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Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters
Longlisted for the 2023 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing AwardA lively exploration of animal behavior in all its glorious complexity, whether in tiny wasps, lumbering elephants, or ourselves.
For centuries, people have been returning to the same tired nature-versus-nurture debate, trying to determine what we learn and what we inherit. In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, biologist Marlene Zuk goes beyond the binary and instead focuses on interaction, or the way that genes and environment work together. Driving her investigation is a simple but essential How does behavior evolve?
Drawing from a wealth of research, including her own on insects, Zuk answers this question by turning to a wide range of animals and animal behavior. There are stories of cockatoos that dance to rock music, ants that heal their injured companions, dogs that exhibit signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and so much more.
For insights into animal intelligence, mating behavior, and an organism’s ability to fight disease, she explores the behavior of smart spiders, silent crickets, and crafty crows. In each example, she clearly demonstrates how these traits were produced by the complex and diverse interactions of genes and the environment and urges us to consider how that same process evolves behavior in us humans.
Filled with delightful anecdotes and fresh insights, Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test helps us see both other animals and ourselves more clearly, demonstrating that animal behavior can be remarkably similar to human behavior, and wonderfully complicated in its own right.
For centuries, people have been returning to the same tired nature-versus-nurture debate, trying to determine what we learn and what we inherit. In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, biologist Marlene Zuk goes beyond the binary and instead focuses on interaction, or the way that genes and environment work together. Driving her investigation is a simple but essential How does behavior evolve?
Drawing from a wealth of research, including her own on insects, Zuk answers this question by turning to a wide range of animals and animal behavior. There are stories of cockatoos that dance to rock music, ants that heal their injured companions, dogs that exhibit signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and so much more.
For insights into animal intelligence, mating behavior, and an organism’s ability to fight disease, she explores the behavior of smart spiders, silent crickets, and crafty crows. In each example, she clearly demonstrates how these traits were produced by the complex and diverse interactions of genes and the environment and urges us to consider how that same process evolves behavior in us humans.
Filled with delightful anecdotes and fresh insights, Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test helps us see both other animals and ourselves more clearly, demonstrating that animal behavior can be remarkably similar to human behavior, and wonderfully complicated in its own right.
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 9, 2022
52 people are currently reading
3610 people want to read
About the author
Marlene Zuk
17 books57 followersMarlene Zuk is an American evolutionary biologist and behavioral ecologist. She worked as professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) until she transferred to the University of Minnesota in 2012. Her studies involve sexual selection and parasites.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
October 28, 2022
This was OK, but I think it could have been better. I did learn some things, and I appreciated learning how scientists study the interactions between genes and the environment when it comes to behavior. The organization was a bit problematic, giving the sense of a bunch of different essays that just got pasted together to form the book, rather than a sustained narrative with a unifying theme. There was also lots of repetition, probably because the chapters were originally intended to stand alone. The best parts were about insect behavior, probably because that is the author's specialty, but maybe the editors felt an entire book on insects wouldn't appeal to a general audience.
April 12, 2023
Wow. This book was so fascinating I had a hard time putting it down. While the author discusses many complex scientific topics regarding the evolution of behavior, she does so in a way that makes it easy for non-scientists to understand.
Marlene Zuk begins by analyzing the old Nature vs Nurture debate, and then going on to say that the argument is futile. This is because the relationship between "nature" and "nurture" (aka genetics and environment) are far more intertwined than many people like to believe. Throughout the book, she shows us examples of how genes affect the way an organism interacts with the environment, and then the environment determines what genes are expressed and when. Genes and environment are not separate from each other, they are constantly interacting and cannot be simplified into a simple question like "what effects an organism more, genes or environment? Nature or nurture?" Instead, genes and environment are engaged in a constant "dialogue" with one another, responding to each other and shaping the organism together.
Another thing I liked about this book is how it worked to bridge the gap between humans and animals. I feel like a lot of times people (including myself) like to think of animals as separate and even "below" human beings. But this is not true at all. We are simply products of our evolution, our genes, and our environment, just as all other animals are. We are not "more evolved" because every living being on this planet is just as evolved as everything else. This book also goes into some discussions about animal intelligence, which ties in very closely with animal behavior which was just so enlightening.
My review contains only a tiny fraction of the amazing things about this book, and I absolutely loved it. It really put things into perspective, and helped me to more deeply understand how evolution acts upon us all.
Marlene Zuk begins by analyzing the old Nature vs Nurture debate, and then going on to say that the argument is futile. This is because the relationship between "nature" and "nurture" (aka genetics and environment) are far more intertwined than many people like to believe. Throughout the book, she shows us examples of how genes affect the way an organism interacts with the environment, and then the environment determines what genes are expressed and when. Genes and environment are not separate from each other, they are constantly interacting and cannot be simplified into a simple question like "what effects an organism more, genes or environment? Nature or nurture?" Instead, genes and environment are engaged in a constant "dialogue" with one another, responding to each other and shaping the organism together.
Another thing I liked about this book is how it worked to bridge the gap between humans and animals. I feel like a lot of times people (including myself) like to think of animals as separate and even "below" human beings. But this is not true at all. We are simply products of our evolution, our genes, and our environment, just as all other animals are. We are not "more evolved" because every living being on this planet is just as evolved as everything else. This book also goes into some discussions about animal intelligence, which ties in very closely with animal behavior which was just so enlightening.
