Yep - that is a computer and a very smart orangutan at the Atlanta Zoo. Please read the following from the Atlanta Zoo website about the fascinating Learning Tree Project
"Scientists have long wondered about the true nature of great ape cognition, and a groundbreaking project at Zoo Atlanta provides researchers and guests with an ongoing opportunity to observe the skills of some of the animal kingdom?s most complex problem solvers.
Opened in 2007 through partnership with the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) and IBM, the Orangutan Learning Tree encourages the apes to participate in regular interactions with an on-exhibit computer, engaging in a variety of programs that allow scientists to collect data on their cognitive abilities. Our goal is to learn more about the orangutan social cognition?in other words, their understanding of their social environment. For example, what features do they use to recognize individuals (faces? voices? both?)? Do they recognize group versus non group members? We conduct this research in collaboration with Dr. Robert Hampton and the Laboratory for Comparative Primate Cognition at Emory University. Dr. Hampton?s lab conducts similar work with other species of primates, and we hope to eventually compare performance across species to look for common elements of primate cognition.
Currently, the orangutans are working on a categorization program where they are learning to categorize objects. You can try the same program the orangutans are doing here. "
I won tickets to Phil Lesh and Friends (John Scofield, Warren Haynes, Jackie Greene, Joe Russo & Jeff Chimenti) and the Colorado Garden and Home Show. Sweet!
The theme of my select-a-set was walking so I chose Walking On The Moon (The Police), Walking In Memphis (Marc Cohn), and Walking On The Sun (Smashmouth).
