4 ms·

Not Angry Birds: An iPad App That Lets You Play With Real Pigs

35 points by sdoering 15y ago

jeremymims 15y ago
Interesting concept. At first glance a noble mission. Nevertheless, this is yet another rationalization for something horrible. When you think about sentient animals that enjoy entertainment, feel boredom, get aggressive when confined, and have a desire to be intellectually stimulated, you realize what an unbelievably sick circumstance this really is.
- LaGrange 15y ago
  Actually, if I got to play with a specific pig several times, got attached to it a bit, and then the pig would disappear... I don't think I'd eat bacon again. Then again, I'm feeling guilty every time I eat meat as it is.
  - its_so_on 15y ago
    technically (as in, in actual reality), you are guilty every time you eat meat. Note that I don't feel that way personally, and eat meat all the time, I don't entertain two thoughts about this, any more than I feel guilty about slave-driving Apple's suppliers' employees to meet Apple's excruciating demands for components, all fueled by my purchase and demand, and the purchases and demands of millions like me, but, there's reality for you. In actual reality, we are guilty. That doesn't mean you should feel guilty though. www.google.com/search?q=factory+farming www.google.com/search?q=foxconn+labor+conditions
    - bh42222 15y ago
      I genuinely do feel bad about slave-driving Apple's suppliers' employees enough to not own any Apple hardware. Or any hardware linked to foxconn. But I don't feel the least bad about eating organic meat. As long as animals live a mostly stress and pain free life, I have no problem with using them as food.
dangero 15y ago
Interesting idea, but it's not scalable. As you add more users, your interaction is less meaningful. On the other hand, if the app let you interact one on one with an animal, then that is a very novel concept especially for a kid who lives in a metropolitan area, etc.
- dangero 15y ago
  Just thought of something else. Imagine an app where you can pay an in app purchase to feed a real animal. Kind of like an online petting zoo... There's a lot of potential there.
tibbon 15y ago
Where in the world can you get a large, bright, color, touchscreen like that? I would love for my band to have one.
siavosh 15y ago
Man, that giant touchscreen is going to get dirty fast.
erikpukinskis 15y ago
I'm not overstating myself when I say: this represents, to me, everything that is wrong with our society. We have companies like Target that exploit workers, destroy the environment, and sell toxic products to us, only then to "donate" 5% of it's profit to charity. We have people driving around wearing TOMS shoes which are made, marketed, and sold using fuel that... ahem... fuels colonialism of the very same sort that made those African kids shoeless in the first place. And now we have pigs being entertained by some flashing lights, while they are locked in a metal box. You want to know what's entertaining to pigs? Digging is fucking entertaining to pigs. Rooting around in the dirt for some awesomeness to munch. Flashing lights are about as awesome to a pig as Dubstep would be to someone who had been denied human contact their entire life. Let's stop trying to paper over disgusting business practices with last ditch attempts at charity.

35 points by sdoering 15y ago

Interesting concept. At first glance a noble mission. Nevertheless, this is yet another rationalization for something horrible. When you think about sentient animals that enjoy entertainment, feel boredom, get aggressive when confined, and have a desire to be intellectually stimulated, you realize what an unbelievably sick circumstance this really is.

LaGrange 15y ago
Actually, if I got to play with a specific pig several times, got attached to it a bit, and then the pig would disappear... I don't think I'd eat bacon again. Then again, I'm feeling guilty every time I eat meat as it is.
- its_so_on 15y ago
  technically (as in, in actual reality), you are guilty every time you eat meat. Note that I don't feel that way personally, and eat meat all the time, I don't entertain two thoughts about this, any more than I feel guilty about slave-driving Apple's suppliers' employees to meet Apple's excruciating demands for components, all fueled by my purchase and demand, and the purchases and demands of millions like me, but, there's reality for you. In actual reality, we are guilty. That doesn't mean you should feel guilty though. www.google.com/search?q=factory+farming www.google.com/search?q=foxconn+labor+conditions
  - bh42222 15y ago
    I genuinely do feel bad about slave-driving Apple's suppliers' employees enough to not own any Apple hardware. Or any hardware linked to foxconn. But I don't feel the least bad about eating organic meat. As long as animals live a mostly stress and pain free life, I have no problem with using them as food.

dangero 15y ago

Interesting idea, but it's not scalable. As you add more users, your interaction is less meaningful. On the other hand, if the app let you interact one on one with an animal, then that is a very novel concept especially for a kid who lives in a metropolitan area, etc.

dangero 15y ago
Just thought of something else. Imagine an app where you can pay an in app purchase to feed a real animal. Kind of like an online petting zoo... There's a lot of potential there.

tibbon 15y ago

Where in the world can you get a large, bright, color, touchscreen like that? I would love for my band to have one.

siavosh 15y ago

Man, that giant touchscreen is going to get dirty fast.

erikpukinskis 15y ago

I'm not overstating myself when I say: this represents, to me, everything that is wrong with our society. We have companies like Target that exploit workers, destroy the environment, and sell toxic products to us, only then to "donate" 5% of it's profit to charity. We have people driving around wearing TOMS shoes which are made, marketed, and sold using fuel that... ahem... fuels colonialism of the very same sort that made those African kids shoeless in the first place. And now we have pigs being entertained by some flashing lights, while they are locked in a metal box. You want to know what's entertaining to pigs? Digging is fucking entertaining to pigs. Rooting around in the dirt for some awesomeness to munch. Flashing lights are about as awesome to a pig as Dubstep would be to someone who had been denied human contact their entire life. Let's stop trying to paper over disgusting business practices with last ditch attempts at charity.