My review contains only a tiny fraction of the amazing things about this book, and I absolutely loved it. It really put things into perspective, and helped me to more deeply understand how evolution acts upon us all.
November 21, 2023
Extremely informative about the impact of the interaction between genes and environment on behavior. Zuk shows us that it is not really nature versus nurture but nature working with nurture to form how animals act.
November 2, 2022
Wonderful, accessible, well-researched, well-written update from the world of cognitive/behavioral science research and wonderment. A pure joy to experience. Thought provoking, important. Learning about these fascinating behaviors from the full spectrum of living things can't help but to change the way you experience your world.
July 22, 2022
Well done, Dr. Zuk. Informative, optimistic, great science, and great sense of humor. I enjoyed the book and my conversation with Smithsonian Associate Dr. Zuk.
October 7, 2022
Excellent overview about the current thinking about animal behavior, along with historical background on how the field developed.
August 30, 2022
I have to admit that my first attraction to Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test was because I live with an Umbrella Cockatoo who does, indeed, dance. I also have a degree in Zoology and studied much of what Marlene Zuks writes about, from the genetic basis for the behaviors of drosophila Melanogaster to Ethology and to learned behaviors (or, how the Cockatoo trains Humans!). So I was looking forward to Marlene Zuk's book.
I wasn't disappointed; Zuk takes the reader through multiple levels and behavior theories and provides the case for many theories. Zuk shows that the basis for behavior can't be explained by only one theory; rather, how each provides part of the answer and how each theory works better if behavior theories are viewed as a whole,
However, Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test is not a light read. Zuk takes time to explain each area of work about behavior and provides citations for each. The earlier chapters can seem as if they were part of an article series in one of the more rigorous popular science journals. The best course for the casual reader would be to take each chapter as a separate reading experience and let the chapters build on each other.
If I were still teaching at the collegiate level, I'd use Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test as a secondary text for an animal behavior course. it's a good companion book to a school text and excellent standalone work on behavior.
Highly Recommended: five stars
I wasn't disappointed; Zuk takes the reader through multiple levels and behavior theories and provides the case for many theories. Zuk shows that the basis for behavior can't be explained by only one theory; rather, how each provides part of the answer and how each theory works better if behavior theories are viewed as a whole,
However, Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test is not a light read. Zuk takes time to explain each area of work about behavior and provides citations for each. The earlier chapters can seem as if they were part of an article series in one of the more rigorous popular science journals. The best course for the casual reader would be to take each chapter as a separate reading experience and let the chapters build on each other.
If I were still teaching at the collegiate level, I'd use Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test as a secondary text for an animal behavior course. it's a good companion book to a school text and excellent standalone work on behavior.
Highly Recommended: five stars
July 25, 2022
Is behavior innate or learned? Nature vs nurture; genetics vs. environment? Which is the winner? According to this book, neither. It is, as she writes, "the interplay between genes and environment that' important...all attributes, behavior or not, have contributions from both genes and the environment, in a complex way that defies a simple apportionment into percentages of each." She then takes us through a journey through the natural world, from anxiety in crayfish to the evolution of language. She addresses issues from how to define what we mean by the word behavior, how do behaviors evolve, how correlation does not imply causation, and how Human narcissism makes it difficult for even trained scientists to correctly interpret the behavior of non-Humans. The author manages all of this without getting bogged down in technical jargon, writing in an informal style friendly to the lay person. Highly recommended.
Read
July 5, 2022I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.
Zuk, while she doesn't seem to care much for the eternal debate of nature vs nurture (because the answer is "both"), discusses in this book the nature of animals and how genes affect those behaviors. Zuk breaks down this topic starting with defining "behavior" and moving on to whether genes dictate behavior, intelligence and metal disorders, sex and gender roles, and behavior and diseases.
While plenty of the science went over my head Zuk was a very entertaining writer. I found myself chuckling at several points which is somewhat of a rarity for non-fiction books.
Zuk, while she doesn't seem to care much for the eternal debate of nature vs nurture (because the answer is "both"), discusses in this book the nature of animals and how genes affect those behaviors. Zuk breaks down this topic starting with defining "behavior" and moving on to whether genes dictate behavior, intelligence and metal disorders, sex and gender roles, and behavior and diseases.
While plenty of the science went over my head Zuk was a very entertaining writer. I found myself chuckling at several points which is somewhat of a rarity for non-fiction books.
December 24, 2023
Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test is the type of non-fiction book that I enjoy, with clear explanations about various subjects, while the author adds interesting and amazing examples of the how the world works. The author of this book is Marlene Zuk, who works as a behavioral scientist - at one point, she mentions studying crickets on the island of Hawaii. Male crickets sing to attract females, but on Hawaii there is a parasite fly that also is attracted to cricket songs - it drops its larvae on the male crickets back. When they hatch, they eat the male cricket alive. In Hawaii, some of the crickets have evolved (in relatively few generations) to be "flat-wings", which means that they are unable to sing. (Crickets apparently sing by rubbing their wings together). The flat-wing males find females by being drawn to the song of other males - they are "satellite" males - mating with females that are lured by the singing male. The "satellite" male strategy is employed by other species as well. The big question is: how do the flat-wing males learn to be drawn to the singing of other male crickets - is it instinct or a learned behavior?
