I like where you're going with this! I think a stronger argument is that animals can survive so well by ONLY predicting just a few seconds in to the future for

I like where you're going with this! I think a stronger argument is that animals can survive so well by ONLY predicting just a few seconds in to the future for the most part. If you own a cat you'll realize most of them don't have a good understand of physical properties like levers or strings or one thing can knock into another. Of course you'll find on SM cats opening doors with uncanny ability. But I can see from my own cat who can open doors, that he has an incredibly rudimentary understanding of levers. He only knows the lever must be moved but not which direction or how. He can only mash at it with his body until it eventually opens. He doesn't understand why a child proof lock stops him from opening the door so he'll try over and over again. With other cats as well, they only form vague associations over either many repetitions or from an emotional experience. But they don't reason the way we can learn from one experience.