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Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

knowablemagazine.org

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Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#181

Post by dartos »

gaiagraphia wrote: post #175
tsimionescu wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thought I've sometimes had is that if we had evolved to be as tiny as something like these spiders, but still at our current level of intelligence and society, chimps or elephants or whales would still be almost insurmountable threats to us even with today's level of technology. It'd take entire nations years of effort to build a gun or rocket that could even hurt something that much bigger than us.

They also could provide insurmountable opportunity. You'd have a huge advantage against enemies if you could develop some kind of mutualism with the beasts of nature. Imagine living on top of an elephant. I guess you would attend to its skin and health, in exchange for a great defensive position, free transport, the potential to live off dying cells and moisture, etc. Fast forward a very long time, and you might have…

I’d play that game.

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#182

Post by adrian_b »

I do not know where it is available, but there is a new documentary TV series: "A Real Bug's Life".

Its first episode, "The Big City", includes many very beautiful filmed sequences with jumping spiders.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29520604/?ref_=ttep_ep1

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13919000/?ref_=tt_ov_inf

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#183

Post by rafaelero »

sph wrote: post #180
rafaelero wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Minimizing pain means eating less animals with developed nervous systems and more plants.

You can make all the rationalisations you want and operate however you see fit, but Homo Sapiens Sapiens is an omnivorous apex predator of the highest order. Meat eating and tool use, borne out of the need to maximise the amount of calorie-dense food available are the reason we are here today discussing the finer points of vegetarianism. Instead of being a blind zealot, I try to understand that life is a series of pa…

The simplicity of my position hardly invites rationalization or blind belief. Even if you assume plants feel pain, you would still end up agreeing that vegetarianism is the correct choice, since it still minimizes the pain that would be caused by feeding animals with wasted calories from plants. On the contrary, it's you who is attaching yourself to misconceptions about what humans require to lead healthy lifes, even when you know (I mean, you can't be that blind) that plant diets can be as healthy (or arguably even more healthy).

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#184

Post by dleeftink »

4ggr0 wrote: post #174
dleeftink wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely understandable. But just know it can be overcome, albeit gradually. You'll start small and decide the pace your comfortable with. As an aside, at a younger age I shared your aversion to syringes. It wasn't the adminstering per se, but the perceived lack of control. What helped me was realising that 23 hours, 59 minutes and 55 seconds out of the day, I am in control -- those 5 seconds of needling (if that)…

EDIT: I think blood sample is the wrong term, what I mean is blood count/work, where they take quite a bit of blood out of your arm. Not the small tests where they prick a finger. > I hope you are able to overcome your aversion Yeah, I hope so too. Thanks for the empathy. I've actually overcome my fear of vaccines. I can't sleep that well the night before and I'm still sweaty and stressed, but I know that it will jus…

Again, I completely understand. Something is taken from you, and the whole song and dance leading up to it can amplify the negative associations.

You have agency in this situation and should inform and communicate your anxieties to any attending nurse or physician, possibly in advance. There are guidelines and support protocols in place exactly because of the strangeness some medical procedures invoke.

At the same time, their (slight) discomfort is the 'price to pay' for a mind at ease. My advice: try and rationalise it to a fault. I'd wager millions have blood works taken each day, and are only better for it. You will be among them.

Dare I say, I've even learned to be intrigued by those little vials whenever I have my blood works done -- so much information can be gathered from so little. A life in need can be a beneficiary from less than a minute of your time.

Don't let the imprints of your childhood define you. There is much else to gain.

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#186

Post by forgotmypw17 »

jongjong wrote: post #105

I was bitten by a jumping spider when I was a child. I used to play with them, never had a problem and then one day for no reason, I got bitten.

I was bitten by a cat. Many, many times.

I used to play with a cat as a child, never had a problem, and then one day, for no reason, I got bitten.

And it happened again and again!

No complaints, would grow up with a cat again.

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#187

Post by rickydroll »

psd1 wrote: post #152
rickydroll wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anyone who's ever interacted with any kind of animal knows how they are intelligent. Anyone who's ever had backyard chickens knows they are not intelligent. Nature gave them a brain to keep the spinal cord from fraying.

I'm stealing that line! But chickens have a social order, keepers say, and more complex behaviour than a naive city slicker might expect. They may not be grandmasters, but they aren't completely stupid.

That line also applies to some management types and children of the rich and powerful.

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#188

Post by genman »

sph wrote: post #142
gpderetta wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do checkout Blindsight because is great, but the Portia reference is actually from the sequel Echopraxia (a good book, but inferior to Blindsight; I mostly remember it for the Portia reference).

Blindsight. One of the most interesting sci-fi stories I found impossible to get into and enjoy due to the author's dense and obtuse prose. I have a squirrel brain, so maybe it's just me. I just wish one day someone will be able to turn it in a video game or a movie so I can understand how alien those aliens really are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkR2hnXR0SM

This is notably also adored by Watts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW7_1J9clAA

In case you want to fall down into the rabbit hole then https://blindsight.space

Now I just wish that some serious producer like Nolan would get a hint.

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#189

Post by hyperthesis »

hyperthesis wrote: post #113
adriand wrote: post #11

I forget who said this or exactly what they said, but someone has pointed out that the more research humans conduct the more we find that animals and even plants are more complex, more intelligent and more sophisticated than we thought. It is worth keeping this in mind the next time someone tells you a small creature (perhaps a crustacean) cannot feel or think or do something that would mean we ought to be less cruel…

You can argue for animal intelligence but they can't argue for yours. Humans are also found to be more complex/intelligent/sophisticated than was thought, given AI goalpost moving.

Sorry, too harsh, I should have said: "We can argue for animal intelligence but they can't argue for ours.

Re: Researchers find signs of intelligence among jumping spiders

#190

Post by andrewflnr »

I_am_tiberius wrote: post #97
jjackson5324 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's great, but if I ever see a jumping spider in my house then I will not hesitate to murder it in cold blood.

That's horrible. When I see a spider, I let it crawl on a piece of paper and move it outside.

And they don't go rappelling off the side? I always use a plastic container for spider relocation, so I only have to catch them once.
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