The title of the book refers to cockatoos that listen to music and do dance moves to the music. If you look at on-line videos of Snowball the Cockatoo, there are 14 different dance moves that the bird has created. Where does this behavior come from? The Dead Man Test (sometimes less-gruesomely known as the Teddy Bear Test) says that if a Dead Man can do it, it isn't a behavior. The book has chapters on domestication, intelligence, communication, gender roles, fighting diseases. While some of this material might be important, it wasn't always amazing, which is why I awarded the book four stars instead of five. But the wealth of amazing facts makes the book a worthwhile read.
One species of ants preys on termites, but attacking termites is a dangerous task. Termites have powerful jaws and fight back. These ants will assess their wounded comrades, performing a battlefield triage, and if their injured comrade has only lost one or two legs, it will be carried back to the nest to heal. Ants that lose more than 2 limbs are left behind. When these ants head out to attack the termites, up to a third of them are missing at least one leg. The question: how do the ants evaluate whether they should abandon their wounded fellows? Are ants smart?
Black fire ants love sugar water. Normally, they can walk out onto the surface and slurp up the liquid, the surface tension is enough to support them. But diabolical researchers can add a fluid to the water that lowers the surface tension, the ants will drown if they enter the water. The ants use grains of sand at the waters edge to build a "siphon", so that the sugar water seeps up and the ants can feed safely. How do the ants know that the water will not support them? How do they know how to build siphons?
Clown fish live in small schools. The biggest fish is the dominant clown fish, and it is the breeding female. The second largest clown fish is the breeding male. If the female is killed, the male changes its sex and grows larger to become the dominant female, while one of the lesser clown fish will grow to become the male. This indicates that clown fish can determine their sex and how big they can grow.
When some chimpanzees feel sick, they will swallow (without chewing) the leaves of the Aspilla plant. An ill chimp can swallow more than 50 leaves. The leaves pass through the chimpanzee without being digested. Aspilla leaves are especially hairy - the chimps are trying to use the leaves as scrubbing brushes to scape parasites out of their digestive tract. How did the chimpanzees learn to do this?
Nicotine is similar to the toxic chemicals found in pesticides. Birds will pick up cigarette butts and line them in their nests if their nest is plagued with ticks or other vermin. How do birds know how to do this?
There is a parasite whose lifecycle requires it to reproduce inside a cat. The parasite eggs are expelled through the cat's feces, which then get into mice and rats. When the parasite grows, it needs to be back inside a cat, so somehow it hijacks the rodent's brain, causing it to become less afraid. Mice with toxoplasmosis are actually attracted to cat urine, which means that they are more likely to be eaten, which benefits the parasite, though of course it costs the mouse its life. (The toxins in the parasite eggs are dangerous to pregnant humans, which is why pregnant women should never clean the cat box). How can the parasite change the mouse behavior?
Researchers wondered if viruses could have an effect on human behavior. It is beneficial to viruses if their infected host is exposed to other humans, which would obviously increase its likelihood of spreading. The researchers asked volunteers to self-report their behavior 48 hours before and after getting a vaccine, and then 4 weeks after the vaccine shot. Vaccines administer weakened versions of a virus to a person so that their immune system can recognize the invader and learn how to fight it. So getting a vaccine is similar to getting infected. The research results showed that in the 48 hours after a vaccine, people did more social activities - going to parties and gatherings, etc. But 4 weeks after the shot, their behavior had resumed normal levels of sociability.
When I read a book like this, I am always surprised to learn of all the things people study, and the conclusions that they come to based upon their data. I should see if our library has any more of Zuk's books.
The title of the book refers to cockatoos that listen to music and do dance moves to the music. If you look at on-line videos of Snowball the Cockatoo, there are 14 different dance moves that the bird has created. Where does this behavior come from? The Dead Man Test (sometimes less-gruesomely known as the Teddy Bear Test) says that if a Dead Man can do it, it isn't a behavior. The book has chapters on domestication, intelligence, communication, gender roles, fighting diseases. While some of this material might be important, it wasn't always amazing, which is why I awarded the book four stars instead of five. But the wealth of amazing facts makes the book a worthwhile read.
One species of ants preys on termites, but attacking termites is a dangerous task. Termites have powerful jaws and fight back. These ants will assess their wounded comrades, performing a battlefield triage, and if their injured comrade has only lost one or two legs, it will be carried back to the nest to heal. Ants that lose more than 2 limbs are left behind. When these ants head out to attack the termites, up to a third of them are missing at least one leg. The question: how do the ants evaluate whether they should abandon their wounded fellows? Are ants smart?
Black fire ants love sugar water. Normally, they can walk out onto the surface and slurp up the liquid, the surface tension is enough to support them. But diabolical researchers can add a fluid to the water that lowers the surface tension, the ants will drown if they enter the water. The ants use grains of sand at the waters edge to build a "siphon", so that the sugar water seeps up and the ants can feed safely. How do the ants know that the water will not support them? How do they know how to build siphons?
Clown fish live in small schools. The biggest fish is the dominant clown fish, and it is the breeding female. The second largest clown fish is the breeding male. If the female is killed, the male changes its sex and grows larger to become the dominant female, while one of the lesser clown fish will grow to become the male. This indicates that clown fish can determine their sex and how big they can grow.
