Monday, November 12, 2012

Cats Can Spell



First thing is first, cats can spell. Not only can they spell, but due to their sheer ingenuity, they have erected an elaborate network of tightropes high above the alps to escape the drudgery of holding up the façade that domesticated cats cannot spell. 



Intelligence through behavioral observation is defined as a composite of skills and abilities. A cat's verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory and processing speed are reportedly less than that of a humans, however, the working memory of a cat is surmised as being 16 hours whereas most humans can barely remember what they ate for breakfast. 


F.E. Line Whiskers
Founder of The Whiskers Institute


According to F.E. Line Whiskers, founder of The Whiskers Institute, in his famous paper, The Nature of Feline Intelligence, "complex behavior, as exhibited by cats, requires a complex (and therefore intelligent) brain."  The brain of a domesticated cat is reported as containing 763 million cortical neurons with the visual cortex containing about 51,400 neurons per mm3. 






Cat brains are divided into many areas with specialized tasks that are intertwined and interconnected. A feline's flexibility arises from the sheer number of specialized hubs and many alternate paths within their highly specialized neural network. 




Since cats are non-materialistic, they could care less whether objects continue to exist when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. In this respect, objects have no separate, permanent existence for a cat. They are, as one very evolved kitty called them, "part of the unseen universe." 




Given their extraordinary ability to retain information, cats can recall events with precision for up to 10 years - sometimes longer. Remembering how to spell is a trivial task and pales in comparison. Their remarkable intelligence has given rise to interspecies communication, allowing cats to co-exist along side of humans and other species, evolving far beyond their earlier primitive cat ancestors - just as humans evolved from their early primitive hominid ancestors. 







As the inherent plasticity of the cat's brain becomes more apparent, scientists will continue to explore the affects of enriched and stimulating environments that contribute to the novel adaptive behaviors found in urban cats. 



In 2009, scientists simulated a cat's brain using a supercomputer containing 24,576 processors. Why you ask? There are a number of reasons why the cat brain is a goal of computer simulations. The main reason being that the physical structure of human brains and cat brains are very similar. Cats, like humans, have binocular vision that gives them depth perception. No doubt, the sentience of cats, in the area of artificial intelligence, will open the door for longitudinal evolutionary changes for future generations of cats (and possibly humans).

                

Just like humans, cats have the ability to learn, solve problems, and adapt to their environment. Cats have the ability to acquire new behavior that applies previously learned knowledge to new situations. Cat owners know all too well that cats can easily communicate their needs and desires. 



It is a well-known fact that cats can dream... 















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