It’s pretty obvious that birds have much smaller brains than humans. In fact, calling someone a birdbrain is considered an insult. Yet, research has shown that even though birds lack the analytical abilities of humans, they are superior to people in certain kinds of decision making. The evidence is in how our two species perform when solving the “Monte Hall” problem. Monte Hall was the host of the long running gameshow “Let’s Make A Deal.” During the show a contestant would be presented with three doors. [...]

In 1995 plush toy maker Ty Warner had a problem. His Chinese supplier could no longer make his top-selling stuffed animal, a lamb named Lovie. Warner was worried that when customers found out they could no longer buy this popular item, they would be upset. He came up with a solution that would make him a billionaire. Instead of telling his retailers about his manufacturing woes, Warner decided to announce the discontinuation of Lovie as a planned “retirement.” Soon customers were calling their local gift shops [...]