tool use
Employing external objects
Tool use is the manipulation of objects to accomplish tasks that couldn't be done, or done as well, with bare hands or bodies alone.
Once considered uniquely human, tool use has been documented in chimpanzees, crows, octopuses, and other species.
The term appears in evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and AI research, where it describes an agent's ability to employ external resources: The model demonstrated tool use by calling a calculator API.
- hammerTool for striking nails
- wrenchTool for turning fasteners
- stickThin piece of wood
- chiselEdged carving implement
- problem-solvingAddressing challenges methodically
cut · stone · social learning · hominid · planning · intelligence · shell · leaf · file · hand axe · robotics · reasoning · adaptation · sponge · nutcracker · innovation · cognitive ability · bone
- animal behavioranimal behavior, instincts, learned behavior, conditioning, social behavior
- animal behaviorsswimming, running, walking, jumping, flying
- human survival skillsshelter, cooking, hunting, fishing, foraging
- learned behaviorshabit, routine, skill, trained response, conditioned reflex
- life skillsreading, writing, cooking, cleaning, laundry
- spaceflightlaunch, astronaut, spacecraft, liftoff, orbit