, graduate student Irene Pepperberg walked into a pet store and bought a year-old African grey parrot. Irene Pepperberg (1998), Talking with Alex: Logic and speech in parrots. [18], Preliminary research also seems to indicate that Alex could carry over the concept of four blue balls of wool on a tray to four notes from a piano. She said he was totally enthralled by the story, cracking up at the part where Alex was picking on the new bird. Pepperberg asked him, "What color three?" There's a problem loading this menu right now. She believes that Alex may have had his wings clipped when he was young, which could have prevented him from learning to fly. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. A research scientist forms a 30-year bond with an unlikely subject. Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, Parrots For Kids Amazing Animal Books For Young Readers, Children's Encyclopedia of Birds (Arcturus Children's Reference Library), National Geographic Kids Chapters: Parrot Genius: And More True Stories of Amazing Animal Talents (NGK Chapters), “The bigger the brain, the smarter the creature”—or so scientists thought until graduate student Irene Pepperberg bought an African Grey parrot from a pet shop. In later years, Alex sometimes assumed the role of one of Pepperberg's assistants by acting as the "model" and "rival" in helping to teach a fellow parrot in the lab. [24], Alex's death on 6 September 2007, at age 31,[25] came as a surprise, as the average life span for a grey parrot in captivity is 45 years. In May of 2008, a USA Today article referred to Alex as "the Einstein of parrots", and in a PBS documentary, Alan Alda referred to Alex the same way. [6] Pepperberg wrote that Alex's intelligence was on a level similar to dolphins and great apes. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. However, as Alex had been asked this question before, he seemed to have become bored. When asked questions in the context of research testing, he gave the correct answer approximately 80 percent of the time. Something went wrong. Pepperberg also serves on the Advisory Council of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Please try again. [6] Looking at a mirror, he said "what color", and learned "grey" after being told "grey" six times. [11] Alex sometimes practiced words when he was alone. Named Alex, short for Avian Learning Experiment, the bird would defy all expectations by learning to use more than 100 words; perform rudimentary mathematics; and discern shapes, colors, and more—eventually demonstrating the intellectual capacity of a five-year-old child and forever changing the way we think about animal intelligence. "Life with Alex” offers an up-close glimpse into Alex’s world, with never-before-released footage of Alex using meaningful human speech to convey his daily thoughts and feelings. Pepperberg reported that during times when she and an assistant were having a conversation and made mistakes, Alex would correct them. [25], "A Thinking Bird or Just Another Birdbrain? In 1977, graduate student Irene Pepperberg walked into a pet store and bought a year-old African grey parrot. This kept occurring until Pepperberg said "Fine, what color five?" Alex, an African Grey parrot, talking to his owner, Irene Pepperberg. [26][27][8][28] His last words ("You be good, I love you. i was on youtube and came across this parrot documentary called Parrots- Look Who's Talking. Alex died unexpectedly in 2007 at the age of 31 (just middle age for such a parrot), but Pepperberg continues her research with other birds. A perfectly normal exchange — except that Alex happened to be an African Grey parrot, with a brain the size and shape of a shelled walnut. Please try again. Alex showed surprise and anger when confronted with a nonexistent object or one different from what he had been led to believe was hidden during the tests.[14]. The story gives enough detail to really give you a feel for the work being done to study parrot intelligence, but it's not so complex that a reasonably smart 4 or 5-year-old couldn't enjoy it. "[2] However, researchers that have actually worked with Alex and published data on him say he was able to talk to and perform for anyone involved in the project as well as complete strangers who recorded findings. Divided into five chapters, Spinner’s lengthy text uses an accessible, conversational tone to balance the science with the more personal story of Pepperberg’s steadfast determination and the deep animal-human bond that developed between the two. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. [21] If asked the difference between two objects, he also answered that; but if there was no difference between the objects, he said "none", which meant that he understood the concept of nothing or zero. "These were the same words that he would say … Knopf Books for Young Readers (October 9, 2012). If he said "Wanna banana", but was offered a nut instead, he stared in silence, asked for the banana again, or took the nut and threw it at the researcher or otherwise displayed annoyance, before requesting the item again. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. The name Alex was an acronym for avian language experiment, or avian learning experiment. Created by the award-winning wildlife documentary production company ArgoFilms, it premiered on the PBS Nature channel last November. “Life with Alex” offers an up-close glimpse into Alex’s world, with never-before-released footage of Alex using meaningful human speech to convey his daily thoughts and feelings. [2] Alex passed increasingly difficult tests measuring whether humans have achieved Piaget's Substage 6 object permanence. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Alex was a parrot with extraordinary abilities. )[17] Alex's ability to ask questions (and to answer to Pepperberg's questions with his own questions) is documented in numerous articles and interviews. [4] He was compared to Albert Einstein and at two years old was correctly answering questions made for six-year-olds. Grades 2-5. [30], Some academics are skeptical of Pepperberg's findings, asserting without data or peer-reviewed publication concerning Alex's data, that Alex's communications is operant conditioning. A concluding author’s note touches on Spinner’s fascination with animal communication, but it does not offer any details on the author’s research, Pepperberg’s findings or her detractors, or further resources for interested readers—of which there will be many. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Wonderful story, this is just another great version! Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. An unlikely scientific team, Irene Pepperberg and her talking parrot, Alex, revolutionized scientists' ideas about animal communication and intelligence. I like to highlight good animal treatment and interesting animal stories. There is not very much of the exciting story in it. [22] In July 2006, Pepperberg discovered that Alex's perception of optical illusions was similar to human perception. Pepperberg said that if he could not count, the data could be interpreted as his being able to estimate quickly and accurately the number of something, better than humans can. Alex was a very special bird, and he will certainly not be forgotten. Season 5 Episode 4. Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Flickr Irene Pepperberg with Alex the parrot. From the wilds of Costa Rica to suburban America, a lovable, quirky cast of parrots will reveal their unforgettable tales and the bittersweet world they share with humans. [2] The name Alex was an acronym for avian language experiment,[3] or avian learning experiment. 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