Word: behavior
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...surprising degree, a large and otherwise diverse majority closed ranks behind three propositions: that there is rough overall global equivalence between the superpowers; that there is a regional imbalance in Europe favoring the Soviet Union; and that regionally and globally there are ominous trends in Soviet wherewithal and behavior. But there were also complaints that the U.S. is overrating the Soviet threat and that Washington's rhetoric is reckless, to the point where the U.S. appears unconvincing in its commitment to negotiate in Geneva. In addition, Europeans were almost unanimous in reprimanding the U.S. for conducting a "cold...
...percent of the Democratic primary votes that gave Harold Washington victory over his two white opponents--Jane Byrne and Richard M. Daley--had barely subsided before conservative pundits in Chicago and elsewhere began equating the 80 percent ethnic-bloc vote that Blacks gave Washington with anti-democratic or racist behavior. This disingenuous equation of ethnic-bloc voting with anti-democratic behavior holds that ethnic of racial cohesion in electoral politics is intrinsically irrational, sanctioning emotional and atavistic styles of political behavior. Though there is a superficial plausibility to this sort of reasoning it doesn't really stand up very well...
...central problem in arriving at an answer is how to measure intelligence. Homo sapiens has a hard time devising IQ tests for its own species, much less trying to assess the brains of others. One trap: interpreting animal behavior in human terms. Notes Theodore Reed, former director of the National Zoo: "The public perception of animal intelligence abounds with anthropomorphic fantasies...
...animals as a signal of intelligence. Chimpanzees, for example, get at termites by jabbing their nests with twigs. The assassin bug of South America, also a termite fancier, approaches its prey by gluing nest material on its back to serve as camouflage. But, says Beck, the bug's behavior is probably "innate or genetically prewired." Another scientific index is the ability of animals to transmit information through so-called language behavior. Bees, foraging for pollen, return to the hive and perform an intricate figure-eight dance to map the route for other bees. Biologist James Gould of Princeton University...
Nevertheless, there are examples of behavior suggesting that animals can process information and make judgments. Gould points out that honey bees, fed sugar water that is gradually moved away from the hive, anticipate where the food will be placed. Seagulls break open shellfish by dropping them on hard surfaces, flying low when their target is small. At the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, chimpanzees have been conditioned to communicate through symbols and are able to distinguish between signs that mean food and those that refer to nonedible items. Says Duane Rumbaugh: "Apes have the capacity to use symbols...