7 ms·

I skimmed this. Does the author actually make any point or come to a conclusion other than offering anecdotes about how dolphins seem pretty friendly to people?

• hueving 11y ago
  No, just some nice anecdotes with no explanation.
• ghshephard 11y ago
  No. No points or conclusions are made. Just a meditation on dolphins and humans.
• increment_i 11y ago
  I felt the same but was wondering if I was being harsh. It seemed to take forever for the piece to say anything of interest.
• dang 11y ago
  There's nothing wrong with anecdotes and observations. If they're interesting, that's more than enough for good HN conversation.
  • puranjay 11y ago
    It's almost as if HN folks need some hard data even in their light reading. So does it matter whether dolphins actually seek us out? I just get a kick out of thinking they do, and this article put a smile on my face.
  • AdieuToLogic 11y ago
    Apologies for being fully off topic and not related to this submission/thread... @dang Much respect for your moderation and even keeled interactions. I can learn a lot by it. (this won't be a recurring theme or anything, just giving you props and fading back into the crowd)
• hristov 11y ago
  Even if she doesn't this is still a very interesting read. Many of her anecdotes have been seen and confirmed by so many different people that they are undoubtedly true. And considering these are true, they are very unusual and interesting to hear. I am not aware of any other wild animal that behaves like this. Both in terms of friendliness, and in terms of intelligence as in knowing what people like and how and when to help us. Obviously you cannot include domesticated animals, such as dogs or cows in this. These animals have been domesticated for so long, they must certainly have obtained some human friendly genes through natural selection. Even a "wild" dog carries genes that are the result of thousands of years of domestication. But a dolphin has no natural selection reason to be friendly to humans. And given how cruel nature is, and how cruel humans often are, it is rather amazing, they display such inter species friendliness.
  • glaberficken 11y ago
    "These animals have been domesticated for so long, they must certainly have obtained some human friendly genes through natural selection" Domesticated species evolve by artificial selection/selective breeding not by natural selection.
    • gearhart 11y ago
      It's an interesting idea - natural selection not by death before breeding, but by emigration - if only the animals that liked humans stayed near them, and those that didn't went elsewhere, then they'd end up breeding with other "friendly" individuals and you'd have genetic selection pressure that would amount to natural selection. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Domesticated_Red_Fox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Domesticated_Red_Fox (evidence for genetic influence on "friendliness") Edit: somewhat irrelevant to the point above, but interesting anyway
• hydrogen18 11y ago
  No, the author doesn't. On the other hand, you can quickly arrive at most of the same conclusion if you've spent extended time with dolphins. I always chuckle when I'm told the Marine Mammal Protection act prohibits pursuit of dolphins. It is usually me who is being pursued. During one fishing trip we had 3 dolphins simply show up and start following us. When we would move fishing spots, even 20 miles or more away, they'd still catch up to us. Their cruise speed isn't very high, it is probably around 12 mph. Once at the fishing spot they'd dive and start scaring the fish. Many fish will bite defensively, so this is great when you are fishing with a hook and line. Any fish we couldn't legally keep we'd throw back, which the dolphins would immediately consume. They'd be right beside the boat looking at us as we removed the hook from the mouth of the fish. Dolphins are pretty obviously intelligent enough to understand what is going on in the sea. Non-mammals in the sea react to a very basic set of cues to take action. A shark can easily be confused with a quick clap on the water surface. I've also watched sharks eat metallic items, which is flat out stupid. I'm willing to bet an octopus has some significant intelligence behind it, mostly because I've never seen one get caught on a hook. This means they are smart enough to avoid them. I've never dealt with aggression from dolphins. That said, dolphins aren't going to pull up a chair and debate the merits of presidential candidates. When someone speaks of a dolphin "mourning" for another dead dolphin, I think we are just inserting what we expect a dolphin to feel. The dolphin could just as easily be confused by another dead dolphin. I've also seen what I can only call a dolphin "party". I came upon a huge group of dolphins, at least 60 or more. There were many species present. I was convinced there was a huge school of fish nearby they were feeding on. Nope, the dolphins were just hanging out. As we stopped the boat they just started jumping over the bow as if to say "Thanks for joining us".