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[Blargonaut]

I was thinking about that sci-fi thing where the scientists are standing around looking at a display studying the trajectory of a space object, and they see its movement is so erratic and unexplainable by the laws of physics in its immediate context that they eventually conclude that it has to be moving under artificial power, and is therefore an alien.

So I began to wonder, when animals see a car drive-by or a plane fly overhead, honestly what do they think they're staring at?

Our vehicles are made of metals and various rocks and minerals and oil-based products, most of these are naturally-occuring, so do animals think that they're just natural phenomena, inanimate objects that somehow move, like dead leaves blow in the wind? Or do they think vehicles are "alive" because of the moves we input? We're essentially the "souls" of our machines. When they look through the windows at us inside, are they confused? Besides water, ice, glass and crystal, there're not many natural transparent objects, so what do they think windows are?

Basically, they mostly move out of the way when they see a vehicle coming, but are they avoiding it like they would a moving rock in a landslide, or are they avoiding it like they would avoid an organic predator?

 

[CitizenVectron]

Most animals probably don't even understand the concept of other living things.

 

[Dennis]

"Can I eat it?"

 

[Lautaro]

I doubt they have a concept of "artificial" and "natural".

I imagine they only separate things in threats, allies and neutral. Also edible and non edible.

Maybe the greater apes can question these concepts but not get very far in that line of thought, I don't know.

 

[whatsinaname]

Tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5_DuZ8WuMM

 

[Tragicomedy]

Death.

 

[dubq]

Our vehicles are made of metals and various rocks and minerals and oil-based products, most of these are naturally-occuring, so do animals think that they're just natural phenomena, inanimate objects that somehow move, like dead leaves blow in the wind? Or do they think vehicles are "alive" because of the moves we input? We're essentially the "souls" of our machines. When they look through the windows at us inside, are they confused? Besides water, ice, glass and crystal, there're not many natural transparent objects, so what do they think windows are?

Don't know about you, but I've never seen any naturally occurring metals in the shape of a Ford Explorer..

 

[Red]

I think Death for squirrels is represented by a black Honda Odyssey.

 

[Guevara]

My dog thought it was the fun-mobile.

 

[maxcriden]

Most animals probably don't even understand the concept of other living things.

Source?

 

[Adaren]

Makes you wonder about what sorts of things we might not understand.

o_o

 

[Bluekaveli]

 

[PSYGN]

I don't know, but the squirrels like playing chicken when driving to work from my neighborhood.

 

[Parakeetman]

Lunch boxes

 

[Vanillalite]

Birds obviously think it's something to poop on so I have to clean my car yet again. :|

 

[Blargonaut]

Most animals probably don't even understand the concept of other living things.

But they eat them though?

Do metropolitan animals consider vehicles as some sort of untouchable apex prey, ever-present, easy to catch when stationary but entirely inedible?

Or, do their perceptions shift depending on whether the vehicle is moving or not, or whether they can see us inside or on them? When they see us inside them, do they think, "That rock has food in it," or something? When they can't see the driver or passengers, what do they think it is then?

 

[E92 M3]

Let me ask my brother who is a squirrel.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

The mice in my neighbourhood see my cars engine as a bed and breakfast.

 

[Red]

The mice in my neighbourhood see my cars engine as a bed and breakfast.

Ah, the old Lincoln Continental breakfast.

 

[coleco]

Tools, at least domestic cats and dogs seem to think so.

 

[Parch]

My dog thought it was the fun-mobile.

That's what I was thinking. A dog pretty much understands that it's for travelling somewhere else.

Once a wild animal sees it enough, they too realize that it's just a mode of transportation for the humans inside it.

 

[Blargonaut]

Or maybe, when animals see humans enter vehicles, they see the synthetic shells we have encapsulated ourselves in and view us like they would hermit crabs entering a vacant dead conch?

 

[dinazimmerman]

I mean you could potentially test if for a particular animal a moving vehicle seems to trigger a different mental state than another moving animal... See if different parts of their brain light up or if they physically react differently in some way. "Thoughts" I don't think is very scientific concept, though....

