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Monday, September 28, 2020

"Why I So strongly Believe Animals Think, Connections to Nature and Communication as we Know it" By William SDo you believe animals think? What is it to think? What does Communication andlinguistic skills have to do with all of this? Answer: (read below) it may have to do with yourEnglish and Language Classes?! I think an interesting connection I have made, going over what some find to becontroversial, is how we can classify intelligence, I do feel that our brains are furthest developedcompared to other species, but not as far as many will think. LOL Thinking is just really theability to learn from others, rather than follow a planned path by instinct alone, in other words, itmeans that if no one taught you a particular skill, you wouldn’t have been able to do it, and it canalso mean to ponder over decisions. Many people disregard the abilities of the natural world andbelieve that we are the only creatures that think. Let’s make our first connection to evolution, andsee how that affects my standpoint. Think about it like this, humans took under two million yearsto go from being no smarter, probably less smart than a chimpanzee, to being the humans that weare now. Think about that! Two million years is nothing in the eyes of evolution, the first time that sexual reproduction happened was 1.2 billion years ago, from the first life form, estimated toexist almost a couple (no pun intended LOL) billion years before that. Interestingly enough, thatwas one small step for those two organisms, who had counterpart DNA as a mutation, but onelarge leap for all of life, as this would be the spark of vast evolution and genetic variance acrossall organisms. It would take another 600 million years for organisms to become multicellular,and it wasn’t until only 380 million years ago till the first creature breathed in with its lungs. Itwasn’t until 200 million years ago that the first organism had a cerebrum, and the first birds andmammals came into existence a little over 120 million years ago. This is clearly highlighting aconnection to an exponential growth in the rate of change in evolution, the perfect example ofpositive feedback. The point of this is that we all come from a similar base, but small thingsmake us appear so vastly different. If you looked at a bunch of embryos in phase 1 of incubationin the womb, you couldn’t really tell a pig from a human, and we are roughly 98 percent thesame genetically as a chimpanzee. Although we are the only creatures to build rocket ships andsend them into space, or do advanced math, many of the others aren’t all that far behind.elephants actually keep graveyards for their lost loved ones, and whales actually communicate indifferent dialects in different areas of the world, and can learn other dialects by interacting withother pods over time just like we can learn a new language over time. Of course this is going toget you thinking about what I say, if you believe that only humans think, you are saying that youdon’t think when you are in your english class, or any language art at all.Let's be “Punny” LOL and think about what it is to think! Thinking is generating yourown ideas as an individual, not from instinct, but from your surroundings (as previously stated).This is what develops personality, something that the greater apes, as well as other mammals possess (as personality has the word person in it, only validating our narcissism), or even manybirds, like many song birds and finches learn different songs underneath their father, and find theright mate with the right song, that has to be learned. Each of my cats has a different personality,even a favorite color! On a more serious note, just like how humans communicate, which ismostly sound and body language, (as previously stated), other animals aren’t that different.Looking at the exponential increase in the rate of evolution, it seems that we really only might beone to two million years ahead of some of these other creatures. Obviously, they think, they learnfrom each other just as we do, for example, orcas teach there young unique hunting strategiesthat other orcas wouldn’t know, signifying learning, rather than instinct where they all share thesame knowledge from birth.This actually hints at a connection to a different topic, why do writers write, why do theyappeal to the emotions of others? The answer is really simple, and has a connection to nature.Writers are just communicating their thoughts to others, but just in a higher form ofcommunication, a standard language of communication, to express how they feel, and what theywant. When we all have something in common, we relate better, and there is much lessdisagreement. For example, the Mob mentality in TKAM is represented in many communities,human, and natural world, a creature is treated differently if they act differently, and creaturesthat get hyper with many relatable others around can get dangerous, signifying our huntinginstincts in relation to mob mentality, as we used to hunt in groups for food, like some of theviolent groups of gangs today, regardless though, we still had to be taught to actually hunt. Thepeer pressure shapes society for the good and for the bad, and so does the media. When people inancient times wrote books, that was the media, the equivalent of today’s Instagram, as now, on social media, we make ourselves appear taller, or more intimidating, as they say, it is the winnerwho got to write the history, signifying that we may not be able to trust the written history all thetime as we don't always trust what others say on social media. We were no different then as wewanted to put ourselves in the best light possible to seem “fit” both quite literally andfiguratively for survival. Many other creatures learn what is seen to be attractive to othercreatures, peacocks learn how to spread their feathers, and “flex” in communication that can beonly taught by society, just like us in Instagram, or any other Social Media, put your best part outthere, and sometimes find those attracted to you, perhaps even “mates” as they call it. When wewrite, we communicate our feelings, just as we talk. Whenever you learn another language, youare obviously learning. For example in the natural world, a lion that is transferred to a differentpride learns how to communicate with that pride, and can still communicate with its previouspride. When we are alone, like Boo Radley, we don’t know how to communicate. This is justlike the songbird that couldn’t find a mate because that it didn't have the presence of its parentsto teach it its mating call, or just like the cat that couldn’t play with other cats, or communicate tothem without learning from other cats, we are always influenced by one another, and this comesfrom the natural world long before the first human. We have just learned to communicate on ahigher form, about two million years ahead to be precise, through literature, and all media, westill communicate, want to be respected, and loved by others, and I can guarantee that won’tchange for at least the next ten million years to come! KNOWING HOW TO COMMUNICATEIS AN ART, A LANGUAGE ART, AND WHEN WE COMMUNICATE, WE OBVIOUSLYTHINK, SO SAYING ANIMALS DON’T THINK IS LIKE SAYING YOU DON’T THINKWHEN YOU ARE IN ENGLISH CLASS!!!

