Download Alex & Me AudioBook Free
On September 6, 2007, an African Grey parrot called Alex passed away prematurely at years thirty-one. His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were "You be good. I love you." What would normally be considered a noiseless, very private event was, in Alex's circumstance, headline news. On the thirty years that they had worked along, Alex and Irene possessed become famous—two pioneers who exposed an unprecedented screen into the concealed yet huge world of pet intellects. Alex's brain was how big is a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first found, birds were not believed to have got any prospect of language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human cleverness. Yet, over time, Alex proved many things. He could add. He could appear out words. He realized concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and nothing. He was capable of thought and goal. Collectively, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling simple fact: We reside in a world filled by thinking, conscious creatures. The popularity that resulted was extraordinary. Yet there was a side with their marriage that never made the papers. They were psychologically connected to one another. They distributed a deep bond far beyond science. Alex missed Irene when she was away. He was jealous when she paid attention to other parrots, or even people. He liked to show her who was simply boss. He liked to dance. He sometimes became bored by the repetition of his assessments, and played out jokes on her behalf. Sometimes they sniped at one another. Yet nearly every day, they each said, "I love you." Alex and Irene stayed together through heavy and slim—despite sneers from experts, extraordinary financial sacrifices, and a nomadic life in one university to some other. The story of these thirty-year experience is evenly a landmark of methodical success and of an memorable human-animal bond.
