Border collies top the list. Poodles are second.

Two of these domains are comparable to how human intelligence is defined--speed of learning and problem solving--but a definition of human intelligence would tend not to include a dimension of "instinctive intelligence."

For something very amusing, read Hyperbole-and-a-half's account of trying to measure her dog's intelligence.

"A lingering fear of mine was confirmed last night: My dog might be slightly retarded."

"I've wondered about her intelligence ever since I adopted her and subsequently discovered that she was unable to figure out how stairs worked."

I was fascinated by this article and these this series of photos of Liu Bolin, a Chinese artist who makes himself invisible through his art.

I was also very interested in the concept behind his art, which he views as acts of protest that which is not seen. For example, his grocery store art was motivated by his sense of helplessness at food additives.

"He said the inspiration behind his work was a sense of not fitting in to modern society and as a silent protest against the Government's persecution of artists.

He said: "Some people call me the invisible man, but for me it's what is not seen in a picture which is really what tells the story.

"After graduating from school I couldn't find suitable work and I felt there was no place for me in society. I experienced the dark side of society, without social relations, and had a feeling that no one cared about me, I felt myself unnecessary in this world.

"From that time, my attitude turned from dependence into revolting against the system."

I find art most interesting when it is used to illustrate an idea, when it helps us to "see" what we could not see. That was definitely my experience with this series of photos.

The article mentions the dangers of confirmation bias:

"Researchers in psychology are certainly aware of the issue [of fraud]. In recent years, some have mocked studies showing correlations between activity on brain images and personality measures as "voodoo" science, and a controversy over statistics erupted in January after The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology accepted a paper purporting to show evidence of extrasensory perception. In cases like these, the authors being challenged are often reluctant to share their raw data. But an analysis of 49 studies appearing Wednesday in the journal PLoS One, by Dr. Wicherts, Dr. Bakker and Dylan Molenaar, found that the more reluctant that scientists were to share their data, the more likely that evidence contradicted their reported findings."

"We know the general tendency of humans to draw the conclusions they want to draw -- there's a different threshold," said Joseph P. Simmons, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "With findings we want to see, we ask, 'Can I believe this?' With those we don't, we ask, 'Must I believe this?' "

I had an experience recently that suggests to me that this incident may trigger changes in how psychologists do and report research, the proverbial "straw that breaks the camel's back." Last August, the faculty team that teaches Psy 1001 and I had a day-long workshop with the author of our textbook. During the course of the day, I was struck because we spent nearly two hours talking about cases of fraud--the social psychologist who forged data, the highly regarded psychologist who claimed to have found evidence of ESP, the behavioral geneticist who was accused of faking data but who may not have been. Once we got started, we couldn't get off the topic. Everyone had something to offer from their area of psychology. The energy and concern being expressed suggested the emerging awareness, a consensus forming; it was as if researchers had been aware as individuals of the issue, but as they talked with one another their understanding and concern became clarified and more certain. It became a group concern. That kind of moment, when individuals realizes that something is bigger than themselves, can be a tipping point. All it takes is one more incident to motivate change.

1. On the video page, look for the SHARE button and click on that.

2. Then you'll need to click on the EMBED button. Copy the code.

3. Paste that code in your blog entry. You'll see the code, but your readers will see the video.

Participants were asked either to imagine the second name in a well-known duo (Laurel and ?) or to read the name pair read out loud (or listened as the experimenter read it) : "Laurel and Hardy." Then they were asked to recall whether they had imagined it or heard it. People with the PCS fold were significantly better at remembering.

"The researchers discovered that adults whose MRI scans indicated an absence of the PCS were significantly less accurate on memory tasks than people with a prominent PCS on at least one side of the brain. Interestingly, all participants believed that they had a good memory despite one group's memories being clearly less reliable."

It make me very curious about people who are very suggestible, such as Paul Ingram, and people who show the misinformation effect. The fold is one of the last parts of the brain to develop and is present in about 50% of the population. The 16% of participants in Elizabeth Loftus's research who remember seeing Bugs Bunny at Disney world...are they among the PS fold-free population?