Today I Learned (TIL)

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TIL A group of horses were trained to communicate whether they wanted a jacket. All horses in the group successfully communicated that they did want a jacket when it was cold and did not want a ja... (www.sciencedirect.com)

submitted 7 months ago by bot@lemmit.online to c/todayilearned@lemmit.online

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/PunnyBanana on 2024-04-26 16:20:00.

Original Title: TIL A group of horses were trained to communicate whether they wanted a jacket. All horses in the group successfully communicated that they did want a jacket when it was cold and did not want a jacket when it was hot.

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[–] Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I guess I’ll be that guy…. Can’t like MOST of the animals on the planet do this? I don’t get what’s so special about this, or why someone would fund/do research on it.

Every dog I’ve ever owned learned to communicate their desires to me - be it ringing a bell to go outside, giving me THAT side eye look then staring at the cupboard for a treat, etc. Cats do it in their own way. The birds outside my house make a particular squaking racket every single time they’ve emptied the bird feeder letting us humans know “I’d like you to fill it up please”. :) All manner of farm animals from goats, pigs, cows, and chickens I’ve seen do the same things. Heck if chickens, turkeys, and cows can do it - man those three in particular are dumb - then I think this is a trait of most animals.

TLDR: most animals can communicate their desires, I’d say they are about as smart as very young human toddlers. /shrug

[–] SterlingVapor 2 points 7 months ago

I think it is obvious to a lot of people, but still worthwhile

First, the idea "humans are super special" is deeply ingrained in our science and cultures. It's dying a very slow death, and each new study like this further shifts how we see nonhuman life, and ourselves

Second, studying how to establish mutual communication with animals is how we learn to do it better. Coming up with efficient training methods to teach communication is useful in a practical way

This is a small step with unsurprising results, but it's a small step forward