Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

Frans de Waal's work often challenges our assumptions about animals. I'm curious about what motivated him to focus on this particular question and how his background influenced his approach.

There were moments that made me question what I thought I knew about animals. Has anyone else experienced a change in how they view their pets or wildlife after reading this?

The book manages to be both rigorous and engaging, but I'm wondering how Frans de Waal decided what technical details to include or omit to keep it approachable.