2685 Ravens

Saturday, December 5, 2009

"I am never gratuitously rude. My rudeness is carefully calibrated
to the stupidity and obtuseness of the people I am dealing with."
-- Adam Carr --

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I was supposed to go to NYC by train today to see the tree, the skating rink, store windows, and stuff with a Meetup group, but the organizer canceled because all-day rain is predicted. She rescheduled to the 19th, but I have something else that day. I've never seen NYC at Christmas. I am severely disappointed.

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I love ravens. I like crows, but ravens are even more fun to watch. They're huge - two feet beak to tail, with a wingspan over four feet wide, and a huge "Roman nose" beak. There's a fascinating (one-screen) writeup at http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/raven.htm.

Crows are intelligent. They've been known to use tools, can figure out puzzles they'd never seen before, and use teamwork to drive away raptors. Ravens are even smarter.

Last night, driving home from dinner, I heard a story on the radio similar to another I'd heard long ago, illustrating ravens' intelligence.

In the version I'd heard, a raven had found a dead turkey at the edge of a field. With ravenous chicks in the nest (ever wonder where that word "ravenous" came from?) this is a wonderful find - food for days. The raven began to pull the turkey apart, and then spied another raven circling in the sky. The first raven flopped over onto his back, and lay there very still, with his feet in the air. The second raven landed, walked around the turkey, and then flew away. Once the interloper was out of sight, the first raven got up and finished the job.

Why did the first raven lie on his back? Why did the second raven fly away?
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The first raven decided not to share. The second raven, seeing a "dying" raven next to a turkey carcass, figured the turkey was a poisoned bait trap, and decided not to take a chance on it.

Mensa should have chosen the raven, not the owl, for the mascot.

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Later: I just checked the weather report for NYC. Yes, rain today, all day. A total of 1/4 inch. All day. 1/4 inch. Total.

Buncha primadonnas....
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