--- title: "1 Anecdotal Quotes By Hal Whitehead" description: "1 Anecdotal quotes by Hal Whitehead. Plus more from Hal Whitehead and more Anecdotal sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/hal-whitehead-26990_anecdotal_it-s-kind-of-ironic-that-when-you-look-a_2336928.jpg" --- > [It's kind of ironic that when you look at the evidence of intelligence and so on, a lot of it is anecdotal. A lot of it is, "Well, we saw this dolphin do this extraordinary thing," or, "We screwed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/it-s-kind-of-ironic-that-when-you-look-at-the-evidence-of/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/hal-whitehead-26990_anecdotal_it-s-kind-of-ironic-that-when-you-look-a_2336928.jpg) ## More by Hal Whitehead > [Studying the behavior of large whales has been likened to astronomy. The observer glimpses his subjects, often at long range; he cannot do experiments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/studying-the-behavior-of-large-whales-has-been-likened-to-astronomy/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [But one thing that seems pretty clear when we look at human religion is that it's highly tied in with human culture. So if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/but-one-thing-that-seems-pretty-clear-when-we-look-at-human-religion/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [We believe we're seeing, in other animals, a process, or an attribute, that isn't fundamentally different from what we see in humans, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/we-believe-we-re-seeing-in-other-animals-a-process-or-an-attribute/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Whales are cultural animals, and we're cultural animals, so although we shouldn't expect whales to do what we do, it doesn't seem unreasonable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/whales-are-cultural-animals-and-we-re-cultural-animals-so-although-we/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [What I mean by it, and roughly what most biologists who talk about culture mean by it, is either behavior itself, or information that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/what-i-mean-by-it-and-roughly-what-most-biologists-who-talk-about/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Culture is not usually one of the criterion for personhood, but it has been argued that culture is sort of a medium for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/culture-is-not-usually-one-of-the-criterion-for-personhood-but-it-has/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Conversation with animals could happen, but I think it would be easier for it to happen with creatures we share a bit more with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/conversation-with-animals-could-happen-but-i-think-it-would-be-easier/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Religion's pretty pervasive in humans. And why it's pervasive in humans is debated a lot. There are indications of things that look like religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/religion-s-pretty-pervasive-in-humans-and-why-it-s-pervasive-in/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Humans are particularly interesting; our culture is incredible, there's no doubt about that. In many respects, no other species matches ours. But in quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/humans-are-particularly-interesting-our-culture-is-incredible-there-s/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [The real controversy comes with anthropologists - not all, but some - who see themselves as studying culture, and they then see culture from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/the-real-controversy-comes-with-anthropologists-not-all-but-some-who/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [I was very lucky. I was just finishing my PhD at Cambridge in 1981. This opportunity came up because whaling was drawing to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-was-very-lucky-i-was-just-finishing-my-phd-at-cambridge-in-1981/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [I don't like to be dismissive of whales speaking possibilities. There is a pretty New Age-y, poorly thought set of ideas about this going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-don-t-like-to-be-dismissive-of-whales-speaking-possibilities-there/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [I don't think in biology it's very controversial at all. Whether certain behavior is culture or is not culture is argued. I think virtually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-don-t-think-in-biology-it-s-very-controversial-at-all-whether/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [I never thought of that one, that linguistics could be driving cultural things. There are some thoughts that that does happen in humans, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-never-thought-of-that-one-that-linguistics-could-be-driving/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Psychologists would say that the only two important forms of social learning are imitation and teaching, and they will spend time trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/psychologists-would-say-that-the-only-two-important-forms-of-social/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdotal/hal-whitehead/#itemlist", "name": "1 Anecdotal Quotes By Hal Whitehead", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's kind of ironic that when you look at the evidence of intelligence and so on, a lot of it is anecdotal. 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