When some chimpanzees feel sick, they will swallow (without chewing) the leaves of the Aspilla plant. An ill chimp can swallow more than 50 leaves. The leaves pass through the chimpanzee without being digested. Aspilla leaves are especially hairy - the chimps are trying to use the leaves as scrubbing brushes to scape parasites out of their digestive tract. How did the chimpanzees learn to do this?
Nicotine is similar to the toxic chemicals found in pesticides. Birds will pick up cigarette butts and line them in their nests if their nest is plagued with ticks or other vermin. How do birds know how to do this?
There is a parasite whose lifecycle requires it to reproduce inside a cat. The parasite eggs are expelled through the cat's feces, which then get into mice and rats. When the parasite grows, it needs to be back inside a cat, so somehow it hijacks the rodent's brain, causing it to become less afraid. Mice with toxoplasmosis are actually attracted to cat urine, which means that they are more likely to be eaten, which benefits the parasite, though of course it costs the mouse its life. (The toxins in the parasite eggs are dangerous to pregnant humans, which is why pregnant women should never clean the cat box). How can the parasite change the mouse behavior?
Researchers wondered if viruses could have an effect on human behavior. It is beneficial to viruses if their infected host is exposed to other humans, which would obviously increase its likelihood of spreading. The researchers asked volunteers to self-report their behavior 48 hours before and after getting a vaccine, and then 4 weeks after the vaccine shot. Vaccines administer weakened versions of a virus to a person so that their immune system can recognize the invader and learn how to fight it. So getting a vaccine is similar to getting infected. The research results showed that in the 48 hours after a vaccine, people did more social activities - going to parties and gatherings, etc. But 4 weeks after the shot, their behavior had resumed normal levels of sociability.
When I read a book like this, I am always surprised to learn of all the things people study, and the conclusions that they come to based upon their data. I should see if our library has any more of Zuk's books.
June 2, 2025
A great book on the evolution of behavior. It serves, however, mainly to wet the appetite. It provides some important conceptual bases, dazzles you with fascinating examples, and in the end leaves you wanting for more.
The book defends three central theses, through its explorations of many aspects of behavior in both humans and animals.
First, that behavioral traits, as far as evolution is concerned, are not essentially different from physiological traits. Thus, any given observed behavior is not anymore caused by one gene than a baby's arm length is caused by one gene. Instead, a complex interaction of many genes, and the environment are the proper explanatory machinery behind behavioral traits.
Second, we have inherited an intellectual tradition that has the tendency of laying down the animal kingdom in a hierarchy, with humans obviously as the top. This view of the Scala Naturae produces in us biases that confuse our understanding of how different cognitive faculties may manifest in animals, by prompting us to judge an animal hastily as part of "the intelligence club" or not. The study of the evolution of behavior must resist this view and its accompanying biases if it means to go anywhere sensible.
Third, because evolution is conservative and tinkery, it shouldn't really surprise us to find similar structures or solutions in nature, even when it comes to behavior. Thus, we see that some animals have various ways to respond to disease using plants. We also observe animals displaying behavioral signs of hallucinations which respond to the same medication we use on humans. These findings capture our wander, as they should, but not in virtue of their being anomalous, rather in virtue of the impressive workings of evolution.
The book is full of many such examples of impressive behavioral adaptations in animals. Bet you didn't know that a species of ants have field medics that treat the wounded after raiding termite colonies, or that sea slugs can decapitate themselves and regrow their whole body just to cure themselves of a parasite, or that there is a species of snake who's tail looks exactly like a spider, and imitates the behavior and movements of a spider to attract prey.
Amidst all these picturesque depictions of the queerness of nature, and a fun anecdote or two, even a couple poems, because why not, the project of this book develops. Sadly, the actual theoretical development is quite superficial and gets repetitive, amounting to little more than the repetition of the three theses I mentioned before, which continue to gain support by the various colorful examples. However, how many examples are really needed to show that behavior cannot be reduced neither to nature or nurture?
I should also say, I found the author's treatment of gender a tad hypocritical - quick to dismiss that animals could have anything resembling gender, thus falling for the same trap of the Scala Naturae that the book constantly criticizes. This failure, I imagine, has to do with not wanting to shake the lion's tail. The lion here being all the parties ready to appropriate any form of discourse related to the naturalness or gender for their own agendas.
The book defends three central theses, through its explorations of many aspects of behavior in both humans and animals.
First, that behavioral traits, as far as evolution is concerned, are not essentially different from physiological traits. Thus, any given observed behavior is not anymore caused by one gene than a baby's arm length is caused by one gene. Instead, a complex interaction of many genes, and the environment are the proper explanatory machinery behind behavioral traits.
Second, we have inherited an intellectual tradition that has the tendency of laying down the animal kingdom in a hierarchy, with humans obviously as the top. This view of the Scala Naturae produces in us biases that confuse our understanding of how different cognitive faculties may manifest in animals, by prompting us to judge an animal hastily as part of "the intelligence club" or not. The study of the evolution of behavior must resist this view and its accompanying biases if it means to go anywhere sensible.
Third, because evolution is conservative and tinkery, it shouldn't really surprise us to find similar structures or solutions in nature, even when it comes to behavior. Thus, we see that some animals have various ways to respond to disease using plants. We also observe animals displaying behavioral signs of hallucinations which respond to the same medication we use on humans. These findings capture our wander, as they should, but not in virtue of their being anomalous, rather in virtue of the impressive workings of evolution.
The book is full of many such examples of impressive behavioral adaptations in animals. Bet you didn't know that a species of ants have field medics that treat the wounded after raiding termite colonies, or that sea slugs can decapitate themselves and regrow their whole body just to cure themselves of a parasite, or that there is a species of snake who's tail looks exactly like a spider, and imitates the behavior and movements of a spider to attract prey.
Amidst all these picturesque depictions of the queerness of nature, and a fun anecdote or two, even a couple poems, because why not, the project of this book develops. Sadly, the actual theoretical development is quite superficial and gets repetitive, amounting to little more than the repetition of the three theses I mentioned before, which continue to gain support by the various colorful examples. However, how many examples are really needed to show that behavior cannot be reduced neither to nature or nurture?
I should also say, I found the author's treatment of gender a tad hypocritical - quick to dismiss that animals could have anything resembling gender, thus falling for the same trap of the Scala Naturae that the book constantly criticizes. This failure, I imagine, has to do with not wanting to shake the lion's tail. The lion here being all the parties ready to appropriate any form of discourse related to the naturalness or gender for their own agendas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2022
I enjoyed this book! I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about a wide variety of animals (as well as humans) and who is prepared to read something a little more academic but enjoys a fun and fascinating dive into complicated topics.
I highlighted so many interesting things as I read and there was a lot to tell my friends about. The idea of behavior encompassing so many things that living creatures do ("Behavior is absent in vitality-challenged individuals.") was very interesting. This book will challenge some of your assumptions about animals, go into new depth on things you've heard about, and teach you totally new things. I especially enjoyed the section on animals use of 'medicine.'
Also, I appreciated that specific studies were highlighted and cited. When reading science titles it's nice to know where the knowledge is sourced from, especially when it points out that something I thought was fact is maybe not so much.
The overall prose was really entertaining. I also highlighted a lot of phrases that made me laugh as well as taught me new things. The author made some high-level concepts and research feel accessible.
That being said, I did have to stop in some places to reread. I think there is some general biology background knowledge required for this book and I wouldn't describe it as a speed read. For example, I still don't totally understand heritability but appreciate the author's thorough effort to explain this complicated topic. ("So what is the heritability of having a head? Zero. That is because any variation in head possession can be attributed to environmental factors, such as the preponderance of guillotines.")
One thing to note: The introduction was dry. Once I got toward the end and it described the upcoming chapters, I got more excited to continue reading. The intro had foundational info for the rest of the book but was a little hard to read through.
Lastly, one of my big concerns going into this book was the section on sex and sex differences. I was concerned about whether it would discuss transgender people respectfully. I do feel that it largely did, although that was not the focus of the section. There was a lot of interesting information about the diversity of animal mating behavior, the complexity of genetics, etc. It continued the book's general theme that genetics, behavior, and the interplay of environment are extremely complicated.
I read this as an ARC.
I highlighted so many interesting things as I read and there was a lot to tell my friends about. The idea of behavior encompassing so many things that living creatures do ("Behavior is absent in vitality-challenged individuals.") was very interesting. This book will challenge some of your assumptions about animals, go into new depth on things you've heard about, and teach you totally new things. I especially enjoyed the section on animals use of 'medicine.'
Also, I appreciated that specific studies were highlighted and cited. When reading science titles it's nice to know where the knowledge is sourced from, especially when it points out that something I thought was fact is maybe not so much.
The overall prose was really entertaining. I also highlighted a lot of phrases that made me laugh as well as taught me new things. The author made some high-level concepts and research feel accessible.
That being said, I did have to stop in some places to reread. I think there is some general biology background knowledge required for this book and I wouldn't describe it as a speed read. For example, I still don't totally understand heritability but appreciate the author's thorough effort to explain this complicated topic. ("So what is the heritability of having a head? Zero. That is because any variation in head possession can be attributed to environmental factors, such as the preponderance of guillotines.")
One thing to note: The introduction was dry. Once I got toward the end and it described the upcoming chapters, I got more excited to continue reading. The intro had foundational info for the rest of the book but was a little hard to read through.
Lastly, one of my big concerns going into this book was the section on sex and sex differences. I was concerned about whether it would discuss transgender people respectfully. I do feel that it largely did, although that was not the focus of the section. There was a lot of interesting information about the diversity of animal mating behavior, the complexity of genetics, etc. It continued the book's general theme that genetics, behavior, and the interplay of environment are extremely complicated.
I read this as an ARC.
October 5, 2022
**3.75 stars really**
In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, biologist Marlene Zuk sets herself the goal of explaining the evolutionary history animal behaviors (especially ntelligence). She starts off by seeing parameters people don't normally think of... specifically that you shouldn't judge a fish by how well it climbs trees. In other words, that you shouldn't judge an animal compared to humans, but instead determine how they evolved to fill their niche and how those adaptations affect the behavior of the organisms. She then DID compare the animals to humans explaining how insights into humans (at least fascile ones) can be gained by understanding what makes animals tick.
