Enough asking about whether you can pass the Turing test. I want to know if you can fail it.
Why are so many people on tumblr so obsessed with pigeons?
I really don't know. Pigeons always struck me as people, or perhaps the equivalent of people, and as a young child I used to have a special affection for them, but I guess that is because I associate them with my early exposure to the concept of "birds." Also, birds are small enough that I can imagine what I imagine they're thinking, so if they can talk to me that well, I am at least somewhat inclined to believe they can talk to each other. This may be just me.
These pigeons belong to a friend of mine who keeps them in a small park near his apartment. They are friendly enough, even if a little aloof, and they are always looking for treats. (They aren't tame, at least not fully -- if you try to pet them, they'll just stand there stiffly like some sort of Victorian cartoon character and look mildly offended.) And they know a lot of words, so my friend had to develop an amusing system for me in which if I want to ask for something, I say "Hello, my friend the pigeon," in a pleasant voice, then I shout "DELICIA!" and throw a piece of candy in the air. The pigeons understand this and often come over to try to get my attention as I say it, and then when they get enough candy they'll bring it to me, and thus I can ask for things. A lot of times I get something like "can you go pick up some more of these pieces of candy from the store?" and they'll say something back to me, and I can say "DELICIA!" and the pigeons will go do that. There's a whole repertoire of these "questions" and answers and so on.
I'm sure I'm not alone in having these sorts of interactions. In fact, it's not unusual for a lot of people who talk to their pets in this way to become obsessed with them, and I think it's only natural -- "birds are small enough that I can imagine what I imagine they're thinking, so if they can talk to me that well they can talk to each other." I don't have many thoughts on whether these sorts of "interactions" constitute the experience of "communication" but that's my own issue. I don't even think it's a particularly controversial one.
