Just in: Dogs are smarter than cats.

Started by PopeyesPappy, November 30, 2017, 02:42:24 PM

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PopeyesPappy

Save a life. Adopt a Greyhound.

SGOS

#1
This doesn't surprise me.  I like both cats and dogs, and even after my dog died, I went and replaced that empty spot with two cats, which I enjoyed a lot.  One of them especially.  I never thought they were smarter than dogs by any means, but they can be loveable.  I bonded more with my dog.  I don't know if that is an indicator of intelligence, but I think greater intelligence was a part of it.  My dog seemed much more in touch with my thoughts and feelings, and I felt we could come to agreements about things.  I don't question the research.  But this doesn't involve any disrespect for cats.  And much of the bonding experience with pets depends on which cat or dog you are talking about.  I've owned two golden retrievers, and both seemed highly intelligent. 

I also enjoyed owning a cat and a dog together.  It's interesting to watch them bond and play together, and in that scenario, sometimes I wondered which one was smarter.  The cat seemed to enjoy fooling the dog by hiding in wait and then springing out to surprise the dog with a friendly punch in the face, which would end up in a few minutes of chaos until the cat would terminate the event by disappearing again while the dog seemed to be wondering what just went on.  The wonderment stuck me as a sign of intelligence, but then fooling the dog may have also been intelligence.

I lived in a house while I was building it, and the cat would climb up on an un-sheetrocked header above a door way and take a playful swipe at me when I walked under it.  He never connected, and never intended to, as far as I could tell.  He just seemed to be telling me he could have if he wanted to.

Baruch

I will admit that dogs dress smarter ... because you can get them into dog coats, but you can't do that with cats, who are au natural.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

Hydra009

Quote from: SGOS on November 30, 2017, 03:47:47 PMMy dog seemed much more in touch with my thoughts and feelings, and I felt we could come to agreements about things.
Same here.  Of course, dogs are social animals much like humans, so that makes sense.  I'm astonished by my dog's ability to read my body language.  It often seems like he predicts my actions, but really, he's just reacting to shifts in my body language that I'm not consciously aware of.  Like looking towards the door before I decide to leave to take him for a walk.  The dog knows what that means before I do.

Cavebear

I heard that cats vs dogs report too.  It depends on how you measure intelligence.  If anticipating how to react to humans is intelligence, dogs are successful.  Dogs are slavish.

The study assumes that numbers of neurons measure intelligence.  Are shrews less intelligent than walruses just because of quantity?  Crows beat some larger mammals in problem-solving tests.  They have fewer neurons. 

I suspect the test measured neurons dedicated to domestication, which is very different from intelligence. 
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Hijiri Byakuren

My cat taught himself to open doors. Never seen a dog do that without being trained.
Speak when you have something to say, not when you have to say something.

Sargon The Grape - My Youtube Channel

Hydra009

Quote from: Hijiri Byakuren on December 02, 2017, 11:23:24 AM
My cat taught himself to open doors. Never seen a dog do that without being trained.
My dog does that without being trained. :(

Hydra009

Quote from: Cavebear on December 02, 2017, 02:38:39 AMThe study assumes that numbers of neurons measure intelligence.
Well, there is a rough correlation.  But afaik, it's not the sole factor.

Baruch

I would let dolphins vote ... before I would let people vote ;-)

Voting wouldn't work for cats, each cat would vote for himself, and nobody would get even a plurality ;-)
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

SGOS

Much of it depends on what you define as intelligence.  Define it idiosyncratically, and design the test to measure that idiosyncratic definition, and you get scores to suit any bias you want.  Intelligence tests for humans have been criticized in the past for being culturally biased because the tests first devised were developed in western culture.  Testing intelligence in animals, at least the metric used in this study, tests a different set of criteria than used in human testing, and is even more arbitrary.  It assumes that number of neurons is the indicator.  It holds true generally, but acknowledge an exception here and there, and the assumption appears to be neither true or false.  It measures an indicator of intelligence, not actual intelligence, however that is defined.

To confuse the issue even further, back in college while studying the concept of intelligence, I remember a cryptic comment from my text book.  To make a point about the nebulous quality of intelligence, it first posed the question, "What is intelligence?"  It then gave one fairly common response taken from experts:  "Intelligence is whatever that quality is that intelligence tests measure."  I'll give you some time to mull that one over and some extra time to chuckle.

There is a correlation between intelligence tests and academic success in humans to be sure, but it's hardly a one to one correlation.  This is because we don't fully understand what we identify as intelligence.  It's an arbitrarily defined quality in humans, and even more arbitrary in animals.

Cavebear

Quote from: Baruch on December 02, 2017, 12:26:07 PM
I would let dolphins vote ... before I would let people vote ;-)

Well, before YOU vote anyway, LOL!
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Baruch

Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

Cavebear

Quote from: Baruch on December 18, 2017, 09:53:01 PM
What was the porpoise of that post?

Transporting gulls across across staid lions for immortal porpoises?
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

SGOS

Quote from: Cavebear on February 28, 2018, 03:07:22 PM
Transporting gulls across across staid lions for immortal porpoises?
That may be the most complicated pun I've ever seen.

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: SGOS on February 28, 2018, 05:06:00 PM
That may be the most complicated pun I've ever seen.
They say that the lions at Trafalgar  Square get up and roar every time a virgin walks past.

In other words, it's a great place for a nap.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers