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okasha

(11,573 posts)
29. You are wrong in your statement that
Sat Aug 31, 2013, 04:42 PM
Aug 2013

non-human animals are simply "pre-programmed computers." That assertion necessarily implies that non-human animals do not learn new behaviors.

If you're not familiar with Behrnd's work with ravens, maybe you're familiar with domestic cats. Cats kill other animals by instinct. Young cats, though, must learn the connection between "prey" and "food." That's why feline mothers (and fox fathers, btw) bring live prey to their young. So they can learn something for which they're not "pre-programmed."

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I thought they just watch videos on the World Wide Web... n/t PoliticAverse Aug 2013 #1
LOL Skittles Aug 2013 #2
funny demwing Aug 2013 #4
That's where I have learned to do just about everything. cbayer Aug 2013 #5
This sounds quite Jungian. cbayer Aug 2013 #3
instinct is genetically hardwired behavior.... mike_c Aug 2013 #6
where else but at spider school gopiscrap Aug 2013 #7
Never mind that, how did they learn to eat like that? rug Aug 2013 #8
I read this quote one time. silverweb Aug 2013 #9
It's what hydrogen atoms do... pokerfan Aug 2013 #13
Beautiful. silverweb Aug 2013 #15
thanks for the quote! demwing Aug 2013 #16
One of the physicians i work with looks just Carl Sagan, except he has shoulder lenght hair. darkangel218 Aug 2013 #21
"... if life can be reduced to 'the behaviors of a complex system' ..." Jim__ Aug 2013 #10
Grandmother Spider teaches them, okasha Aug 2013 #11
We don't have a complete answer edhopper Aug 2013 #12
Either you missed the money line "It also doesn't mean that "God" taught spiders how to spin webs." demwing Aug 2013 #14
Being snide edhopper Aug 2013 #17
Well, first of all you have crossing universe problems with your scenario. Goblinmonger Aug 2013 #24
as interesting as most edhopper Aug 2013 #35
No kidding Goblinmonger Aug 2013 #36
as far as superpowers go edhopper Aug 2013 #37
I would guess the best way to learn web spinning techniques would be to watch a priest. DrewFlorida Aug 2013 #18
now that's a sharp answer demwing Aug 2013 #19
IMHO, yes, we do come just preprogrammed computers. darkangel218 Aug 2013 #20
Hate to break this to you, but humans are animals, okasha Aug 2013 #25
I was refering to all the other animals aside from the human species. darkangel218 Aug 2013 #26
You're still wrong. okasha Aug 2013 #27
So how am i wrong? darkangel218 Aug 2013 #28
You are wrong in your statement that okasha Aug 2013 #29
Preprogrammed instincts dont exclude new behavior learning!!! darkangel218 Aug 2013 #30
From your post #20. okasha Aug 2013 #34
You can take a kitten who was bottle fed and grew up only with humans. That cat will hund down mice darkangel218 Aug 2013 #31
I just said that. okasha Aug 2013 #32
Babies come with pre-programmed instints... Bay Boy Aug 2013 #33
Life = Biological Machine WovenGems Aug 2013 #22
"What's life ain't hard to define at all" -- that's not a consensus opinion demwing Aug 2013 #23
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