Being an evolutionary biologist, Zuk did a great job explaining how the adaptations she discussed arose. She does this through the use of anecdotes to introduce the behavior and explain how it is studied in that organisms. Since he research is primarily in insects, she devoted a good amount of time to this branch of the tree of life (which is sometimes ignored in favor of cuddller beasts). Some of these anecdotes were humorous, all were fascinating and some outright suggested future research topics.
At times, the book felt a bit repetitive in tone (though not in topic). This lead to me taking it in smaller chunck's than i normally would making it seem like a slow read. It never failed to be interesting though.
My favorite portion was in the section "Raised By Wol es" when Zuk discussed a Russian experiment with domestication of foxes. I first read about this experiment decades ago and thought I ideation it. Dr. Zuk, however, brought it into new light and I felt like I not only understood the experiment better, but domestication selection as well.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of evolution in general and the evolution of behavior in particular. After reading it, I know that I want to take a class in evolutionary biology from this professor.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
#DancingCockatoosandtheDeadManTest
In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, biologist Marlene Zuk sets herself the goal of explaining the evolutionary history animal behaviors (especially ntelligence). She starts off by seeing parameters people don't normally think of... specifically that you shouldn't judge a fish by how well it climbs trees. In other words, that you shouldn't judge an animal compared to humans, but instead determine how they evolved to fill their niche and how those adaptations affect the behavior of the organisms. She then DID compare the animals to humans explaining how insights into humans (at least fascile ones) can be gained by understanding what makes animals tick.
Being an evolutionary biologist, Zuk did a great job explaining how the adaptations she discussed arose. She does this through the use of anecdotes to introduce the behavior and explain how it is studied in that organisms. Since he research is primarily in insects, she devoted a good amount of time to this branch of the tree of life (which is sometimes ignored in favor of cuddller beasts). Some of these anecdotes were humorous, all were fascinating and some outright suggested future research topics.
At times, the book felt a bit repetitive in tone (though not in topic). This lead to me taking it in smaller chunck's than i normally would making it seem like a slow read. It never failed to be interesting though.
My favorite portion was in the section "Raised By Wol es" when Zuk discussed a Russian experiment with domestication of foxes. I first read about this experiment decades ago and thought I ideation it. Dr. Zuk, however, brought it into new light and I felt like I not only understood the experiment better, but domestication selection as well.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of evolution in general and the evolution of behavior in particular. After reading it, I know that I want to take a class in evolutionary biology from this professor.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
#DancingCockatoosandtheDeadManTest
September 18, 2022
I will show how it's the interplay between genes and environment that's important, and not one contributor or the other. xiii The question of whether nature or nurture is more important is impossible to answer. But we can ask a much more interesting question: How does behavior evolve? xviii I hope that understanding how behavior evolves helps us see both other animals and ourselves better, and that the battle between nature and nurture is not worth fighting. XIV
The above, basically, is the gist of this book. Marlen Zuk accomplishes proving her premise with delightful anecdotes and amusing, tongue-in cheek explanations.
Hockett and Ascher also segue into the unsettling idea that speaking with the mouth isn't required, and that if evolution had proceeded differently "speech sounds today might be anal spirants," which are exactly what you think they are. That no other animals communicate via this channel did not seem to discourage them, but the notion does not seem to have gained much traction, which is probably all to the good. 188 Cheeky!
Reading this book may induce random google searches and youtube visits such as this:
Peacock Spider
I appreciate that she does not anthropomorphize animals. For example, I've been in company that excuse human proclivity towards promiscuity by pointing out dolphin behavior (eyeroll!). Well, one could just as easily demonstrate an argument for exclusive partnering by comparing animals which mate for life. Feathers ruffled.
If you are fascinated with animal behavior (and your pets' behavior) this engaging book is the read for you.
The above, basically, is the gist of this book. Marlen Zuk accomplishes proving her premise with delightful anecdotes and amusing, tongue-in cheek explanations.
Hockett and Ascher also segue into the unsettling idea that speaking with the mouth isn't required, and that if evolution had proceeded differently "speech sounds today might be anal spirants," which are exactly what you think they are. That no other animals communicate via this channel did not seem to discourage them, but the notion does not seem to have gained much traction, which is probably all to the good. 188 Cheeky!
Reading this book may induce random google searches and youtube visits such as this:
Peacock Spider
I appreciate that she does not anthropomorphize animals. For example, I've been in company that excuse human proclivity towards promiscuity by pointing out dolphin behavior (eyeroll!). Well, one could just as easily demonstrate an argument for exclusive partnering by comparing animals which mate for life. Feathers ruffled.
If you are fascinated with animal behavior (and your pets' behavior) this engaging book is the read for you.
September 3, 2023
The beginning spent a long time defending the thesis of the book, which, okay, but also people reading the book tend to agree with you already. I learned some interesting things, but had these thoughts while reading the chapters on language and cognition (my university field):
Language is not unique to humans. Complex communication happens in colony species, social species like wolves cats. The difference in humans is the structured grammatical components translatable to all languages, and the ability to communicate about abstract concepts that have no real world referrant. But species like African grey parrots are shown to have abstract concepts like 0.
