Scary if they're so smart :)
Rats free each other from cages (2011)
11–20 of 173 posts
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#12Sort of off-topic but:
What companies (or researchers?) [if any] are working on animal-related technologies? I.e. animal eeg, [non-decorative] animal wear, apps for animals etc.
It deeply fascinates me but seems like it's somewhat unexplored in general. I only remember some company working on VR for animals.
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#13If you were observing humans but couldn't interview them, could you say they were acting with empathy? There are all sorts of "acts" that appear to be empathy from the outside but end up being in both parties best interest. Even acts of heroism and selflessness end up helping to hold together our society but it's often hard to feel what the other is feeling. Even when I consciously try, I suspect my attempts at empat…
That's probably because of the values and morals of our society mostly and not from a lack of empathy, heroism or selflessness. We inherit those values and pass them down to next generations. I think it's from the way we were raised and the way most of us raise our children. "If you do this, I will reward you with that"...this thing is from our childhood and sits at the root of mostly everything we do.
There are exceptions that make the rule I'm sure of it but our ego always tells us "it's not purity", "they can't be better than us", "they have a plan" so it's hard to distinguish. My 2c.
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#14I feel certain that in the near future we will discover animals are a lot smarter and more emotionally developed than we currently realize, and future generations will look back on our treatment of them with disgust.
I can highly recommend the book "Ravens in Winter" that shows just how complex and advanced the social structure is of these birds.
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#15Some communist rats you got there!
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#16I feel certain that in the near future we will discover animals are a lot smarter and more emotionally developed than we currently realize, and future generations will look back on our treatment of them with disgust.
We've already demonstrated that some animals stand well above the capabilities we've historically attributed to them. While I don't share your enthusiasm for an improvement in human behavior as a consequence, I believe the nature of such intelligence is entirely too obvious to be ignored entirely. :)
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#17Actual paper: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/334/6061/1427 There is a correction issued for this paper, but the correction is paywalled so I can't tell whether it's substantive or a nitpick. Also, please put a (2011) in the title.
The correction:
“Empathy and pro-social behavior in rats” by I. B.-A. Bartal et al. (9 December 2011, p. 1427). On p. 1428, the last full paragraph of column 1 was incorrect. The paragraph should be replaced by this corrected text: “All female rats (6/6) and most male rats (17/24) in the trapped condition became door-openers. Female rats in the trapped condition opened the restrainer door at a shorter latency than males on days 7 to 12 (P < 0.01, MMA, Fig. 3A), consistent with suggestions that females are more empathic than males (7, 12, 13). Furthermore, female rats were also more active than males in the trapped condition (P < 0.001, ANOVA) but not in the empty condition (Fig. 3B).”
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#18This reminds me of the movie Secret of Nimh.
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#19My perception for watching the video is that the cage opener wants to mate with the rat inside once it is free. At least mount it.
If there are from opposites sexes, there is certainly an egoistical reason for the rat to free the other.
If they are not, rats are very sociable. They need close contact with other rats.
It also looks like the opener rat is also very curious and wants to enter the cage too to know how it feels inside.
Re: Rats free each other from cages (2011)
#20I feel certain that in the near future we will discover animals are a lot smarter and more emotionally developed than we currently realize, and future generations will look back on our treatment of them with disgust.
Our behavior will improve the instant that improvement doesn't represent an inconvenience for the average person. :|