Home > Author > Irene M. Pepperberg
1 " Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know. "
― Irene M. Pepperberg , Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
2 " In her book Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver wrote, “Children robbed of love will dwell on magic. "
3 " A third principal states that the more intense the interaction between a student and its models, the more effective the training. Intensity - the extent to which tutors arouse a response in a student - is determined from direct observations of interactants (e.g., by recording emotional responses) or from indirect measures (e.g., blood pressure or hormone levels).One implication, supported by data reviewed in Pepperberg and Neapolitan, is that, for both humans and birds, intense interaction requires one or more tutors. Of course, increasing the intensity of the interaction may not always increase learning: overly nurturant models may inhibit learning by preventing a student from experimenting on his or her own and overly aggressive models may arouse fear or counter-aggression strong enough to block processing of any input. "
― Irene M. Pepperberg , The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots
4 " During long or difficult sessions, Alex may request students to "go away" or he occasionally states "I'm gonna go away," climbs off his training chair, and tries to leave. After such an interaction, attempts to continue training are usually fruitless. "
5 " You be good. I love you,’ Alex said to me. "
6 " I was uncovering cognitive abilities in Alex that no one believed were possible, and challenging science’s deepest assumptions about the origin of human cognitive abilities. And yet I was without a job. I was also without a grant. I had to apply for unemployment insurance. I ate fourteen tofu meals a week, and I kept my thermostat at 57 degrees during the winter to minimize household expenses. "
