5 ms·
We're still in the "earth is the centre of the universe" stage when it comes to other life forms.
by tsherr 8y ago
We're still in the "earth is the centre of the universe" stage when it comes to other life forms.
- gnulinux 8y ago2018 Ig Nobel Prize in Anthropology winner: Spontaneous Cross-Species Imitation in Interaction Between Chimpanzees and Zoo Visitors [1] "[...] for collecting evidence, in a zoo, that chimpanzees imitate humans about as often, and about as well, as humans imitate chimpanzees." I think this is evidence towards your point that we understand very little of cognition of other species. [1]: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10329-017-0624-9 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10329-017-0624-9
- PacifyFish 8y agoI'm sure this work was groundbreaking , but let's not kid ourselves that imitation is some high and misunderstood form of intelligence. Nor should we kid ourselves that this is new information. The adage "monkey see, monkey do" has been around for, what, centuries? Is it really that surprising that apes imitate things they see? Does it really reveal a paltry understanding of monkey cognition?
- jamiek88 8y agoHence the ignoble prize!
- PacifyFish 8y agoAh thanks, missed the "ig."
- gnulinux 8y agoYeah there is no Nobel in Anthropology.
- Varcht 8y agoOh hey, Apes ape, what a concept!
- randyrand 8y agoI'm excited for AI to take over and treat us like pets. That will be a real wakeup call for a lot of folks. Imagine trying to believe "God created humans in his image"in this future.
- noonespecial 8y agoRight up until the super-AI creates a pet human or two in its own image and a little garden for them to live in.
- ars 8y agoJust so you know that phrase means with the ability to recognize right from wrong, and the free will to use that knowledge. (And it does not mean intelligence.) And so far so I am aware animals are not able to recognize right from wrong. They can be trained not to do certain things, but it doesn't come from inside them.
- amanaplanacanal 8y agoI believe that bonobos have been shown to have a sense of fairness vs unfairness. I don't know if that is different from right/wrong but I suspect not.
- ars 8y agoFairness about themself, or about other bonobos? The first means nothing, the second would be interesting. i.e. if they see another bonobo being treated unfairly and don't like it. But if it's just about them, then that's not the same thing.