15 ms·
Given parrots can talk, there must be a neuron count that activates language (assuming anatomy allows it), similar to LLM parameter count.
by small_model 6mo ago
Given parrots can talk, there must be a neuron count that activates language (assuming anatomy allows it), similar to LLM parameter count.
- jayers 6mo agoThat seems like an unfounded inference. Plenty of animals have more neurons than humans but lesser cognitive and language abilities. Language has lot to do with structure of the brain in addition to neuron count.
- vablings 6mo agohttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02855-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02855-9 Birds have areas of the brain that we would consider language alike. Both for native bird communication and I would also speculate that for human to bird communication. If you have ever owned a parrot this is blatantly obvious since they actively communicate and vocalize both observations and needs/desires
- pegasus 6mo agoOne thing I've learned by following a link from elsewhere in this thread is that while the total count of neurons in an animal's nervous system is not a good proxy for intelligence, the count of neurons in the forebrain is. By that measure, only the orca ranks higher than humans [1]. That doesn't mean language ability is a natural outcome of crossing a certain threshold of brain complexity; if anything it's more likely the other way around: this complexity being be driven by highly social behavior and communication. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animals_by_number_of_neurons#Forebrain_(cerebrum_or_pallium)_only https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animals_by_number_of_n...
- Zambyte 6mo agoLanguage also has a lot to do with what we do. We do more complex things than animals, so we say more complex things than animals. The biggest difference in the evolution of human language versus the evolution of elephant language might just be that we have thumbs.
- dboreham 6mo agoPlausible, and likely similar.
- lukan 6mo agoWhere do you get the conclusion from, that there is a "must"? There can be lot's of neurons ... but dedicated to other purposes.
- tokai 6mo agoLots of birds can talk, not only the very clever ones like parrots and covids. Its mimicry and that generally doesn't seem to take many neurons.
- fredgrott 6mo agomimicking is not talking.... Its part of their calling social members wiring....
- Philip-J-Fry 6mo agoParrots can't "talk". They just mimick noises they've heard before
- tobr 6mo agoSo what you’re saying is that parrots are stochastic parrots.
- rossjudson 6mo agoYou've just described most of the information economy.
- SoftTalker 6mo agoThis thread is going to end with Monty Python jokes.
- onlyrealcuzzo 6mo agoMany animals can communicate. Parrots can't speak fluent English, which shouldn't be surprising. Last I checked, no human is fluent in Parrot or Dolphin. Though, at least one parrot may have demonstrated an ability to understand language at more than a surface level.
- deelowe 6mo agoThis reminds me of being told dogs don't feel emotions by someone who never owned one. Parrots most definitely can talk. Their language is extremely primitive but if you've ever been around a grey and it's owner for some time, they definitely talk to each other. The parrot will readily communicate observations and desires.
- unzadunza 6mo agoIsn't that what humans do too? We mimic noises we've heard before and we associate meaning to the noises. Parrots can do that. Our quaker parrot would bite you, then say 'not supposed to bite'. He clearly associated some kind of meaning to that phrase.
- DetroitThrow 6mo agoGiven parrots eat their own poop (https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/questions/parrots-eating-poop/ https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/questions/parrots-eating-poop/), there must be a neuron count/density that activates self-poop eating (assuming anatomy allows it), similar to LLM parameter count.
- SoftTalker 6mo agoDogs do that too.
- IAmBroom 6mo agoMy dogs eat poop, and therefore are also like LLMs. Your hypothesis has therefore been peer-reviewed.