Cow Brains

My friend Raj and I were walking around the Stamford Nature Center on Sunday, and decided to check out the petting zoo. We saw one strange animal (looked like a cross between a shaggy dog and a horse) that we had never seen before, and a young - dare I say - friendly-looking cow. Rather than brave the horse-dog, we walked over to the cow, and it met us right at the fence. It was looking right at us and seemed to be wondering if we had any food. Raj and I spent the next few minutes trying to discern what - if anything - was going on its mind. Raj said (and I'm paraphrasing quite a bit): "there is nothing happening in there. Think about what a cow does all day - nothing. Therefore, it has nothing to think about." The problem for me is that I both agree and disagree with this sentiment. I believe that cows - and other animals - do not think in the way that we normally use the word. What would prove to me that they were "thinking" was if they did something that was outside the bounds of their generally observed behaviors. (I'm not sure if there are documented cases of this, or what exactly a clear example would be.) But this is belief-only material too. Because I have no good way to imagine the state of mind of another organism, it is very difficult to suggest what is "going on in there." And without knowing what's "in there", I can't say much about it at all.