newscientist.com— We like to think we have a truckload of traits found nowhere else in the animal kingdom, but this pick of the New Scientist archive suggests otherwise
May 23, 2008View in Crawl 4
Some things in this article reminded me of my cat and a neighbor's cat from years ago. Those two cats (both males) didn't get along very well. Whenever they were close, they both hissed at or even attacked each other. The neighbor's cat was much older and has been living in our street for years (he was about 15 years old or so); my cat on the other hand was only about one or two years old (we found and adopted him).One day, we found out that the neighbor's cat (whose name was "Mistake" by the way) was terminally ill. He had a tumor which was surgically removed some time ago, but it grew back (metastases) and the vet said that since Mistake was quite old and everything, it would be better to euthanize him. In his remaining months, he changed from a lively cat to a cat which mostly stayed indoors, moved at a very slow pace and didn't engage much to the usual cat stuff anymore.When one day Mistake was sitting at our neighbor's doorstep and watching the people going by, me and my cat (whose name is "Cicero") passed. Cicero stopped and then slowly walked over to Mistake. Mistake thought my cat would attack or pick on him and jumped up, startled. But Cicero slowly moved towards Mistake who was paralyzed in fear. He sniffed a bit on Mistake and then smeared his head on Mistake's head, like cats do to show affection (e.g. like on humans' legs if they want food). This went on for a few seconds and then Cicero came back to us.That was so moving. All the time they hated each other, but when my cat "felt" that the neighbor's cat was about to die, he showed him sympathy. Maybe this was just coincidence or I am interpreting more into it than there is, but nevertheless I think it's a nice story. :)
"You seem to think it arrogant to want our species to continue." Haha, no. That's a mindset with an evolutionary explanation that goes without saying. I'm pretty sure that the "animals" have the same mindset. Sorry for assuming that you consider humans "superior." But by indicating that we have distinct features that set us apart from the rest of Kingdom Animalia (moreso, I mean, than any other species -- because of course each species has its own distinguishing traits. If we were chameleons, we could say that our camouflaging ability marks us as a species different from all others [because yes, other species have the ability to do so, but then we could point to other traits and say, 'well, WE'RE the only ones who can do this AND this!']), you are placing us on a different level, which to me implies superiority. Maybe the reason we consider our cognitive processes "different" and "powerful" is BECAUSE we have them. Maybe we've got the cause and the effect backwards. Maybe the chameleon values its adaptive qualities and considers other creatures with similar abilities more "chameleon-like" and thus more advanced. Humans can't change their colors to blend in with their environments, so we would be on a level with the rest of the generic "animals" in the lizard's mind. Yes, our cultural/social/emotional sophistication IS what allows us to manipulate the environment. So maybe we are the most "powerful" species, and maybe that's grounds to consider our abilities significant enough to place us on a different level from the rest of the animals. In my opinion, it isn't. But I can see where you're coming from. Credit to you, though, for saying "other animals," acknowledging that we are nothing more. I suppose my arguments would be better directed toward someone who considers "human" and "animal" two distinct entities.
superal1394May 24, 2008
Cat's will hold a grudge. I can't even tell you how freaky it is when your cat is pissed at you.
mllawsoMay 24, 2008
"But we were created in God's image, so animals can't have these traits!"/s
trancersMay 25, 2008
Dugg for Animal Farm
claydragonMay 25, 2008
Some things in this article reminded me of my cat and a neighbor's cat from years ago. Those two cats (both males) didn't get along very well. Whenever they were close, they both hissed at or even attacked each other. The neighbor's cat was much older and has been living in our street for years (he was about 15 years old or so); my cat on the other hand was only about one or two years old (we found and adopted him).One day, we found out that the neighbor's cat (whose name was "Mistake" by the way) was terminally ill. He had a tumor which was surgically removed some time ago, but it grew back (metastases) and the vet said that since Mistake was quite old and everything, it would be better to euthanize him. In his remaining months, he changed from a lively cat to a cat which mostly stayed indoors, moved at a very slow pace and didn't engage much to the usual cat stuff anymore.When one day Mistake was sitting at our neighbor's doorstep and watching the people going by, me and my cat (whose name is "Cicero") passed. Cicero stopped and then slowly walked over to Mistake. Mistake thought my cat would attack or pick on him and jumped up, startled. But Cicero slowly moved towards Mistake who was paralyzed in fear. He sniffed a bit on Mistake and then smeared his head on Mistake's head, like cats do to show affection (e.g. like on humans' legs if they want food). This went on for a few seconds and then Cicero came back to us.That was so moving. All the time they hated each other, but when my cat "felt" that the neighbor's cat was about to die, he showed him sympathy. Maybe this was just coincidence or I am interpreting more into it than there is, but nevertheless I think it's a nice story. :)
melatininiMay 25, 2008
"You seem to think it arrogant to want our species to continue." Haha, no. That's a mindset with an evolutionary explanation that goes without saying. I'm pretty sure that the "animals" have the same mindset. Sorry for assuming that you consider humans "superior." But by indicating that we have distinct features that set us apart from the rest of Kingdom Animalia (moreso, I mean, than any other species -- because of course each species has its own distinguishing traits. If we were chameleons, we could say that our camouflaging ability marks us as a species different from all others [because yes, other species have the ability to do so, but then we could point to other traits and say, 'well, WE'RE the only ones who can do this AND this!']), you are placing us on a different level, which to me implies superiority. Maybe the reason we consider our cognitive processes "different" and "powerful" is BECAUSE we have them. Maybe we've got the cause and the effect backwards. Maybe the chameleon values its adaptive qualities and considers other creatures with similar abilities more "chameleon-like" and thus more advanced. Humans can't change their colors to blend in with their environments, so we would be on a level with the rest of the generic "animals" in the lizard's mind. Yes, our cultural/social/emotional sophistication IS what allows us to manipulate the environment. So maybe we are the most "powerful" species, and maybe that's grounds to consider our abilities significant enough to place us on a different level from the rest of the animals. In my opinion, it isn't. But I can see where you're coming from. Credit to you, though, for saying "other animals," acknowledging that we are nothing more. I suppose my arguments would be better directed toward someone who considers "human" and "animal" two distinct entities.
roofius78Nov 30, 2008
<a class="user" href="http://www.bloggtrafik.net">http://www.bloggtrafik.net</a> lucky for us it wasnt found