Back to David's theory of evolution of abstract thought (Evolution)

by David Turell , Monday, August 24, 2020, 18:53 (1550 days ago) @ David Turell

A thought experiment about abstract (concrete) thinking using this study:

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-tropical-songbirds-survive-drought.html

"Droughts—expected to become more common because of climate change—confront birds with a trade-off between reproduction and their own survival, researchers said, because producing eggs and feeding chicks requires additional energy even as food becomes scarcer.

"But the study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that instead of trying to juggle the demands of new offspring and harsh environmental conditions, most of the songbird species studied opted to reduce their reproduction during drought.

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"It found that reproduction was reduced by an average of 36 percent in the 20 Malaysian species and 52 percent in the 18 Venezuelan species.

"Birds with a longer lifespan had the biggest slowdown in breeding during dry spells."

Comment: The authors give no proposed reasoning by birds for this observation. It could be reasoned the birds knew food would be scarce so they purposely reduced their reproductive activity for less mouths to feed. That is abstract/conceptual thinking. OR with the drought causing food scarcity energy levels were reduced in the parents and they didn't feel like expending the energy sex required. A concrete reaction to the senses in their bodies. Apply that to bees biting leaves to produce earlier flowering. Perhaps my thinking will become obvious.