Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

I liked it! Interesting insights into the study of animal cognition, and de Waal does an excellent job of bringing the reader into the test lab (or forest) with just the right amount of technical and experimental detail to make you believe you are sitting opposite the animals as they prove their far-reaching abilities. Members of the animal kingdom provide a spectrum of cognitive abilities, and this book brings you into the highlights of modern behavioral research. The argument of this book is that human vs non-human is a terrible concept when analyzing cognition, and frankly, de Waal delivers an iron-clad case.

Personally, animal research isn't something that I typically think about, but thanks to reading this book, I understand the importance of continued funding particularly for how it helps us better understand ourselves.

If I'm going to nitpick, I wish the author wouldn't have delivered a straightforward answer to the title question in the intro. I was left with my enthusiasm deflated - why should I continue reading?

Definitely would recommend to anyone interested in animals or the scientific method in general.