Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Cats Can't Taste Sweetness, Study Finds (npr.org)
3 points by thunderbong on Oct 1, 2023 | hide | past | favorite | 6 comments



Nobody can "find" what cats can taste without magically becoming a cat.

It's not even clear whether two humans are experiencing the same flavor or taste when they agree that a food is "sweet"


> It's not even clear whether two humans are experiencing the same flavor or taste when they agree that a food is "sweet"

OK but that's like criticizing every science result by saying "how did they control for the possibility that I'm a vat brain and nothing they did was real"


lol

but that's kind of straw-manning the point I am raising, I think.

There are just certain specific things or questions that maybe science isn't really equipped to answer properly, and things related to one's actual experience seem to constitute a broad category for which that seems true, thus far.

So, no, it's not the same as disbelieving any random scientific study by questioning whether the universe itself is real or whatever. It's really just saying that, in a real universe we all share, science has its limits as to the proper scope of its inquiries and explanatory powers.


Cats are carnivores. Their physiology is adapted to capturing, killing and eating raw meat.

Why would they need to taste sweet? That's something their prey does.


> Cats are carnivores.

They eat herbs too. Maybe that's related.


What if freshly caught songbirds taste sweet to them? Are we saying we know their qualia?




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: