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Reading this article makes me think a lot about my own pets, and whether they could be considered smart or not. I would say that animals are definitely intelligent. Maybe they do not reflect upon the purpose of their actions like humans do, but there must be thoughts and reason they do things. For example, once my parrot made a break for it from my house in New Jersey. We searched for a couple of hours before finding her a couple streets away, on the porch of a house that was the same model as ours. My dad would let Click (that's the birds name) sit out on the porch when her wings were trimmed. I think that Click flew off, and then saw a house with a porch like ours and decided to land there, says something. She must have recognized it, and decided to go there.

Beaver Madness

I found that this piece was very informative with the cycle that animals have gone through history. I believe that it is instinct that drives every animal to make there homes or nest. I believe that this instinct was formed through natural selection and evolution. Like humans I animals go through trial and era and through the years it has created a natural instinct for animal and insects. The beaver I found to be the most interesting out of all the insects and animals mentioned. The beaver has mastered the art of dam building. I believe that through trial and era the perfect dam building is created. the beaver today now knows where to put every piece of log twig and amount of dirt to put in a certain area so that the dam will not collapse. I am intrigued by the effort that they go through and how they developed short cuts through streams and escape patterns from predators. they know how much pressure the stream creates through even the roughest time and the dam they created still holds strong. that is magnificent to me. This article informed me of so much knowledge that I never knew. It was a great read.

Animal Building

After reading this analysis based on animal building, I found myself getting extra excited about our upcoming assignment. I find it fascinating that all animals, including humans, have a certain instinct inside that supports their survival skills. In particular the beaver’s dam is an interesting structure that is primarily discussed. The animals’ creation does make you question whether or not it is purely beaver instinct or if they actually plan out each dam, stepping back to look at their creation from a design point. As explained in the article, Lewis Morgan observed European beavers living in burrows dug into river banks. Their North-American cousins who build dams, in Morgan’s opinion, are purposely created to promote happiness and are not necessary made for survival. I personally feel that evolution has contributed mainly to this occurrence. If you think about it, beavers spend their life time fixing their dam every time it is damaged; making it bigger and better each time around, it’s like trial and error. Over the years beavers learn to perfect the “art” of dam making. Bees were also observed and talked about in the reading. I found it shocking and intriguing that people actually studied the bee hive for architectural purposes and discovered that it has a precise mathematical framework. How and why does nature do what it does? In my opinion I feel that just like humans, animals too adjust to their habitats in order to make their existence more efficient.

Beaver Homes

I found this article very interesting. In the beginning of the article Rudofsky is introduced along with his thoughts on animal architecture. It states that Rudofsky most envied creatures instincts. He thought that modern men had lost touch with our intuitions and are no longer able to shape a tool or build a house without previous experience, while the animals have an innate sense of construction. While Rudofsky thinks humans have more to learn from animals, Vitruvius thinks we have completely surpassed animal architecture. On one hand I agree with Rudofsky. I think that we have learned a lot if not most things form observing animals, and also the fast that without previous experience or exposure, humans cannot easily make their own building or even tools. So how do animals do it? Is it just instinctual to them? Do they learn through observation? Morgan speculated that "the beaver's ability to adjust its designs to varying circumstances rather than blindly following an unchanging model." This is after Morgan looked at different dams and realized that the beavers began changing their designs to adjust and protect the dam to the changing ways. The beaver’s make their decisions consciously in order to make their housing and do not rely solely on instinct. With this fact you can see a small similarity between beavers and humans; we both make conscience decisions about design and effect when creating an object.

Beavers and the Bees

I think this article is very interesting due to the author discussing our fascination with the architecture that animals have created. Learning that we observed animals building habits to make our own building is very interesting. In this article I stumbled upon a quote that is very much true which states that, we as humans have lost touch with our intuition due to being overly civilized. I think that that statement is very true in the sense that we don’t go with our gut feelings about certain things as often as we should. In our generation we either have someone else to think for us or some mathematical and logical way of solving things, but with that we are losing our own instinct as to how to go about doing things as humans. It is interesting to me the outlook of Vitruvius’ opinion that we have surpassed the architecture of animals in comparison to Rudofsky’s opinion that we haven’t. As I read more about Rudofsky’s opinion I agree with him in the idea that we as humans have not surpassed animals and their architecture due to not having the same instinct as animals and not being able to adjust to the circumstances that surround it.

I also have to agree with Jorrie on her ideas that we don’t build our architecture from instincts but from intelligence. Animals build things and change or alter them to fit the needs of their habitat, in a way we do too but with more advanced and intelligent ways. We build things to be useful and purposeful in multiple ways that best fit our environment. The idea that animals instinctually build such structures is not a reason for philosophers to say that animals are surpassing the human architecture but just proves that we use our intelligence to make an efficient and safe structure for mankind.

On homes

This article raised several interesting questions in regards to animal and human architecture. I do not believe that mankind’s architecture is entirely instinctual. I also don’t think it’s entirely based on our race’s intelligence, and as far as animals are concerned, I don’t believe they fall into only one of the two proposed categories. Animal’s homes are indeed aesthetic. I’m sure that’s relative to some extent, not everyone will be moved by the contours of a beehive. But they are at the very least, intriguing. The appeal an animal’s home is able to convey I attribute not to the creature’s instinct, as the creature is not likely able to consider aesthetics in the ways we do. The efficiency of the home perhaps exists at a far more instinctual level. This is all my best attempt at speculation, mind. Humankind on the other hand, works in a far different caliber. Yes, animal homes are generally effective for their given purpose, but human architecture is often designed to serve multiple purposes. Animal homes are not as plural in their purposes. Humans also consider how this structure can be designed not only for ultimate efficiency, but for ultimate aesthetics. Now, of course there is sometimes a compromise. Sometimes we must be loose with aesthetics for sake of efficiency. Or perhaps we disregard efficiency as its role is not as eminent as aesthetics. In all this though, I am reminded that both mankind and the animal kingdom alike dress this world in such wonderful and ornate objects, with such finesse and accuracy, that I must consider the wonder of their brilliant Maker.

