Humans make mistakes, but how often do other animals? Are some more prone to errors and do they learn from them?
David Bortin
Whittier, California, US
Advertisement
“To err is human”? Wrong! To err is life. Everything that has ever lived has been a product of natural selection. Those that learn from their mistakes survive. Even the lowly virus responsible for covid-19, which is only debatably living, is so much in the news because it keeps evolving, or learning from its mistakes.
Among wild animals, birds’ mistakes most often make the headlines, by flying into window panes and windmill vanes. But since their biggest mistake is that they don’t carry accident insurance, we rarely hear about the non-fatal incidents, so the data regarding learning is skewed.
My knowledge of other animals has mostly been acquired through observation of my two cats. Their antics rival the best of the Three Stooges or the Keystone Cops. But I have never seen them blush, and they are masters of body language that declares “I meant to do that!”, so maybe they did. And since cats are the most nearly perfect of all animals, they must make the fewest mistakes, right?
Caroline Peters
Wokingham, Berkshire, UK
Animals certainly do make mistakes, and cats are notorious for getting stuck in inaccessible places, though I have certainly observed them learning from their errors.
We acquired a cat who had always lived indoors. When he first went out into the garden, he made some horrible mistakes. He climbed a pine tree and had to be rescued as he couldn’t work out how to climb down. He also tried to catch the jumbo jets that flew overhead. Although he wasn’t a very bright cat, he never repeated the tree escapade and very quickly learned that chasing insects was far more rewarding than trying to catch jumbo jets.
Another, much more intelligent animal wore a collar with a magnetic tag to let him in through the cat flap. When he broke his collar and couldn’t get in, he went back to where he had lost it, retrieved the collar in his mouth and was able to get in and out through the cat flap by picking it up each time, until we came home and provided a new collar.
Peter Meehan
London, UK
Animals that care for their young limit their own dangerous errors, then teach their offspring how far to take hazardous experiments, or how to learn. If the species is prone to missteps, greater reproduction must counterbalance consequent wastage from the death rate.
Ron Dippold
San Diego, California, US
Yes, other animals make mistakes, and learn from them. Young animals such as puppies and kittens make the most errors – they lack any coordination or knowledge, so it is how they learn. Thankfully, they are very resilient, so even after spectacularly misjudging a jump and going face first into the side of a box, they just get right back up and do it again, hopefully better.
With tiny, “primitive” animals – say, a tardigrade – it can be hard to tell if something is truly a mistake, but all small to largish animals observable with human eyes have been seen making obvious mistakes.
Penguins trip and fall, primates miss branches, rats fall off perches, elephants get drunk and rampage and fall over (sometimes hurting themselves, which truly makes it a mistake), cows and fish get stuck, bats smash into things while flying, birds miss their perches or knock over the bowers they are building, even spiders sometimes miss their jumps or go so far into a threat posture that they actually fall from their webs. Anything going after a skunk or porcupine is likewise probably making a mistake.
But this is how all creatures learn. Older animals that survive making mistakes tend to be savvier, though some deliberately risk the same behaviours because they find the rewards are worth it, such as a chance at mating.
Cognitive mistakes seem to be harder to overcome than physical mistakes. If you miss a jump, now you know better. My cat recently slipped off a counter while sleeping – luckily he was unhurt, but he doesn’t sleep up there any more. On the other hand, I know someone who has been getting burned by get-rich-quick schemes for over 30 years and will never learn.
To answer this question – or ask a new one – email lastword@newscientist.com.
Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address.
91ɫƬ retains total editorial control over the published content and reserves all rights to reuse question and answer material that has been submitted by readers in any medium or in any format.