03/14/2011
Researchers in Thailand came up with an unusual test to measure elephants' capacity for teamwork, a benchmark of intelligence. ... They threaded rope around a platform. On that platform: buckets of corn, a reward. If one of the elephants tugs on the other end of the rope alone, no reward. But if they pull in unison, they're both rewarded.
■Class discussion: If you don't think cooperation proves intelligence, how about cheating? According to the video: "One elephant outsmarted the researchers when she figured out she could just stand on her end of the rope and let her partner do all the work. " Interesting. But how is that "cheating?" The elephant just got the job done. There were no rules to break, no instructions to follow. Is cheating simply a human invention?