 

[SocksAndShoes]

Put the bong down OP, it's tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Probably nothing more sophisticated than "Big, fast, scary thing that I can't eat. Avoid."

 

[Ishida]

Ok, this is creepy because I was asking myself this very same question a couple of days ago...

 

[Cragvis]

I too think this, I was driving past a goose yesterday and it was giving me the evil eye as i drove past.

Literally, it stared at me, and turned its head as I drove past...

I thought...why? whats it thinking? does it think my truck is some big beast? It obviously knows its not a threat.

Such a strange world we live in.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

.

 

[RoKKeR]

.

Gary Larson is the best.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

A threat to some, a tool to a crow, but in the end it's just some giant thing to them.

"gotta eat gotta eat gotta eat. Running to get to food running to get to food runni OH SHIT GIANT THING COMING RIGHT AT ME"

That's what they think.

 

[Kurdel]

Our vehicles are made of metals and various rocks and minerals and oil-based products, most of these are naturally-occuring, so do animals think that they're just natural phenomena, inanimate objects that somehow move, like dead leaves blow in the wind? Or do they think vehicles are "alive" because of the moves we input? We're essentially the "souls" of our machines. When they look through the windows at us inside, are they confused? Besides water, ice, glass and crystal, there're not many natural transparent objects, so what do they think windows are?

I will answer your questions with some simple facts

1) Animals aren't smart enough to understand abstract concepts like natural vs articifial.
2) They have evolved to detect physical threats, and either GTFO or defend their territory.

They don't see the car as a thing with a human in it, their brain stops at seeing the whole picture, triggering that fight or flight feeling.

As for windows, animals don't think. They recognise and react. They will maybe be fooled and bump their nose against it, but they will learn that it is a wall they can't get through.

 

[Rabbi_Vole]

An animal's perception of vehicles is the same as our perception of Qualipernium dark matter ripples.

 

[andycapps]

My dog thinks they're fire hydrants going by him peeing on every car we pass.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

maybe they think they're artificial, manmade animals.

artificial bird

artificial horse

 

[Blargonaut]

Tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5_DuZ8WuMM

Tools, at least domestic cats and dogs seem to think so.

That's what I was thinking. A dog pretty much understands that it's for travelling somewhere else.

Once a wild animal sees it enough, they too realize that it's just a mode of transportation for the humans inside it.

But the most common tools in the animal kingdom are literally sticks and stones; how can animals, even the more intelligent tool-using ones like crows, even begin to understand our superior human tools?

Do they think cars and trains are just like sticks and stones, lying around dormant in the environment waiting to be taken advantage of, and it's just that they don't know how to harness these advanced-tier "natural resources" like we do? They can't possibly know that we manufactured all these vehicles, so to them it appears that these all just pop up out of nowhere?

They pick up a twig and stick it into a hole for some ants, they drop some weights into a tube to raise the water level so they can reach the food with their beak; but then, they just see this dead *object* lying around, we show up, get inside and it instantly "comes alive" to organic-level intelligence and mobility before their eyes?

How can animals even handle this?

 

[Clydefrog]

Is this the kind of shit that keeps you up at night, OP?

 

[Kinyou]

They probably just think they're scary.

 

[sixteen-bit]

danger

 

[Blargonaut]

I will answer your questions with some simple facts

1) Animals aren't smart enough to understand abstract concepts like natural vs articifial.
2) They have evolved to detect physical threats, and either GTFO or defend their territory.

They don't see the car as a thing with a human in it, their brain stops at seeing the whole picture, triggering that fight or flight feeling.

As for windows, animals don't think. They recognise and react. They will maybe be fooled and bump their nose against it, but they will learn that it is a wall they can't get through.

But that's the thing, why aren't they smart enough to understand?

Is the understanding of artificiality the foundation of our advanced human intellect?

Is this what separates us from the animals?

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

What about if you hand a dog a gun?

 

[PSqueak]

But that's the thing, why aren't they smart enough to understand?

Is the understanding of artificiality the foundation of our advanced human intellect?

Is this what separates us from the animals?

