University of Cambridge > Talks.cam > SCI Cambridge Science Talks > DO ANIMALS HAVE MEMORIES OF TOMORROW?

DO ANIMALS HAVE MEMORIES OF TOMORROW?

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

If you have a question about this talk, please contact John Wilkins.

As humans, we can reminisce about our past and plan our long-term futures, and the two are intimately linked. In this talk I will touch on two important issues; why this ability to travel backwards and forwards in our minds is an important part of our normal daily lives and why loss of it can be so devastating, and whether this ability is unique to humans. The traditional view is that only humans can remember their past and plan for tomorrow, and consequently all other animals live in the eternal present. I shall challenge this hypothesis and show that, surprisingly, some of the most convincing evidence comes not from our closest relatives, the monkeys and apes, but from a surprisingly smart, large-brained bird, the scrub-jay.

Nicola Clayton is Professor of Comparative Cognition in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.

Talk suitable for GCSE students. Free admission. N.B. No tickets – so come early to get a good seat. Doors open at 18:30.

Please check www.soci.org for the latest news on this and other SCI events.

This talk is part of the SCI Cambridge Science Talks series.

Tell a friend about this talk:

This talk is included in these lists:

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.

 

© 2006-2024 Talks.cam, University of Cambridge. Contact Us | Help and Documentation | Privacy and Publicity