    Do you believe animals think? What is it to think? What does Communication and linguistic skills have to do with all of this? Answer: (read below) it may have to do with your English and Language Classes?! 

     I think an interesting connection I have made, going over what some find to be controversial, is how we can classify intelligence, I do feel that our brains are furthest developed compared to other species, but not as far as many will think. LOL Thinking is just really the ability to learn from others, rather than follow a planned path by instinct alone, in other words, it means that if no one taught you a particular skill, you wouldn’t have been able to do it, and it can also mean to ponder over decisions. Many people disregard the abilities of the natural world and believe that we are the only creatures that think. Let’s make our first connection to evolution, and see how that affects my standpoint. Think about it like this, humans took under two million years to go from being no smarter, probably less smart than a chimpanzee, to being the humans that we are now. Think about that! Two million years is nothing in the eyes of evolution, the first time that sexual reproduction happened was 1.2 billion years ago, from the first life form, estimated to exist almost a couple (no pun intended LOL) billion years before that. Interestingly enough, that was one small step for those two organisms, who had counterpart DNA as a mutation, but one large leap for all of life, as this would be the spark of vast evolution and genetic variance across all organisms. It would take another 600 million years for organisms to become multicellular,and it wasn’t until only 380 million years ago till the first creature breathed in with its lungs. It wasn’t until 200 million years ago that the first organism had a cerebrum, and the first birds and mammals came into existence a little over 120 million years ago. This is clearly highlighting a connection to an exponential growth in the rate of change in evolution, the perfect example of positive feedback. The point of this is that we all come from a similar base, but small things make us appear so vastly different. If you looked at a bunch of embryos in phase 1 of incubation in the womb, you couldn’t really tell a pig from a human, and we are roughly 98 percent the same genetically as a chimpanzee. Although we are the only creatures to build rocket ships and send them into space, or do advanced math, many of the others aren’t all that far behind.elephants actually keep graveyards for their lost loved ones, and whales actually communicate indifferent dialects in different areas of the world, and can learn other dialects by interacting with other pods over time just like we can learn a new language over time. Of course this is going to get you thinking about what I say, if you believe that only humans think, you are saying that you don’t think when you are in your english class, or any language art at all. 

     Let's be “Punny” LOL and think about what it is to think! Thinking is generating your own ideas as an individual, not from instinct, but from your surroundings (as previously stated).This is what develops personality, something that the greater apes, as well as other mammals possess (as personality has the word person in it, only validating our narcissism), or even many birds, like many song birds and finches learn different songs underneath their father, and find the right mate with the right song, that has to be learned. Each of my cats has a different personality,even a favorite color! On a more serious note, just like how humans communicate, which is mostly sound and body language, (as previously stated), other animals aren’t that different.Looking at the exponential increase in the rate of evolution, it seems that we really only might be one to two million years ahead of some of these other creatures. Obviously, they think, they learn from each other just as we do, for example, orcas teach there young unique hunting strategies that other orcas wouldn’t know, signifying learning, rather than instinct where they all share the same knowledge from birth. 

     This actually hints at a connection to a different topic, why do writers write, why do they appeal to the emotions of others? The answer is really simple, and has a connection to nature.Writers are just communicating their thoughts to others, but just in a higher form of communication, a standard language of communication, to express how they feel, and what they want. When we all have something in common, we relate better, and there is much less disagreement. For example, the Mob mentality in TKAM is represented in many communities,human, and natural world, a creature is treated differently if they act differently, and creatures that get hyper with many relatable others around can get dangerous, signifying our hunting instincts in relation to mob mentality, as we used to hunt in groups for food, like some of the violent groups of gangs today, regardless though, we still had to be taught to actually hunt. The peer pressure shapes society for the good and for the bad, and so does the media. When people in ancient times wrote books, that was the media, the equivalent of today’s Instagram, as now, on social media, we make ourselves appear taller, or more intimidating, as they say, it is the winner who got to write the history, signifying that we may not be able to trust the written history all thet ime as we don't always trust what others say on social media. We were no different then as we wanted to put ourselves in the best light possible to seem “fit” both quite literally and figuratively for survival. Many other creatures learn what is seen to be attractive to other creatures, peacocks learn how to spread their feathers, and “flex” in communication that can be only taught by society, just like us in Instagram, or any other Social Media, put your best part out there, and sometimes find those attracted to you, perhaps even “mates” as they call it. When we write, we communicate our feelings, just as we talk. Whenever you learn another language, you are obviously learning. For example in the natural world, a lion that is transferred to a different pride learns how to communicate with that pride, and can still communicate with its previous pride. When we are alone, like Boo Radley, we don’t know how to communicate. This is just like the songbird that couldn’t find a mate because that it didn't have the presence of its parents to teach it its mating call, or just like the cat that couldn’t play with other cats, or communicate to them without learning from other cats, we are always influenced by one another, and this comes from the natural world long before the first human. We have just learned to communicate on a higher form, about two million years ahead to be precise, through literature, and all media, we still communicate, want to be respected, and loved by others, and I can guarantee that won’t change for at least the next ten million years to come! KNOWING HOW TO COMMUNICATE IS AN ART, A LANGUAGE ART, AND WHEN WE COMMUNICATE, WE OBVIOUSLY THINK, SO SAYING ANIMALS DON’T THINK IS LIKE SAYING YOU DON’T THINK WHEN YOU ARE IN ENGLISH CLASS!!!


