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   myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Jul-2024 08:26:17 JST myrmepropagandist

   There is a really crazy paper where they did the "mirror dot" test for self recognition on ants. BUT. It's in the "Journal of Science" which isn't "Science" ... and it's odd to have an insect paper not in an insect journal.

   And this is their webpage:

   https://www.journalofscience.net

   Listen I just want this paper to be real, but it's kind of out there and the journal IDK.

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Jul-2024 08:26:12 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     Are Humans Self-Aware?

     Ants have often tested humans for self awareness. They placed objects in our homes and were shocked we didn't cover them in sand.

     "Although humans build interesting nests & show signs of cooperation, can they really have rich inner lives like ants? Unlikely."

     They laid pheromone trails & we ignored them.

     "Even a newly eclosed callow or a termite could have followed these trails! Human intelligence is perhaps similar to that of a lichen... or perhaps an aphid at best."

   • Embed this notice
     JustAFrog (justafrog@mstdn.social)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Jul-2024 08:26:13 JST JustAFrog

     in reply to

     • Sarah E Bourne

     @sbourne @futurebird If it isn't covered with sand, it clearly should be.

     Paul Cantrell repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Sarah E Bourne (sbourne@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Jul-2024 08:26:14 JST Sarah E Bourne

     in reply to

     @futurebird My guess: they're going to cover it with sand.

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Jul-2024 08:26:15 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     The other reason I'm skeptical is ants have very poor vision with a few notable exceptions. I don't know if ant would react to a mirror at all. I will try this with "the girls" later today and see what happens. Will post about this again.

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Jul-2024 08:26:16 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     Here is the paper. It was widely discussed ... on reddit for a long time I didn't think it was real.

     Ants are painted with dots that match their exoskeletons, some are painted with blue dots. The ants are observed interacting with a mirror.

     I've seen this experiment mentioned as a reason why calling the mirror dot test a "test for self awareness" is flawed: a lot of people really don't like this result.

     Still, the journal gives me pause. What do you think?

     https://www.journalofscience.net/showpdf/MjY4a2FsYWkxNDc4NTIzNjk=