Chapter 272 Once Warmth

Hearing Richard's serious declaration, Zhang Zian was rather dumbfounded. He wondered why Richard was so interested in this matter, not just to help Guo Dongyue—Richard was very concerned about the word "parrot", and seemed to want to take this opportunity to justify his own family name.

Its ambitions are all right and worthy of encouragement, the question is is there enough time? Guo Dongyue's mother's condition is unpredictable and may deteriorate at any time.

Time waits for neither man nor bird.

Richard seemed to see his doubts, and said confidently: "Do you know the relationship between language and memory?"

"I really don't know the relationship between language and memory?" Hearing the word "memory", Zhang Zian's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help thinking of Guo's mother's illness.

"Of course it has something to do with it." Richard raised his head and suddenly became a little sad, as if he was recalling something long ago, "The brain is the most wonderful organ in a living thing, and there are still many unsolved mysteries. Alzheimer's Patients with silent syndrome will first forget short-term memory and then long-term memory, but why can’t language ability be forgotten?”

Zhang Zian thought about it seriously, got a little clue, and said, "I think language is a skill, right? It's similar to riding a bicycle. Once you learn it, you won't forget it?"

"No, in essence, language is also memory, but it is a memory that is deeper than long-term memory." Richard denied his guess, "How many times you speak and listen to words every day, language memory will How many times it has been repeatedly strengthened, which leads to language memory surpassing any other memory, and it is impossible to forget it even until death-unless you have aphasia, but aphasia is not forgetting language, but just forgetting how to extract language from the brain... "

Zhang Zian became more and more confused, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's nothing, my uncle just thought of the old woman with dementia, and felt it." Richard shook his head in a sense of loss, "Let's talk about what I need you to do first."

"Okay, tell me, I'll listen."

"At present, the fastest way to train birds to speak requires the cooperation of two people, for example, you and my uncle." It pointed to him with its wings, and then pressed on its own chest.

Zhang Zian really wanted to complain that you were a bird and not a human, but he swallowed it anyway, there was no point in arguing about it.

"How exactly?" he asked.

"Specifically, I will teach them some basic vocabulary, such as the pronunciation of gray, green, red, bowl, pot, rice and other Chinese characters,

After they have mastered a certain number, they will start to freely combine. At that time, let them observe our interaction, such as seeing a red light, if they can say it correctly, they can get food rewards, otherwise they will give the food to the uncle. After repeating this, let's switch roles again, which is called the role model/adversary method. "

Zhang Zian basically understood it. This is somewhat similar to training ordinary animals with conditioned reflexes, but it is different.

After careful consideration, he made a request: "I understand that you think a lot, but this training must not be completed quickly. You must promise me that if it takes too long, you will at least teach that poem to me. they."

Richard agreed nonchalantly, "That's no problem, it doesn't take long in fact. Language learning is not linear, but similar to 'epiphany'-you teach an ordinary parrot to speak, and it may teach In the past year, two years, or even ten or twenty years, it is still like a dumb person, but as long as it speaks the first word, the first sentence, the rest will follow. Think about it, you humans Is it the same?"

Zhang Zian thought for a while, and it seems to be true. Some babies can talk before they are one year old, and some babies can't talk until they are almost two years old. But this doesn't mean that the former is definitely smarter than the latter, it's just that the latter " Comprehension" came later. When the baby learns to say "Mom", it will soon be able to say "Dad", "Grandpa", "Grandma" and other words.

Richard raised his wings and pointed to the birdcage, "They have learned the word 'gray' and have become enlightened. It will probably not take long before they can master many common vocabulary. By then, they will not only be able to read the poem , and even become a helper in daily life, helping the old lady live a normal life.”

Zhang Zian's thinking froze for a few seconds before he realized what it meant. After he came back from Guo Dongyue, he told Richard in detail what he had seen and heard, and also mentioned that Aunt Bai, who was in charge of taking care of Guo's mother, was not very responsible. Even if she is dissatisfied with Aunt Bai, there is nothing she can do, because Mother Guo only knows Aunt Bai. If it were another nanny, Mother Guo might do something else driven by suspicion and anxiety.

When he said these words, Zhang Zian just told the truth without any special purpose, but he felt a little uncomfortable not to say it. Who Said Alzheimer's Patients Don't Suffer? He clearly felt the deep distress and incomprehension on her face, especially when she saw Guo Dongyue, it seemed that every pore on her face was full of despair, like someone sinking into a bottomless dark abyss He was waving his hands desperately, trying to grab something.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener intended, but Richard thought of more from these words. It also faces two roads, one is to simply teach the two red-faced parrots the song "Wandering Son", and then complete the task, everyone is happy; the other is to really teach them to speak, not only for the parrots. The ability to speak is justified, and it can help this poor old woman and become her life assistant.

In Guo's mother's memory, not only Aunt Bai, but also Xiao Zi and Pea Huang are remembered. Giving her Xiao Zi and Pea Huang, who have really learned to speak, will definitely not cause her rejection.

After Zhang Zian figured it out, he couldn't hold back his excitement. Guo's mother is so pitiful that anyone who sees it will sympathize. If they can provide her with some help within their ability, why not do it?

He picked up the phone, wanting to inform Guo Dongyue of the news as soon as possible, but put it down after another thought. There is no need to inform him for the time being, after all, it is not fully sure whether it will succeed or not. Guo Dongyue has endured too many disappointments. If he had high expectations this time but failed in the end, it would be a heavy blow to him.

Richard looked at the red-faced parrots in the cage. At this moment, he seemed to see himself in them—the nervous and cowering African gray parrot that had just been brought into the laboratory. Feel the warmth of human beings, feel the warmth of family, and feel the warmth of love.

Therefore, this time it not only has to give back the warmth, but also to make up for regrets and go further.