Thursday, August 09, 2012

Can Elephants Talk?

Rumbling Around

I just got back from a two-day vacation, so I'll post only a rumor -- elephants can talk:
Elephants rumble the same way people talk or sing, by blowing air past their long vocal folds and letting them vibrate. (Sindya N. Bhanoo and Kate Yandell, "How to Tell an Elephant From a Cat? Check the Larynx," NYT, August 2, 2012)
The article doesn't actually claim that Elephants "talk," though it does say that they "communicate," but from what I've learned recently about elephant intelligence, as well as the size and complexity of the elephant brain, I wouldn't be surprised.

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10 Comments:

At 5:05 AM, Blogger ilTassista Marino said...

Elephants got a powerful memory too --- I am sure I remember something like that about them, sort of.

But, hey, I didn't remember the (previously called) word verification was so difficult! now letters are even blurred!! What will be the next step? A blank stripe, "guess the word we have in our minds..."

 
At 5:28 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Psychics alone are the only true humans . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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At 2:00 PM, Blogger ilTassista Marino said...

... until we robots will psy-kick them.

 
At 10:10 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

They'll then become 'raw-butts' . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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At 11:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

They do seem to have a great memory. This story is well known among zoologists.

Elefante

Psychics? I'm afraid you got it wrong, sir. It's the Koreans.

Jacek

 
At 12:17 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Still all too human! Koreans are Nietzschean Uebermenschen!

But where have you been, Jacek?

Jeffery Hodges

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At 12:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A month vacation. It was such a pleasure to stay a month away from the Internet, news and... Korea :)

Jacek

 
At 1:07 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Poland? Or SE Asia?

Jeffery Hodges

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At 3:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My wife badly wanted to travel across Europe or the North America. Unfortunately and to my wife's despair it was impossible to get seats for such a long journey. So with a base in Korea we flew first to Bali, after a week returned to Seoul to pack our suitcase with fresh clothes and headed for Cambodia, and then Japan.

Jacek

 
At 3:31 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Well, you seem to have enjoyed yourself anyway.

Jeffery Hodges

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