True scientists can be recognized by the joy they take in their insatiable curiosity. Because this curiosity leads to asking questions not to confirm what scientists already know, but to discover what they do not yet understand.

In cognitive biology at the Messerli Research Institute at Vetmeduni Vienna, we try to understand how animals think, perceive, and act.  The aim is not to humanize them, but rather to understand ourselves a little more as animals.

I believe that we will only truly understand how animals think when we learn to see things from their perspective. This requires more than mere observation. We need to engage with other worlds of perception, with forms of intelligence that may be quieter, more playful, or more physical than we are used to.

For me, science is a conversation with nature. It is one that teaches us humility and at the same time gives us joy, because every piece of understanding we gain creates a piece of connection.

I am delighted to be part of a celebration that makes this curiosity, diversity, and thirst for knowledge visible and, at least for one night, brings them to dance.

Alice Auersperg is a cognitive biologist and researches the cognitive abilities of parrots at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. She founded the Goffin Lab at the Messerli Research Institute for Comparative Cognitive Science, which she heads. Her research focuses on technical cognition, cognitive mechanisms, animal object play, innovation, and tool use.