4 ms·

"Sophontic" would be a more accurate term for my meaning but almost nobody would know what I'm talking about. which of the two is more significant and why? Ne

by causi 5y ago

"Sophontic" would be a more accurate term for my meaning but almost nobody would know what I'm talking about. which of the two is more significant and why? Neither is more significant. I was pointing out that the study was regarding body-awareness and basic emotional response in the animals, not trying to demonstrate, for example, that octopuses are as intelligent as a (insert age) human child. It's about squids noticing when you hurt them, not octopuses appreciating music.

mLuby 5y ago
That word is so rare that your comment is the 4th search result hit on DDG: https://imgur.com/xSyGRT1 https://imgur.com/xSyGRT1
wolverine876 5y ago
Where is sophontic used?
- layer8 5y ago
  It originated in SF novels, apparently: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sophont https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sophont
  - wolverine876 5y ago
    It was first used by Paul Anderson in Trouble Twisters (1967) and Anderson's spouse Karen claims to have coined it. (Though I still have never heard 'sophontic', and I've never heard 'sophont' used outside sci-fi/fantasy. I was wondering in the GP if it's used elsewhere.) * https://sfdictionary.com/view/298/sophont https://sfdictionary.com/view/298/sophont If anyone wants an excellent dictionary of sci-fi / fantasy terms, look at the (free, online) Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jesse Sheidlower, a lexicographer who has had a career with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and others. It started as an OED project to record sci-fi words and IIRC still has access to their internal databases. * https://sfdictionary.com/ https://sfdictionary.com/ They have other interesting features, like a list of words coined by author: * https://sfdictionary.com/most_first_cites_authors https://sfdictionary.com/most_first_cites_authors And they want help, if anyone on HN happens to be familiar with sci-fi or related literature: "It is hoped that the site will grow to include subfields or related areas, such as gaming, comics, or anime/manga." * https://sfdictionary.com/how_to_help https://sfdictionary.com/how_to_help

by causi 5y ago

mLuby 5y ago

That word is so rare that your comment is the 4th search result hit on DDG: https://imgur.com/xSyGRT1 https://imgur.com/xSyGRT1

wolverine876 5y ago

Where is sophontic used?

layer8 5y ago
It originated in SF novels, apparently: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sophont https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sophont
- wolverine876 5y ago
  It was first used by Paul Anderson in Trouble Twisters (1967) and Anderson's spouse Karen claims to have coined it. (Though I still have never heard 'sophontic', and I've never heard 'sophont' used outside sci-fi/fantasy. I was wondering in the GP if it's used elsewhere.) * https://sfdictionary.com/view/298/sophont https://sfdictionary.com/view/298/sophont If anyone wants an excellent dictionary of sci-fi / fantasy terms, look at the (free, online) Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jesse Sheidlower, a lexicographer who has had a career with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and others. It started as an OED project to record sci-fi words and IIRC still has access to their internal databases. * https://sfdictionary.com/ https://sfdictionary.com/ They have other interesting features, like a list of words coined by author: * https://sfdictionary.com/most_first_cites_authors https://sfdictionary.com/most_first_cites_authors And they want help, if anyone on HN happens to be familiar with sci-fi or related literature: "It is hoped that the site will grow to include subfields or related areas, such as gaming, comics, or anime/manga." * https://sfdictionary.com/how_to_help https://sfdictionary.com/how_to_help