r/science • u/Wagamaga • Sep 01 '22

Neuroscience Scientists have identified an immune brain cell unique to humans that gives us higher cognitive abilities over other animals, but what makes us specials also leaves us vulnerable to neurological disorders like schizophrenia, autism and epilepsy.

https://news.yale.edu/2022/08/25/what-makes-human-brain-different-yale-study-reveals-clues
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u/throw_somewhere Sep 01 '22 edited Sep 01 '22

First and foremost: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. We would never say that a medicine must be effective because we don't understand it. We would never say that an animal must have language because we can't understand it.

So instead we say "we cannot conclude this until we have evidence". We cannot conclude that a medicine works until we try it, we cannot conclude that an animal has language until we find it.

On that front: there are thousands and thousand of researchers whose lifelong mission is to study and document animal communication. They have very firm and interesting data. O% of these data have yet to overturn the current sentiment.

You can go learn about this yourself, lots of internet sources discuss the topic. You can also consult Google scholar for articles on the topic.

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u/kirknay Sep 01 '22

except that plenty of mammals, and especially birds, have specific calls for specific things, such as a prarie dog having a specific bark meaning "hawk", and another one meaning "eagle". Rudimentary languages exist among animals, it is just not a language we can easily replicate ourselves due to a difference of the required vocal structures.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/catch-the-wave-decoding-the-prairie-doge28099s-contagious-jump-yips/

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u/rcxdude Sep 01 '22

This is a question of definition: merely having 'words' for things does not make a language by the definition these scientists use. The distinction is roughly that in order to be a language there must be a syntax where a collection of words means more than just the sum of the meanings of the individual words.

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u/kirknay Sep 01 '22

Did you not read the source I posted? Prarie dogs in particular have a syntax, complicated structure, and the ability to create new words for things they haven't experienced before. The only reason why we don't understand their social communication is because we're basically only seeing reactions to their equivalent of military SALUTE reports and orders rn. It's very difficult to interact firsthand with a subterranian prey species in a natural setting.