In 1977 Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University, did something very bold. At a time when animals still were considered automatons, she set out to find what was on another creature's mind by talking to it. She brought a one-year-old African gray parrot she named Alex into her lab to teach him to reproduce the sounds of the English language.

When Pepperberg began her dialogue with Alex,many scientists believed animals were incapable of any thought. Any pet owner would disagree. How, then, does a scientist prove that an animal is capable of thinking—that it is able to acquire information about the world and act on it.

"That's why I started my studies with Alex," Pepperberg said.

深入动物大脑

1977年，刚从哈佛大学毕业的伊琳娜·派珀博格做了一件很大胆的事。当时，动物仍然被认为只能机械模仿，而她却开始通过交谈去探索另一种生物的大脑。她把一只1岁大的非洲灰鹦鹉带到了实验室，并把它命名为埃里克斯。她教它复制英语的声音。

当派珀博格开始与埃里克斯对话时，许多科学家认为动物不能进行任何思维。任何宠物饲养者都不会同意这种观点。那么，科学家是如何证明动物能够思维——能够获得有关世界的信息并有针对性地行动呢？

派珀博格说：“这就是为什么我要与埃里克斯开始我的研究。”