A newly published study proves that politicians, a subspecies of homo sapience, don’t have a concept of time beyond their term limit. While other animals, such as the crow, a specie of corvid found to anticipate and prepare for the needs that might arise, politicians cannot predict or prepare for the future that doesn’t serve their immediate agenda.
In a recent experiment where crows and politicians were each given a five million dollar budget, crows chose to invest in infrastructure, education, and health care system whereas politicians announced tax cuts, started tweet fights, and bought gold toilets.
Researchers are conducting further studies to confirm if politicians also lack a “theory of mind”, which refers to the understanding that other individuals have their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and perspectives that may differ from one’s own. Theory of mind is a crucial component in social cognition and is considered a significant milestone in human development, usually emerging around the age of 4.
From politicians to crows, more research on animal intelligence is helping us better understand the creatures we share our world with, some symbiotic and some parasitic.