Once upon a time a myth was born that insects, unlike animals, are just a machines that not capable of learning and survive only based on their instincts. That myth has become the widespread opinion. Of course, this opinion is indeed erroneous, like many other widespread opinions. Let us try to find out which part is a myth and which part is true.

Little owl chicks in Northumberland, UK on August 19, 2018. Strutting up and down and barrelling through the air, these Little Owl chicks will soon be fending for themselves. The intense little birds were snapped by wildlife photographer Bill Doherty in his native Northumberland. The chicks have about seven or eight weeks to learn their survival skills before their parents drive them away to fend for themselves. (Photo by Bill Doherty/South West News Service)

People wearing costumes attend the annual water-splashing festival to mark the New Year of the Dai minority in Jinghong, Yunnan province, April 13, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

A visitor takes a picture of the painting “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972” by British painter David Hockney during a press visit ahead of the opening of the exhibition “David Hockney 25” at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, France, on April 8, 2025. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

«Underwater». Laurie Simmons discovered this silicone sеx doll in a shop while on holiday in Japan and was immediately interested in the type of generic beauty their looks could add to her work. She went on to create the Love Doll series, in which she places silicone sеx dolls in positions that explore a woman’s interior life. (Photo by Laurie Simmons/Salon 94/The Guardian)

Pangolins in Crisis: Brent Stirton, South Africa; 1st place, Natural world and wildlife. “Pangolins are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals, with an estimated one million trafficked to Asia in the last 10 years. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, and their meat is sold as a high-priced delicacy. As a result, pangolins are listed as critically endangered and anyone who trades or consumes them is breaking the law. This body of work exposes the trade, while exploring aspects of illegality and celebrating the people who are trying to save these animals”. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Sony World Photography Awards 2020)

Miho Nonaka of Japan competes in the Women Boulder&Lead, Semifinal Lead of the Sport Climbing competitions in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in Le Bourget, France, 08 August 2024. (Photo by Christophe Petit-Tesson/EPA/EFE)

Most 23-year-olds are barely scraping their way out of college debts, but not Dominik Nitsche – the youngster has dominated this year’s World Series of Poker 2014 Hold-em Competition.