
Ask HN: Does your dog have a theory of mind? - lowdose
Recently my dog has found a new level trick to get the playing going. He basically goes to another part of the house pushes that door closed and waits behind it until we discover him. All while making sounds, peaking behind the door, closing and opening it again and again. This is 100% playful behavior but on Google I only find explanation of anxiety and stress related causes. I hesitate to interpret this as intelligent behavior and project a theory of mind on it but it sure is a nice surprise.
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rl3
My dog has been known to be more perceptive and cunning than humans at times
(including me), so I'd have to say yes.

It ultimately depends on the breed, upbringing, the dog's individual
personality, and so on. Generally speaking however, there's a mountain of
empirical evidence that demonstrates how extraordinary canine intelligence can
be.

Humans have a rather long history of discounting other species' intelligence,
and it seems as time progresses we learn just how wrong we were. I was reading
an article the other day about how turtles of all species are actually much
more intelligent than previously thought, in part due to flawed behavioral
studies in the 1950s and 60s. They aren't even mammals. It makes one wonder:

I eat meat. I enjoy it. If anything I'm aware of how unethical it is, but I
currently rationalize its consumption partly as a tacit acknowledgement of how
dark and broken the world is, and partly for nutritional and cognitive health
reasons.

Yet, it's still terrifying to think that if you remove the notion of humans
being unique in our ability to experience suffering—not only physical pain,
but notably psychological pain—we're essentially inflicting what amounts to
large-scale genocide of creatures with feelings, on a daily basis. It's
suffering on a scale that is incomprehensible.

To circle back to the topic at hand, it's curious that consumption of canine
meat is considered highly immoral or more commonly is outright illegal in the
majority of the civilized world. Yet, use of other mammals as
livestock—mammals who arguably exceed canine intelligence in many instances—is
widely accepted.

I think that dissonance underscores just how badly we've failed in recognizing
intelligence beyond that of our own species. Intelligence, the capacity for
suffering, sentience—it all has been unduly anthropomorphized.

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Blakestr
Interesting take. I'm also a huge carnivore, to me there's nothing better than
a rare ribeye or filet. It's going to be interesting to see how the synthetic
meat movement develops. If they could "print/grow" filet mignon's and at a
"frozen burger price," I feel like I'd be happy to switch.

