Would it surprise anyone reading this to know that Irene Pepperberg, the author of Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, was on You're the Expert would it? I was very interested in her work, so I grabbed her autobiography from the library.
Irene Pepperberg received a doctorate in chemistry before she decided she was really interested in animal intelligence and communication after seeing a documentary on television. She started doing research with an African Grey parrot named Alex.
Okay. Where do I start?
First, the organization was...not great. It starts with a chapter about how Alex died and how The New York Times posted his obituary. It was all about how sad Pepperberg was. And you know what? I get it. I don't even want to think about what my reaction is going to be when my girls die (*if* they die - heaven knows Zelda might be immortal). BUT. WHY START THERE? The whole book was just a downer. Instead of starting with a funny bit about Alex bossing around the other parrots in the lab or something, she just starts with "I'm going to tell you about a dead parrot" and the whole book was framed around that.
Also? She's sort of mad that no one would take her seriously at first because she has a PhD in chemistry instead of biology? I mean, can you blame them? Then she gets a job in a biology department and doesn't think she's qualified to teach the introductory classes and gets made at the department because they don't support her. CAN YOU BLAME THEM? (I think I would probably not be friends with Pepperberg.)
But. It's also a great story about perseverance. When she's bouncing around from fellowship to adjunctship to visiting professorship to whatever, she's applying for grants, she's fundraising, she's doing all the things. I think this would be a great book to give a student who is studying animal biology and wants to do research-oriented work. There are a lot of lessons about how academia sucks balls in there.
It's also a story about a parrot who learns a lot and teaches the humans around him a lot. If you don't think I'm here for a story about a stubborn animal who *can* do things, but sometimes refuses to, let me reintroduce you to my own personal stubborn menace.
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| "Hannah, look at me!" "No." |
I have very mixed feelings on this book, but I was generally invested and kept wanting to read more to find out what impish things Alex was going to do next. 4/5 stars
What I looked up:
Pei's Toilet - MIT's Media Lab is housed at 20 Ames St. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Designed by the famous architect I.M. Pei, it is colloquially known as Pei's Toilet to the locals.
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Are you a bird person? What's your preference of animal friends? I'm not sure what my preference is, but I think birds are pretty far down on the list.
I like birds from a distance. Since I've never met a pet bird, I can't say if I'd be open to having a special feathered friend in my life. Hey, I never thought I would be a dog person so who knows what the future holds?
ReplyDeleteYou know my preference for animal friends! Cats and dogs!!! I refuse to pick a favorite - obviously if you're judging by who I currently share a bed with, then it's dogs, but they don't purr so for that alone cats stay on the list.
Also now that I have seen Pei's Toilet I cannot unsee it. I will not rest until I go to Cambridge in person and take a picture of it.
ReplyDeleteI like birds, but as I found out from my trip, I am NOT cut out to be a birder. I like them! I like seeing them! But wow, birders are a whole different group. I encountered a few and it is like an entire lifestyle. I mean, we all deserve to enjoy what makes us happy. But I guess I'm just a "yay birds" kind of person rather than a "adjust binoculars, sit for several minutes, identify bird in birding list, look up Merlin app, discover particular bird call, check bird off bird list" person.
ReplyDeleteOh whoops, didn't answer the question. Dogs.
DeleteI am charmed by birds in the wild. Except when they poop indiscriminately on things I need to clean, but I understand they can't really help it. Not very charmed by pet birds. When I was a teen/college kid I worked at a now (obviously) defunct Woolworth's, and for some insane reason we had a "pet department" and we sold parakeets. Those poor birds. Their wings were obviously clipped, but we also had this middle of the main aisle display where they were, and it was OPEN at the top, so random idiot customers could put their hands in there and pester the birds. One day I was working near that area, and these IDIOT teens were pestering the birds, and I cautioned them that the birds might bite them. They sneered at me, and I moved off, but not before I heard a very satisfying yelp of "OW! It BIT me!"
ReplyDeleteAll this to day I think birds should not be pets. It's stressful for them, cages are no fun, and if you let them free roam in the house they will poop over everything. Give me a cat any day of the week.