We are comparing intelligence to that of humans but we can't even agree what intelligence looks like in humans. Jumping spiders do well on our vision-based tests because of their strong visual acuity. Is intelligence the ability to make logical conclusions? If so, is the strength of the conclusion important or the speed? Does it only count as intelligence if the problem is presented visually? What if it uses math or numerical representation? Language? Visual cues? Social cues? Music was mentioned as one of the unique human characteristics. Is someone who is Deaf, tone deaf, or can't keep a rhythm to save their life unintelligent? The problem is that we are both trying to define a category and trying to decide the things that go in it. It all becomes subjective.
Language is not unique to humans. Complex communication happens in colony species, social species like wolves cats. The difference in humans is the structured grammatical components translatable to all languages, and the ability to communicate about abstract concepts that have no real world referrant. But species like African grey parrots are shown to have abstract concepts like 0.
We are comparing intelligence to that of humans but we can't even agree what intelligence looks like in humans. Jumping spiders do well on our vision-based tests because of their strong visual acuity. Is intelligence the ability to make logical conclusions? If so, is the strength of the conclusion important or the speed? Does it only count as intelligence if the problem is presented visually? What if it uses math or numerical representation? Language? Visual cues? Social cues? Music was mentioned as one of the unique human characteristics. Is someone who is Deaf, tone deaf, or can't keep a rhythm to save their life unintelligent? The problem is that we are both trying to define a category and trying to decide the things that go in it. It all becomes subjective.
January 28, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed the 11 chapters of deep-diving into unpacking how nature and nurture interact.
This book debunks a lot of common misconceptions and sometimes raises more questions than answers. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating look into the behavior of both animals and humans.
The author covers the following:
1. Why Is Behavior So Hard to Define? - What is behavior? and is behavior special?
2. How Behavior Evolves - challenges the "Lizard Brain" hypothesis
3. The Inheritance of Behavior - details how much genes can tell us about behavior and what it really means for it to be heritable
4. The First Domestication - looking at the domestication of dogs to see just how much behavior can change with a few thousand years of cooperation
5. The Other Domestics - looking at cats and some other species like guinea pigs
6. Animal Mental Illness - anxious crayfish and obsessive-compulsive dogs
7. Bird Brains and the Evolution of Cognition - what do we mean by birdbrained?
8. Invertebrate Intelligence - is intelligence all about the brain?
9. Animal Language - evolution of language
10. Animals, Genes, and Sex Roles - sex and gender, and whether men, or male animals in general, are all that inherently brutal
11. Behavior and Disease - how behavior that fights disease (from birds fumigating their nests with cigarette butts to ants performing battlefield triage to chimps chewing leaves that rid their guts of worms) can evolve
This book debunks a lot of common misconceptions and sometimes raises more questions than answers. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating look into the behavior of both animals and humans.
The author covers the following:
1. Why Is Behavior So Hard to Define? - What is behavior? and is behavior special?
2. How Behavior Evolves - challenges the "Lizard Brain" hypothesis
3. The Inheritance of Behavior - details how much genes can tell us about behavior and what it really means for it to be heritable
4. The First Domestication - looking at the domestication of dogs to see just how much behavior can change with a few thousand years of cooperation
5. The Other Domestics - looking at cats and some other species like guinea pigs
6. Animal Mental Illness - anxious crayfish and obsessive-compulsive dogs
7. Bird Brains and the Evolution of Cognition - what do we mean by birdbrained?
8. Invertebrate Intelligence - is intelligence all about the brain?
9. Animal Language - evolution of language
10. Animals, Genes, and Sex Roles - sex and gender, and whether men, or male animals in general, are all that inherently brutal
11. Behavior and Disease - how behavior that fights disease (from birds fumigating their nests with cigarette butts to ants performing battlefield triage to chimps chewing leaves that rid their guts of worms) can evolve
November 5, 2024
"Animals are not cars, and a more recently evolved species is not an improvement on one that has not changed in millions of years. By that token, microbes and viruses, which evolve rapidly, should be the pinnacle of evolution, because they have changed into new forms literally in our lifetimes. But evolution does not have a goal or try to improve anything. Yes, those individuals with characteristics better suited to the environment leave more copies of their genes to future generations, but everything that is alive now is just as evolved as everything else. Some animals, such as cockroaches and crocodiles, look more like their ancestors than others, but evolution has been acting on them just the same. And just as your brain does not have a tiny lizard inside, the brains of birds do not represent more primitive versions of mammal brains that were improved upon when mammals, or humans, came on the scene."
Aside from wonderful anecdotes, there is little here that is new in Zuk's repetoire. Once again, she writes amusingly and provokingly about how we need to abandon a simplistic view of nature vs nuture, with the focus here on the evolution of animal behaviours and how environment, genes and social interaction all influence the results. I honestly didn't really care about the absence of new materials, or even that, as usual, I could take issue with her on a few points because this is just so wonderfully, wittily grumpy I could hang out with her words all day.
Aside from wonderful anecdotes, there is little here that is new in Zuk's repetoire. Once again, she writes amusingly and provokingly about how we need to abandon a simplistic view of nature vs nuture, with the focus here on the evolution of animal behaviours and how environment, genes and social interaction all influence the results. I honestly didn't really care about the absence of new materials, or even that, as usual, I could take issue with her on a few points because this is just so wonderfully, wittily grumpy I could hang out with her words all day.
July 31, 2022
Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test is by no means an easy read, but it is surely one worth the effort. Marlene Zuk takes a deep dive into the subject to bust the myth that genes are simply the blueprint for behaviour, as she poses the more important question of how does behaviour evolve anyway?
