Animal Architects --Jennie Pahl

Recently two ecologists James & Carrol Gould looked into what brain capacity limits species to being bad or good builders. In the article builders with little brians from the book Animal Architects: Building and the Evolution of Intelligence this question is studied and answered. The article references termites and how they can build a tower 6 meters tall, that is the equivalent of a 4 kilometer skyscrapper in the body to height ratio. It also references how insects build their homes in a way where they are able to get "air condition" as it is referred to, honeybees and their use of way to construct hexagonal shapes for their young to live in and to make honey, and spiders use of silk webs to name a few animal architects. From these ideas I began to question if it is that of brain size or if it is just a question of instinct. It is a known fact that all of these animals have a great deal of instinct and learned experineces which drive them to do what they do. It is also noted that mammals have less developed building skills and attributes that on the comforts and safety of the womb. In the beginning of this article I began to feel like they were saying that because mammals have a womb we were incubated in that we are less likely to have good building skills. This made no sense what-so-ever considering that we have to have a safe shelter to live in to after we are born! After beginning to question the authors they actually addressed my issues raised around the topic. They concluded that cognitive abilities ARE NOT tied into building, and that it is that of circumstance, sign stimulis, and motivation.