Yes, pretty much, it has been my understanding all along.

Because "artificiality" implies more than just "tools" (which some animals use) it implies imagination, conception, creation and construction, these are concepts animals cant understand, can you call rudimentary nests or beaver dams fruit of creativity or imagination? No, they're just bundled in a way that "works", there is no creative proccess beyond it.

 

[Veritigo_X]

I will answer your questions with some simple facts

1) Animals aren't smart enough to understand abstract concepts like natural vs articifial.
2) They have evolved to detect physical threats, and either GTFO or defend their territory.

They don't see the car as a thing with a human in it, their brain stops at seeing the whole picture, triggering that fight or flight feeling.

As for windows, animals don't think. They recognise and react. They will maybe be fooled and bump their nose against it, but they will learn that it is a wall they can't get through.

How do dogs fit into this idea? My dog could recognize all the cars my family drove and based on their excitement knew that one of these vehicles showing up meant a member of the family was home. Completely different from what would happen if a strange vehicle showed up. They also seem to somewhat understand that it is a mode of transportation, at least in the sense that going inside the vehicle meant going somewhere different.

 

[Parch]

They don't see the car as a thing with a human in it, their brain stops at seeing the whole picture, triggering that fight or flight feeling.

At first encounter, yes, but that's just a case of familiarity. After awhile an animal does in fact see a car as a thing with a human in it. Dogs are fully aware of what their family car does and who it carries. They do understand.

If I see some strange phenomenon that I've never seen before, perhaps I would have a similar fight or flight feeling. Perhaps afraid. Perhaps curious. But as I became familiar with it, those feelings subside.

 

[Bluekaveli]

Is this the kind of shit that keeps you up at night, OP?

Nooooo lol

 

[Nathan_Drake]

How do dogs fit into this idea? My dog could recognize all the cars my family drove and based on their excitement knew that one of these vehicles showing up meant a member of the family was home. Completely different from what would happen if a strange vehicle showed up. They also seem to somewhat understand that it is a mode of transportation, at least in the sense that going inside the vehicle meant going somewhere different.

Yeah you can go deep with this. My dog knew our 2 cars sounds and recognized them pretty far out. I would know my wife was about to be home because my dog would run to the door as she could hear the car coming down the road. Then when we go for a ride my dog would jump into the front seat as soon as I opened the door. She must have been at ease since she sometimes would just lay down and nap or sometimes decide to stick her head out the window and smiling in the breeze.

In the past I had cats that used it as shade or cover in inclement weather. But would not come near it if it was running.

I know deer think they are not solid objects as they love to run into them! poor deer

 

[jstripes]

Most animals don't seem to think they're animals. They're part of the landscape... a confusing part that moves.

Geese and deer don't give a shit about cars, but the moment a living thing pops out of one they run or go on the defense.

 

[Buddha Beam]

My cat always watches us get in the car from the kitchen window in the back of our house and as we're pulling out of the driveway, she's always ran into the front window to watch the car drive away.
I figure she knows it's not an animal but some human contraption that takes us away.

edit: I've said for years that as we learn what intelligence really is and expand it's definition, we'll eventually reach the conclusion that animals are all a hell of a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

 

[PSqueak]

Yeah you can go deep with this. My dog knew our 2 cars sounds and recognized them pretty far out. I would know my wife was about to be home because my dog would run to the door as she could hear the car coming down the road. Then when we go for a ride my dog would jump into the front seat as soon as I opened the door. She must have been at ease since she sometimes would just lay down and nap or sometimes decide to stick her head out the window and smiling in the breeze.

Additionally, dogs quickly recognize when you change a car, my brother's pugs had no trouble recognizing new cars as his everytime he changes them (due to work).

Dogs definitely know exactly what vehicles are.

 

[Ostinatto]

They probably just think they're scary.

A human with a camera = A human with a rifle.

 

[Satch]

not sure. my cousin's dog was hit by a car when he was younger and hes got a bum leg because of it. whenever i take him for a walk and we see a parked car, he recognizes it as threatening and moves around me so that i'm between him and the car like he wants me to protect him