It occurs to me, that so many things we know, and do are the result of serendipity.
I mean agriculture, wine, yogurt, leavened bread, penicillin, etc...
And you can add learning to that list. Because playing around in hopes of discovering something useful, is indeed something we discovered serendipitously. Yet, it is astonishing, knowing this especially, how unplayful learning in school is still, these days.
When I watch the wild Crows, I wonder sometimes if they are doing something which they learned, by accident, or by direct instruction from other Crows.
I think, if you are a Crow watcher, this is a very important question to keep warm on the back burner.
1. What are they doing?
2. Is this a repeat? If so, is it a repeat because they learned from an accident, or instruction?
For example, when Crows toss fruits down from the tree, are they cultivating or agriculturing?
Have they learned that bugs, and maggots will infest the fruits on the ground? That fruits will later ripen or ferment on the ground? That other animals will come like pigeons or mice? That new fruit will sprout forth upon the tree again? That it is a form of hoarding/caching? That they can later collect and hide the fruit without competition present? That competition will leave town if they find bare trees?
What exactly motivates their annual behaviors? Have they learned it? Learned from it? Been taught it? Taught it to others? How do their observations and experiences guide their behavior?
These are questions we should ask of ourselves as well. These are questions we should teach our children to ask. Why? Because there are so many things we don't know yet, and cannot appreciate until we hurry up and get to knowing them.
Do Crows do family planning?
Socializing?
Agriculture?
Hunting?
Gathering?
Playing?
Cooperation?
Teamwork?
Yes! But how much of that was learnt from observation? How much taught?
On the flip side...what ain't they managed to learn, or learn quickly, or learn well? And why?
This is a good one to answer about ourselves.
I mean agriculture, wine, yogurt, leavened bread, penicillin, etc...
And you can add learning to that list. Because playing around in hopes of discovering something useful, is indeed something we discovered serendipitously. Yet, it is astonishing, knowing this especially, how unplayful learning in school is still, these days.
When I watch the wild Crows, I wonder sometimes if they are doing something which they learned, by accident, or by direct instruction from other Crows.
I think, if you are a Crow watcher, this is a very important question to keep warm on the back burner.
1. What are they doing?
2. Is this a repeat? If so, is it a repeat because they learned from an accident, or instruction?
For example, when Crows toss fruits down from the tree, are they cultivating or agriculturing?
Have they learned that bugs, and maggots will infest the fruits on the ground? That fruits will later ripen or ferment on the ground? That other animals will come like pigeons or mice? That new fruit will sprout forth upon the tree again? That it is a form of hoarding/caching? That they can later collect and hide the fruit without competition present? That competition will leave town if they find bare trees?
What exactly motivates their annual behaviors? Have they learned it? Learned from it? Been taught it? Taught it to others? How do their observations and experiences guide their behavior?
These are questions we should ask of ourselves as well. These are questions we should teach our children to ask. Why? Because there are so many things we don't know yet, and cannot appreciate until we hurry up and get to knowing them.
Do Crows do family planning?
Socializing?
Agriculture?
Hunting?
Gathering?
Playing?
Cooperation?
Teamwork?
Yes! But how much of that was learnt from observation? How much taught?
On the flip side...what ain't they managed to learn, or learn quickly, or learn well? And why?
This is a good one to answer about ourselves.
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