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Cockatiels _are_ parrots. Though it’s interesting that there are at least two not-super-closely-related groups of smart birds; corvids and parrots.

Looking at my mother’s descent from Alzheimer’s, what we have is (if you will excuse the analogy) more skill slots, not unique class skills.

Could you please expand on what you mean?

I suppose they're referencing a popular video game mechanic, in which skill-building works by collecting skills in a limited number of "slots".

The claim is that while humans may be able to master a large number of different skills, few of them are limited to humans in and of themselves (and not available to some other animals as well).

That clarifies things. Thanks.

How unused is the letter z on your keyboard when typing? Different regions of the brain serve different functions, so though they aren’t always activated, they are necessary.

Besides, obsolete and unused brain tissue is very expensive calorically to maintain, and would be a hinderance to survival over long periods of time.