Beavers

Considering all the buildings and cities and massive skyscrapers humans have constructed, it’s fascinating to consider that people may have learned how to construct structures by watching birds create their nests. I always assumed most of an animal’s knowledge is instinctual and most our knowledge is learned. Even in creating a primitive hut, our ancestors may have needed inspiration from other creatures. An architect spends years in school learning how to construct; every building is carefully designed and mathematically planned out beforehand. A beaver creates its dam with just as much brilliance, but is its knowledge passed down through generations or instinctual? I’ve seem beaver dams before but I had no idea how precisely they are created. Their dams are flanked by 2 smaller barriers and are curved at the center where highest water pressure is, so that the dam can withstand change in water flow. Did it take many lost beaver homes from one beaver to engineer an ideal design to prevent dam destruction? Or do beaver just know out of common sense that they should construct two smaller dams so that their home will not be washed away during a flood? Sometimes I think humans just over think things. For example we naturally know what a good composition is and what colors look nice together, but once one is asked to be become consciously aware of it, something that was once so natural becomes confusing for a while. Perhaps much of our knowledge is instinctual, we just over think too much.

Beavers and the Bees Response

I found that this article was interesting in that it was not only about the architecture of animals, but the controversies regarding animal psychology. It was interesting birds nests, termite hills and beehives were more structured and intelligent than human architecture. I find this hard to fully believe. Birds are more of collectors and termites dig holes. I do think that beehives are very structured and thought out and very symmetrical. Spider webs are another engineering structure from animals that i feel may still be more advanced than some of our natural architecture. Their webs are extremely structured and organized. Also, they remake their webs frequently from destruction due to people and other animals and weather.
The author states that for beavers, form followed anatomy. This makes me wonder: what form humans would instinctively make? Is it an instinct that we create tools to help us build more complex forms? I feel that we have many more opportunities since we have opposable thumbs and a greater sense of common agreement on our imagination.

Beavers and Bees

I felt this was an interesting article comparing the architectural designs of both beavers and bees. I was interested in learning that Vitruvius believed we have surpassed animals in architecture, while Rudofsky believes that we still have something to learn from animals. At first I thought we have wildly surpassed the architecture of animals but after reading more of the article, I found out something interested. Morgan speculated that "the beaver's ability to adjust its designs to varying circumstances rather than blindly following un unchanging model." This is after Morgan looked at different dams and realized that the beavers began changing their designs to adjust and protect the dam to the changing ways.
I also found interesting the argument between architectural appearance and designs between beaver dams and bee hives. Darwin greatly admired bees for their artisty and the intricacy of their hives while beavers built in a haphazard fashion and only was considered artistic in appearance over time. I really do think that beehives are beautiful but I feel the intricate designs are simply for pure purpose and necessity. This is exactly Cheng talked about, "the animal's intelligence was seen as directing the activity of building; architecture therefore was an expression of consciousness." It turned into something the animals did while surviving. They have to build, and it just happens to be what they create can be considered beautiful architecture.

Reading Response 4

One of the common threads throughout this article that helped to unify the author's ideas is the discussion between animal instinct and intelligence. This makes sense because it addresses the thought processes of these animals as they construct their dwellings. They are thinking something when they construct them, but as to how they come about those thoughts is up for debate. The author gives a rather balanced selection of what each perspective has to say which kept me interested in the rest of the article's information.

A discussion point that also caught my eye was the issue of animal as designer or builder. The author brings up this discussion at the beginning of the article when he quotes Morgan as believing that the beaver dams were not absolutely necessary to the beaver's existence, that there is an aesthetic component attached to its functionality. In other words, the "animal has a fundamental awareness of its own creation." I had never really thought of this possibility of an animal having the intelligence and practices of an artist critiquing his work. I am aware of how some animal dwellings can be so intricate and fantastical in comparison to human constructions, but it came as a surprise to think of the animal actually evaluating the structure for something more than functionality. Maybe this is not quite the extent of what Morgan was referring to, but it is still a good point to ponder: the creativity of an animal and from where the creativity comes.

Bees and Beavers

Many points in the article for this week were fascinating. I liked the discussion pertaining to beavers and bees and how they design their dwelling places. The research regarding beavers was extraordinarily intriguing. The fact that they make active decisions in creating their complex housing is quite amazing. I enjoyed viewing the beaver as a creator and artist. They make their decisions consciously is order to make their housing and do not rely solely on instinct. I enjoyed this fact because it helps create a link between human artists and beavers. We both make active decision making when creating objects. I also found the difference between the creation methods used by bees and humans fascinating as well. The concept that bees only rely on instinct to create such complex structures is almost unfathomable to me. Bees hives are complex structures that are made without hesitation or thought. Imagining that something so detailed could be done without thought or active decision making is very hard to fully comprehend. The part of the article I enjoyed the most was the last few paragraphs that stated how much more superior human creations should be because of our complex minds. Humans are extremely complex creatures and I liked that the author acknowledges human intricacies while discussing creations and artwork. This view is very hopeful and I love to think of the items that humans can create because we are complex beings. That our creations rely not only on instincts but the complex ideas and values is a very powerful concept.