10 Best Articles on Animals
The most useful articles on animals from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Animals Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on animals by Refind users.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on animals—all under 10 minutes.
Crows Perform Yet Another Skill Once Thought Distinctively Human
Scientists demonstrate that crows are capable of recursion—a key feature in grammar. Not everyone is convinced
Why medieval Europeans used to put "bad" animals on criminal trial
We often talk of "naughty" animals, or call a dog "good boy." Here's what philosophy has to say about animals' moral responsibility.
«If humans are the measure of mindedness, and animals behave as would a human, then we ought to ascribe to them some kind of minimal mindedness.»
Are Humans the Only Animals That Lie?
Nonhuman animals can certainly deceive one another — and sometimes deceive humans. But are humans the only species that tell flat-out lies?
Timeline: The Domestication of Animals
While dogs weren’t always our docile companions, research indicates that they were likely one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans. In fact, genetic evidence suggests that dogs split from…
The tamer the cow, the smaller the brain
Docile dairy and beef cows have smaller brains than aggressive bullfighting breeds
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on animals.
Do Animals Dream?
What nonhuman animals experience while sleeping can be called dreaming, philosopher David Peña-Guzmán writes in a new book. This impacts how we should think about their interior lives.
Animals Can Count and Use Zero. How Far Does Their Number Sense Go?
Crows recently demonstrated an understanding of the concept of zero. It’s only the latest evidence of animals’ talents for numerical abstraction — which may still differ from our own grasp of numbers.
How Animals Map 3D Spaces Surprises Brain Researchers
When animals move through 3D spaces, the neat system of grid cell activity they use for navigating on flat surfaces gets more disorderly. That has implications for some ideas about memory and other…
Love you to death: how we hurt the animals we cherish
The long read: Something has gone badly wrong with the way we keep pets. Our casual cruelties are a symptom of our unhealthy relationship with other species
Industrial farming is one of the worst crimes in history
The fate of industrially farmed animals is one of the most pressing ethical questions of our time. Tens of billions of sentient beings, each with complex sensations and emotions, live and die on a production line
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Animals, including:
Quanta Magazine
Big ideas in science and math. Because you want to know more. Launched by @SimonsFdn. 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. http://quantamagazine.org
Neuroscience News
Official Neuroscience News Twitter. Brain research news articles on neuroscience, psychology, AI, neurology, brain cancer, robotics, mental health & science.
Visual Capitalist
Data-driven visual content focused on global trends, investing, technology, and the economy.
Big Think
Learn from the world’s greatest thinkers. Join us on https://www.youtube.com/c/bigthink.
Singularity Hub
Chronicling technological progress in AI, robotics, health, & exponential tech. By @singularityu.
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Which sources does Refind monitor on animals?
We monitor hundreds of sources on animals, including Quanta Magazine, Neuroscience News, Visual Capitalist, Big Think, Singularity Hub, and many more.
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