3 ms·

Humans May Be Shockingly Close to Decoding the Language of Animals

16 points by zeristor 4y ago

zeristor 4y ago
https://archive.ph/ZahPe https://archive.ph/ZahPe
zeristor 4y ago
Article seems very light on content, but is a great topic for a thread. I suppose if one has a Babel fish in one’s ear one would understand everything, alas they don’t fit in my ear: https://youtu.be/5HLy27bK-wU https://youtu.be/5HLy27bK-wU Peter Davidson going from playing a vet, to playing a pig, before becoming the fifth Dr Who.
westhom 4y ago
Can we start with human babies first?
- rikroots 4y ago
  Another comment alluded to Dr Who, so I feel no shame in posting this YouTube link. The Doctor (of course!) speaks Baby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO8mT02SFJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO8mT02SFJw
pifm_guy 4y ago
This is a neat shower thought... But I don't think it's worth writing an article until you have some results.
- ClapperHeid 4y ago
  >I don't think it's worth writing an article until you have some results... Exactly. I'm pretty sure that "using AI", I'll soon be able to turn base metal into gold.
aritmo 4y ago
They used to believe there was a Language of Humans. If you did not teach any language to a baby, somehow he would start talking in an ancient old language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation_experiments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation_experimen... Now it is the same but with animals.
- david_allison 4y ago
  Birdsongs can be genetic. It doesn't strike me as infeasible that a limited form of communication could also be.
  - jjtheblunt 4y ago
    how do you know birdsongs can be genetic? not sure how to find citations. but, sounds very cool.
    - david_allison 4y ago
      Video lecture citation: https://youtu.be/kIeK6YZo54g?t=1618 https://youtu.be/kIeK6YZo54g?t=1618 I can find papers which note a genetic preference, but not learning in captivity as listed in the lecture.
      - jjtheblunt 4y ago
        thank you!
yummypaint 4y ago
I think people can already understamd animals we are regularly exposed to quite well. Imagine you are in a park and see a dog running directly toward you. You know almost instantly whether it wants to play or is being aggressive. Same thing with cats and birds among people who have been around them. The body language of play seems pretty universal, and mammals have a propensity for snuggling together to conserve warmth that probably relates to other social behaviors like grooming. If you put two young mammals of different species together, they generally play and cuddle with each other, so there is already alot of precedent for interspecies communication, and what seems to be an inherant drive to communicate.

16 points by zeristor 4y ago

https://archive.ph/ZahPe https://archive.ph/ZahPe

Article seems very light on content, but is a great topic for a thread. I suppose if one has a Babel fish in one’s ear one would understand everything, alas they don’t fit in my ear: https://youtu.be/5HLy27bK-wU https://youtu.be/5HLy27bK-wU Peter Davidson going from playing a vet, to playing a pig, before becoming the fifth Dr Who.

westhom 4y ago

Can we start with human babies first?

rikroots 4y ago
Another comment alluded to Dr Who, so I feel no shame in posting this YouTube link. The Doctor (of course!) speaks Baby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO8mT02SFJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO8mT02SFJw

pifm_guy 4y ago

This is a neat shower thought... But I don't think it's worth writing an article until you have some results.

ClapperHeid 4y ago
>I don't think it's worth writing an article until you have some results... Exactly. I'm pretty sure that "using AI", I'll soon be able to turn base metal into gold.

aritmo 4y ago

They used to believe there was a Language of Humans. If you did not teach any language to a baby, somehow he would start talking in an ancient old language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation_experiments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation_experimen... Now it is the same but with animals.

david_allison 4y ago
Birdsongs can be genetic. It doesn't strike me as infeasible that a limited form of communication could also be.
- jjtheblunt 4y ago
  how do you know birdsongs can be genetic? not sure how to find citations. but, sounds very cool.
  - david_allison 4y ago
    Video lecture citation: https://youtu.be/kIeK6YZo54g?t=1618 https://youtu.be/kIeK6YZo54g?t=1618 I can find papers which note a genetic preference, but not learning in captivity as listed in the lecture.
    - jjtheblunt 4y ago
      thank you!

yummypaint 4y ago

I think people can already understamd animals we are regularly exposed to quite well. Imagine you are in a park and see a dog running directly toward you. You know almost instantly whether it wants to play or is being aggressive. Same thing with cats and birds among people who have been around them. The body language of play seems pretty universal, and mammals have a propensity for snuggling together to conserve warmth that probably relates to other social behaviors like grooming. If you put two young mammals of different species together, they generally play and cuddle with each other, so there is already alot of precedent for interspecies communication, and what seems to be an inherant drive to communicate.