11 comments:

  1. I think this is such an interesting topic that should be talked about more. I love all the examples you used of animals having emotions. The graveyard one was super interesting. I have always believed that animals have processed thoughts and emotions as well. Connecting it to how humans think was super insightful as well.
    - Jordyn Stiles

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi william, thank you for this unique and innovative commentary/research! I love how you are able to connect a random question about animals to our real life, specifically our English class. I have a massive obsession with orcas. They are just so mesmerizing and elegant! The way they "talk," play, and protect one another are all signs that show their high intelligence. I was so happy when you talked about orcas and even whales! Perhaps my blog should be about what we can do to protect these beautiful animals from climate change...

    - Zhenwei Gao

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, go for it! It would be pretty cool to have two people with linked topics!!!

      William

      Delete
  3. I have to say this is a really interesting topic and I agree with it! Animals can be as intelligent in terms as a human would. In many means, Animals can be the similar to humans in regards to communication as if they have their own way of talking to each other and having their own emotions. I love animals in general and I'm excited to know that someone else agrees that these creatures are more than just mindless animals.

    ~ Kayla Macasinag

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have to say this is a really interesting topic and I agree with it! Animals can be as intelligent in terms as a human would. In many means, Animals can be the similar to humans in regards to communication as if they have their own way of talking to each other and having their own emotions. I love animals in general and I'm excited to know that someone else agrees that these creatures are more than just mindless animals.

    ~ Kayla Macasinag

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is honestly such an interesting topic that is often overlooked. I definitely agree that animals think just as humans do. I like how you supported your ideas with the concept of evolution. It truly made me think about how alike we are to the animals around us and how different the world could potentially look in millions of years from now. This also made me think about as humans we often forget the smaller, maybe less significant parts that make up the world.

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  6. I think the way you explain this topic is very interesting. I especially found the way you connected social media to history books/stories in history particularly intriguing. That history is written from the winners perspective, would make sense because we as humans find ourselves to be the most advanced at communication as you compared with humans tendency to be narcissistic. I definitely agree that animals can think like we do; it would make sense that the more they evolve the better at communicating they must be to survive. That statement, "Saying animals don't think is like saying you don't think when you are in English class" is a good comparison. That we are required to think to be able to live and communicate, which means if other animals want to survive, they must also think.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think the way you explain this topic is very interesting. I especially found the way you connected social media to history books/stories in history particularly intriguing. That history is written from the winners perspective, would make sense because we as humans find ourselves to be the most advanced at communication as you compared with humans tendency to be narcissistic. I definitely agree that animals can think like we do; it would make sense that the more they evolve the better at communicating they must be to survive. That statement, "Saying animals don't think is like saying you don't think when you are in English class" is a good comparison. That we are required to think to be able to live and communicate, which means if other animals want to survive, they must also think.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yeah I think about this a lot as well. There was this tik tok trend where people were publicly torturing bugs and even though they are not classified specifically as animals, I thought it was still pretty cruel. But on the other hand when I see an ant trail in my house i was no time in getting the bug spray. A common excuse is that bugs do not feel anything. However, we are not a bug. We have no concrete evidence to back that statement up. Messes with my head all the time if killing animals, bugs, plants, etc is morally correct.

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  9. Hi William! I thought your topic was extremely interesting. I too agree that animals are often smarter than we have come to believe. I liked how you debunked the idea that the human race is exceedingly exceptional and how you argued that our level of consciousness isn't that different from an animal's. Getting past the idea that humans were so entirely special in the initial part of your essay really helped to get your overall point across. Great job! (Arabella Bautista)

    ReplyDelete
  10. William James Smith IIINovember 8, 2020 at 4:04 PM

    I want to say thank you to all of you for giving me such positive reviews and excellent feedback! I loved hearing your opinions! Have a great one!!!

    William

    ReplyDelete

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