
The Metamorphosis - What is it like to be an animal? - kawera
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/30/goatman-and-being-a-beast
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mirimir
> Thwaites had finished his toaster three years before. Now he was beginning
> to worry about the future. He was semi-employed and living with his dad.
> Would he always be a scruffy man-child? How would he earn enough to start a
> family? Was the making of toasters—or other wry statements on the absurdity
> of modern life—a good use of his time on earth? Thwaites asked himself these
> questions and observed Noggin as commuters streamed past. He thought it must
> be wonderful to live in Noggin’s eternal present—to smell the grass, the
> wind, and the water without worrying about the future, the past, the meaning
> of life, or the inevitability of death. How much simpler to be an animal!

This piece rather idealizes life of nonhuman animals. Animals must learn to
live on their own, independent of their parents. Animals are moved to
accumulate resources needed for reproduction. Maybe domesticated animals have
easier lives, but except for pets, they eventually get eaten. It's just that
they're less aware of all that.

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CM30
Though you have to admit, being a pet (especially a cat or dog) must be a
great life, especially if you're got decent owners.

No work, everyone tends to like you by default, free food and housing for life
and various toys to play with. Arguably even more so for cats, given that
their life comes down to 'do what they want' pretty much all the time.

But yeah, it must be a lot harder for non pet animals, and horrible for a lot
of ones used as food too (especially in some modern conditions).

~~~
mirimir
> Arguably even more so for cats, given that their life comes down to 'do what
> they want' pretty much all the time.

Have you ever lived with a female Siamese in heat? Not fun. Not fun for the
cat, either.

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vonklaus
This changed my perception after reading. I was skepitcal this grant money was
wasted, but we do need to fund things that help us understand ourselves better
and also enjoy/entertain us. One funny thing though was his quote:

> Really, to want to become a goat us pretty standard, he concludes.

Haha, I mean, is it?

~~~
meric
Search do pictures of goats on New Zealand farms. Looks like a good life to
me. Checkout the grass.

~~~
mirimir
Goat curry, yum :)

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bertiewhykovich
Bit of a nitpick about an otherwise compelling piece, but both Rothman and the
protagonist of "Elizabeth Costello" somewhat misrepresent Nagel's wonderful
"What Is It Like To Be A Bat?"
([http://organizations.utep.edu/portals/1475/nagel_bat.pdf](http://organizations.utep.edu/portals/1475/nagel_bat.pdf)),
an article that is not intended to discourage sympathy with other creatures,
but rather is intended as a criticism of certain forms of materialism. It's
certainly worth a read itself -- particularly if you're of the reductionist
bent that so many of us who read HN are, in which case it's likely to, at the
very least, present an interesting intellectual challenge.

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tim333
If you go to the Daily Mail report on the story it has loads of photos of him
trying to be a goat [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3612748/Why-
decided-...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3612748/Why-decided-life-
London-goat-Switzerland.html)

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shermablanca
If you find this interesting, do a google image search of Man Plastic Surgery
Dog.

Warning: Graphic and way worse than it sounds. That is, if it's real.

~~~
mpetrovich
Nope. [http://m.hoax-slayer.com/man-dog-face.shtml](http://m.hoax-
slayer.com/man-dog-face.shtml)

