i've pretty much exhausted the set of places in this apt where i can hide a mouse. she sees the general direction where it went, plans how to get there, follows the plan, plans again if it didn't work, and uses her sight (i've verified that it's not smell) to locate the mouse
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roommate says that i'm playing portal with her, and (a) basically yes (b) i should definitely teach her more abstract concepts like "button" (c) please for the love of god can some VC fund Aperture Science so I don't have to make everything myself
#catcognition2 replies 2 retweets 37 likesShow this thread -
my working theory is that intelligence is way more common in animals than what common knowledge says but only the species that have language can keep it in active use for a lifetime. the rest just kind of figure out how to survive and then get stuck in a rut
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Replying to @whitequark
I'm very conflicted about this theory. On the one hand my gut feeling tells me that this is true for most reasonable definitions of "intelligence". On the other hand I don't know of even a single definition of "intelligence" that I would call "reasonable" (in non-AI setting).
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Replying to @oe1cxw
by "intelligence" here i mean "rudimentary theory of mind and ability to plan ahead in short term"
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Replying to @whitequark
So "rudimentary theory of mind" would be for example the cat hiding things from you, recognizing when you have found the hidden thing, and as a consequence moving it to a new hiding spot? I think your working theory is pretty uncontroversial then.
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Replying to @oe1cxw
yes, that definitely counts. the theory is mostly about the "able to keep in active use only if you have language" part
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Replying to @whitequark
Ah, I think I got you now. :) Obviously everyone alive is at least as intelligent as neccessary to survive in their environemnt. And language can make an environment pretty complex. So is your point that language is the primary driver for keeping it complex long-term?
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Replying to @oe1cxw @whitequark
I'm not sure if I can fully agree with that because I know (of) many many people who clearly have mastered language, but also clearly show the "figured out how to survive and then got stuck in a rut" behavior. :D
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Replying to @oe1cxw
"can" but not "always do", language is necessary but not sufficient
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this theory definitely applies to humans as well
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