Thread

1. georgemcbay · 1789884732 · focus · HN ↗

   Blows my mind that so many people just have this hardened internalized idea that we're somehow significantly different than any other animal.

   Sure, we've got them beat on language and planning, but we're currently in the process of being passed up on both those fronts by multi-dimensional arrays of floating point numbers sitting inside of sand. So, like, how special is that then, really?

   1. JumpCrisscross · 1789889159 · focus · HN ↗

      > Blows my mind that so many people just have this hardened internalized idea that we're somehow significantly different than any other animal

      There are hard-asses on both ends. We are different from other animals. To me, that results in us having more moral agency for our actions. It also means recognising that we share this world with other beings, including billions of people, a tool-wielding sapience categorically distinct within the ecosystem.

      1. phoghed · 1789937186 · focus · HN ↗

         > We are different from other animals

         Most animals are different from most others, we're just different enough to feel that we're somehow special.

         1. ben_w · 1789978260 · focus · HN ↗

            > Most animals are different from most others, we're just different enough to feel that we're somehow special.

            That's probably a similarity we share with other species, and I'd expect to a similar degree. We own pets, but sometimes we see cross-species adoption (and friendship*) in the wild, too.

            * or at least "alliance", given we can't in general read minds yet, just a few special cases with fMRI machines etc.

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