In eleven chapters Zuk walks us through the following topics: What is behaviour? Is behaviour special? What we know about the way behaviour evolves, the idea of “lizard brains” in humans/mammals, how much genes can tell us about behaviour, how much behaviour can change, mental disorders in animals, animals we think are clever vs those we think are automatons, evolution of language, sex and gender, and how behaviour that fights disease can evolve.
Although this book is comprised of somewhat denser material I felt the author had a great tone of writing, as well as the use of some humorous elements to keep the reader engaged. Each chapter is broken up into smaller subsection and the author takes the time to unpack the concept she is trying to explain while providing interesting examples and research to support arguments.
Personally, Chapter 4 on domestication within dogs, Chapter 6 on animal mental illness and Chapter 11 on behaviour and disease were my favourites.
Thank you NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for access to an advance copy to review.
In eleven chapters Zuk walks us through the following topics: What is behaviour? Is behaviour special? What we know about the way behaviour evolves, the idea of “lizard brains” in humans/mammals, how much genes can tell us about behaviour, how much behaviour can change, mental disorders in animals, animals we think are clever vs those we think are automatons, evolution of language, sex and gender, and how behaviour that fights disease can evolve.
Although this book is comprised of somewhat denser material I felt the author had a great tone of writing, as well as the use of some humorous elements to keep the reader engaged. Each chapter is broken up into smaller subsection and the author takes the time to unpack the concept she is trying to explain while providing interesting examples and research to support arguments.
Personally, Chapter 4 on domestication within dogs, Chapter 6 on animal mental illness and Chapter 11 on behaviour and disease were my favourites.
Thank you NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for access to an advance copy to review.
July 1, 2022
This is a fascinating book about the nature of behavior in all animals and how genes influence every creature. The eternal debate of nature versus nurture. Gender roles, parenting, aggression, diseases, mating… every aspect is under investigation here. A big part of this book, including Zuk’s own jaw-dropping discoveries about crickets, was catnip to me (speaking of, catnip also features here). Other chapters were too technical and went over my head. Mostly genetics (which, as much as I try to grasp, I just don’t get). There is also a large content dealing with humans, which doesn’t appeal that much to me but will undoubtedly be of great interest to many readers. In short, it was a little dry for me, even if I learned a lot.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#W. W. Norton & Company!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#W. W. Norton & Company!
July 9, 2022
I won a copy of this one in a Goodreads giveaway. The book looks at the evolution of behavior and touches on the nature vs nurture debate, among other topics. All in all, while many of the topics in the book would otherwise be interesting, the book is very dry. It's dense. It's technical. It's almost as though the author was trying very hard to take interesting subject matter and make it as dull as possible. If you're interested in the topics discussed in this book, there are several other books and other authors that I would recommend before even touching this one. Start with Carl Zimmer. He's phenomenal.
February 4, 2024
This book is replete with interesting examples of unusual animal behavior. That’s its strength. The author uses these examples to somehow dismiss the importance of differences between humans and other living things. The conclusions are always so obscure. Do genes or environment determine behavior? Both (not a surprise). Are humans more intelligent? Not really, because there are many different kinds of intelligence. Do only humans communicate with language? It depends on how you interpret language. It goes on and on this way. Too wishy-washy for my taste.
December 5, 2025
We found this book immensely readable and enjoyed the authors examples and writing style. We could tell she was passionate about her work and had a lot of impressive contacts in the scientific community who were also working on very interesting things. Sometimes we got lost on the more meandering cases and found the author was circling around a point instead of just making one. Overall this book sparked some very entertaining philosophical and scientific discussions about behavior, intelligence, and consciousness.
July 9, 2022
I won a copy of this book on Goodreads. I found this book to be very interesting and entertaining at the same time. It is fascinating to learn about how different animals behave and can adapt to certain things in the environment. I liked the author's ability to write concisely detailing the science and theories behind the nature vs nurture argument without being verbose. A worthwhile and engaging read.
March 5, 2023
I know I tend to over use the word fascinating but this really is a fascinating examination of the foundations of behavior by a behavioral researcher. Everything from maternal education to fungal infection is examined. The author has a deliciously droll style of writing that made the work a delight filled read.
January 12, 2024
I don’t typically enjoy non fiction but I am trying to change that. This one was well-written with an interesting subject matter and humor interspersed throughout. If you’ve ever wondered about the nature vs nurture debate and how much of our behavior can be explained by our genes, the animal kingdom, and the environment, you’ll enjoy this book.
February 8, 2023
An entertaining and informative look at many animals from multiple phyla, and how their behavior depends on both genetics and the environment. No unifying conclusion, other than that—but a warning not to attribute too much to either in any situation.
May 25, 2023
This was an interesting read about behavior. I really enjoyed the many different examples. This book really made me think. The complexities of evolution and how the binary of nature vs nurture is much more complex are just some of the topics covered.
June 17, 2024
there's something about animal behavior and evolution that just gets me hooked. at times, this book could be dense, but i still found it rather entertaining and informative. however, not better than "bitch". also! bonus points that she's a professor from the U.
March 12, 2022
Review to come.
This was an ARC.
This was an ARC.
September 4, 2022
3.5 stars.
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