Bonobos can "play pretend"

Comments

• lugal@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Did the bonobo play pretend or did the scientists play pretend with an imaginary bonobo?

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  • spinne@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Dang, we really need to control for these confounding variables

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    • lugal@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It’s the same problem with double blind tests. Writing protocol when blindfolded is hard

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  • a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’ve long contended that primates are, in principle, too stupid to be real.

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• TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Since I saw that primates have a sense of humor, things like this don’t surprise me as much, because it’s not like they’re similar to us, it’s that we are very similar to them. It’s natural to share many traits.

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• Sunsofold@lemmings.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  The researchers, desperate for a cleric to support their party, then attempted to teach Kanzi how to play DnD.

  Kanzi, being a bonobo, then humped the imaginary object and asked for more snacks.

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  • rockerface@lemmy.cafe ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Should have given him a bard instead

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• ickplant@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Source: whyevolutionistrue.com/…/chimps-use-pretend-objec…

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• FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Don’t dogs and cats do it?

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  • Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    When have you seen your dog or cat pretend to interact with an invisible object, like a toddler having an imaginary cup of tea?

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    • rollin@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      My cat did pretend once to eat some crisps I’d given her. She was sat on a chair looking at me pleadingly, so I put a couple in front of her and after a sniff she “accidentally” knocked them on to the floor whilst pretending to eat them.

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    • FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      They pretend they have toys when they have nothing at all, sometimes. And I’d argue that even playing with toys the way they do is major make-believe. Which is also something they already do in the wild - practice hunting on dead animals or inanimate objects.

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    • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I’ve known multiple dogs that put items in a spot, then brushed their noses over them, as if burying them with invisible dirt.

      However, I figure that’s an instinctual behavior, similar to digging/burying food. Not evidence of imagination. Just evidence of dogs interacting with invisible objects.

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  • jwiggler@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Cats pretend aggression when playing with each other

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• Jayjader@jlai.lu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I wonder if the “language training” has anything to do with it.

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