Clever as a Fox: Animal Intelligence and What It Can Teach Us about Ourselves

by Sonja Yoerg

Dogs are smarter than cats, dolphins and chimps are more clever than both, and we who determine the rankings top the scale--or so we think. But are we thinking clearly? To appreciate the mental abilities of the owl and the pussycat, the tortoise and the hare, requires a commitment to unraveling the nature of intelligence--a tricky and controversial proposition that Sonja Yoerg sets out to explore in this learned, lucid, and entertaining book about our complicated, often erroneous notions about animal intelligence.With forays into evolutionary biology, behavioral science, and comparative psychology, "Clever as a Fox" reveals the promise and pitfalls inherent in any attempt to assess animal intelligence. Along with the concepts we deploy to define and compare intelligence, Yoerg looks at the expectations and prejudices that cloud our judgment of the animal mind, perceptions shaped as much by Aesop and Disney as by direct observation of our fellow creatures. And because such perceptions are inextricably linked with judgments of value--ideas about animal mentality have much to do with which species end up on our laps and which on our plates--this deeply revealing look at how we think about animal intelligence should help us use our own intelligence more wisely.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Animals, Read For School

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2001

About the author

I grew up in Stowe, Vermont, the daughter of a ski instructor and a history teacher. In my first incarnation, I was a animal behaviorist who studied learning in blue jays, hyenas and kangaroo rats. I wrote a book about that. Now I make stuff up.

I've published several novels, including TRUE PLACES, a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller. Yeah, typing that makes me smile because reaching readers is the point, right? My upcoming release, THE FAMILY SHIP, earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Watch for it on February 23, 2021.

When I'm not writing or pretending to be writing, I run, garden, cook, eat, drink wine, then run some more. My husband and I live in central Virginia with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's quiet and pretty, like Vermont.

Join me all over the place:
twitter.com/SonjaYoerg
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www.sonjayoerg.com

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever as a Fox is well-written, illuminating and very much a science-based book but for the ordinary reader - no science background, other than an interest and a little reading, required. If evolution isn't your thing, this book won't be either. I'd give the book six stars if I could.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read - it changed the way I thought about animals.

[Shannon Hollinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Much like Jane Goodall, Sonja Yoerg writes in a way that both inspires confidence in the author's knowledge and creates a world of imagery for the reader to immerse themselves in. This book is reader friendly in that you don't have to be an animal behaviorist to enjoy, appreciate and understand the subject matter. That said, you will most likely learn something while reading this book. It entails a certain amount of effort. If you're looking for a story to entertain you while you've got one eye on the kids and the other on a pitcher of margaritas, you should probably opt for a fictional beach read and save this book for another day.

This book is written to make you think. It doesn't just discuss animal behaviors and their varying degrees of intelligence. It educates the reader on how intelligence tests are created, the history of methods used by different sects of behaviorists, the inherent flaws of each method - basically this book will challenge your very definition of the concept of intelligence. It made me think of my perceptions of the members of the animal kingdom in an entirely new way. It even made me consider that (gasp!) my Jack Russell might not be quite the genius I thought her to be. (But then she made it quite clear - she is indeed a genius - an evil genius ;)

Joking aside, this book has made a huge impact in the way I think about not just animal intelligence, but also animal equality. As the author suggests, perhaps the Great Chain of Being is wrong. Perhaps an animal is not more intelligent (or worthy) simply because they are considered to have more human-like qualities than another creature. And when you start to consider the impact (or lack thereof) of intelligence on survival? Wow. I will be enjoying the information I learned from having read this book (and the private mental debates stemming from this new info) for a long time to come!

[Yanick Punter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some interesting bits

[K.E. Lanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonja Yoerg’s, Clever as a Fox, delves into one of the most fascinating aspects of animal behavior—intelligence. Armed with her prodigious writing skills and a PhD in Animal Behavior, Yoerg distills a host of scientific studies of animals into a readable and humorous book of animal brainpower. In an excerpt from the book, Yoerg displays her lovely prose: “Variability is the theme song of life. The fate of a leaf, the fate of a tree, the fate of a forest is spun by the hands of so many blind forces that we are still, even with our sciences and tools, mostly clueless as to how it all works . . . .” This book is a wonderful addition to your library!

[Sue Gaddam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scientific method only.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess this wasn't really what I expected. It was interesting, but slow to read and not very reader- friendly I thought. Maybe it was meant more for somebody studying animal intelligence, rather than just wanting to learn more about it for fun.