try reading mind in the waters good stuff

Hiya Travis,

(if you're still checking this old post....)

one of the most mind-blowing things I ran across during my consciousness-studies phase, which included a strong focus on cetaceans, is that dolphin cerebral cortexes are built of an entirely different sort of neuron than ours. As you know, their cortexes are as complex (ie convoluted) as ours, but they're made of neurons of the style common in most animal brains, while ours are made of a different kind of neural cell. (sorry, I've lost the names; one is pyramidal, the other.....I'd have to dig out my big research paper...) The other big difference is that our brains seem designed to accentuate sensory differentiation, while theirs has a brain center that we lack, which specializes in sensory integration.....

if you're interested I could find and copy that paper (the culmination of my MA program at JFKU was a two-track deal where I did a dreamer novel about human-dolphin connection, group consciousness, and nature as a doorway to spirit, and a 50-page research overview on cetacean consciousness (which got a little dreamer-ish, too, as a matter of fact!). Stanley Krippner was my advisor on the research paper; he was a tough critic! I should re-do it someday with his comments in mind; wanted more solid science, which I could probably do better now, 20 years later....)

Gotta be careful about those "dolphins saving humans" stories. Just think for a minute that if the dolphins are actually just pushing swimmers in random directions, the only stories you'll hear are from the people that got pushed to the beach.

But intelligent they are, and conscious, in every sense of the word. I've seen them engage in clear-cut cases of reflection, analysis, embarassment and social manipulation.

I'd love to recommend some good books, websites, or films about dolphins, but there aren't any. Unfortunately, dolphins have gotten this whole mystical-unicorn-newage (rhymes with "sewage") rap that it's hard to find any good objective information on them. John C. Lilly was my initial inspiration in studying animal behavior (Mind of the Dolphin, as someone else already mentioned), but he was too far off into LSD to do good science, and that sort of colored the whole area for years and years.

But folks are doing some good work out there, and finding that dolphins engage in all sorts of non-mystical acts such as kidnapping and gang rape, just like all the other highly socialized animals. The interesting thing about these results is what it says about the evolution of social behavior; while many comparisons can be drawn between the apes, there is always the lingering implication that the similar social structure is a result of common heredity more than the utility of social behavior in an abstract sense. But to see similar behavior in a species as different (and distantly related) as dolphins starts to say things about socialization as a general adaptive strategy.

Here's some fun links:

www.guardian.co.uk/life/fea...4,00.html

www.dolphincommunicationproject.org/

and the wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolp...telligence

Ciao!

- Lorne

One thing that i thought was interesting concerning dolphins is the interactions of wild dolphins with special needs children at a facility in Florida. The kids would be taken to a cove to enjoy the water and one day dolphins started showing up, swimming and playing with the kids. Once it was accepted that they were not presenting any danger to the kids, they were allowed to continue. First one or two would come in and eventually several came everyday to play with them. No attempts were made to capture or confine the dolphins and the caregivers got the impression that the dolphins enjoyed the contact and appeared to recognize the special vulnerabilities of the children. There was never any instance when the kids were harmed or felt frightened.