As humans, we live in our thoughts: from pondering what to make for dinner to daydreaming about our last beach vacation. Now, researchers at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus have found that animals also possess an imagination.
  • @Ashyr@sh.itjust.works
    39•8 months ago

    Nothing so smart should live such a short time. I’d love to have them as pets, but saying goodbye every few years would be too much.

    • Nougat
      20•8 months ago

      Oh my god it’s the worst, because they love you so much.

      • oo1
        11•8 months ago

        not all of them.
        some of thm are grumpy loners - at least in terms of humans.
        some are skittish around humans (probably a good trait in general for such a creature)
        some are friendly to humans.
        some are more curiois and inquisitive.
        some are quite stay-at-home / clean freaks.
        some are more agressive / territorial,
        some are ingeniuos and have better problem solving / building / physical manipulation skills.

        quite a range of different personalities.

        and their behaviour often also relates to their group dynamic and social standing - as they’re social and rely on each other in complex ways.

        I’m sure we’ll never know all the psychological and social complexities of other species of life (or even our own).

        • Echo Dot
          8•8 months ago

          I had a rat when I was at university and I’m pretty sure he was more intelligent than some of my dorm mates.

        • Nougat
          3•8 months ago

          None of those behaviors are incompatible with rat love.

    • @big_slap@lemmy.world
      7•8 months ago

      this is just how I feel about pets in general. I recently adopted a senior dog and my mind just jumps to the end cause I love her so much

    • Echo Dot
      4•8 months ago

      And they never get old and died it was end up getting cancer or something, it’s awful.

      I’ve been thinking of getting a chinchilla next time. They live for about a decade.

  • Nougat
    29•8 months ago

    If you, like me, thought “How the hell can they know that?” – the experiment is described in the article and it’s craaazy.

    • Match!!English
      19•8 months ago

      I thought this was gonna be some cool experimental design, maybe some mirrors and paint or something.

      Not fucking brain-machine interfaces and VR

  • XbSuperEnglish
    3•8 months ago

    Then imagine yourself outside my home. And then actually go outside my home.