December 16 - 22, 2017
Daily Journal
3
BY GEORGE DICKIE
PBS’ ‘NOVA: Bird Brain’ takes studies of avian intelligence to new heights When it comes to discussions of animal intelligence, birds are often left out of the conversation. But different species of these often underestimated creatures can solve problems and puzzles, use tools, recognize their enemies, mourn their dead, communicate with one another in ways we can’t comprehend and work as a team to find food. So the next time you hear someone being called a bird brain, it could be construed as a compliment. It also happens to be the subject of the latest edition of PBS’ “NOVA.” In “Bird Brain,” airing Wednesday, Dec. 20 (check local listings), researchers put these feathered creatures through their paces in a battery of tests to determine whether these abilities are the product of a higher intelligence, instinct or subtle cues from their human handlers. What they found is that birds do indeed possess skills that even a fouryear-old child would have trouble mastering, such as the abilities to empathize with each other or delay gratification for a bigger reward to come later – both thought to be exclusive to humans. “When we showed the brain of a bird,” says “NOVA” senior executive
MARKLE DID YOU KNOW
producer Paula Apsell, “it’s organized in such a different way from our own brain. And usually we look at evolution as taking the structures that we have and developing them further. So that’s kind of the way we see evolution as a progression even though scientists always caution us not to. But here you have these animals that are so intelligent and yet their brain is structured completely differently from ours. “So what does that really tell you about intelligence?” she continues. “I think it tells you ... that it’s really something that we don’t much understand, the relationship between intelligence and the structure of a brain.”
Meghan Markle is an actress known for her starring role on the USA Network’s legal drama “Suits” – and her romance with Prince Harry of Great Britain. Markle was born in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. When she was 11, Markle wrote a letter to various notables, including then First Lady Hillary Clinton, about a TV advertisement featuring the idea of women being bogged down by greasy cookware. The youngster deemed the ad sexist when male classmates started yelling, upon seeing the commercial, that the kitchen is where women belonged. (The language of the ad was subsequently changed.) Markle went on to study theater and international relations at Northwestern University School of Communication, graduating in 2003. In 2011, Markle had her big break, landing the role of paralegal Rachel Zane on the USA network series “Suits.” She has done big-screen work as well, appearing in such films as “Get Him to the Greek” (2010), “Horrible Bosses” (2011), and “Anti-Social” (2015), as well as the TV movies “When Sparks Fly” (2014) and “Dater’s Handbook” (2016). Markle dated producer Trevor Engelson for several years before the couple married in
2011. They divorced two years later. She then made international headlines when it was revealed in 2016 that she was seriously dating Prince Harry of Great Britain. The two met while Prince Harry was attending the Invictus Games in Toronto, where “Suits” is filmed. Much speculation ensued about the direction of their romance, with Markle becoming the most Googled actress of 2016 as a result of the relationship. On November 27, 2017, Markle and Prince Harry revealed that they had secretly gotten engaged earlier in the month. An official announcement said the wedding would take place in the spring of 2018, at which point Markle would become the first biracial woman to marry into the British royal family. Markle has a number of passions that include yoga, calligraphy and cuisine. She is also an essayist and has written for Elle UK, and ran her own lifestyle blog, The Tig, from 2014 to 2017. Markle’s philanthropic efforts include being appointed a U.N. Women’s Advocate and working with the World Vision Clean Water Campaign, among other activities.
YEaR End ClEaRanCE
Casey Webb
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