Animal Instinct, were we not gifted with the full range??

[Voodo chile]

Its a long story. I'll cut it short. I was walking around lifting up roof tiles and stuff off the grass after it had been left for a month. Just tons of different bugs under them. I decided to feed them to the chickens. First a snail. they ate that. next a slug, they ate that, next a pillbug, ate that, then a daddy longlegs spider, they looked it and followed it and they shook their heads, something they do when they dont like the taste of something. I had been told that these spiders are very poisonous, the chickens weren't afraid of it but just watched it run away. A natural instinct that humans probably don't have? Are our fears of spiders and snakes something we fear unconsciously solely because of their venom or are they a result of the people around us telling us not to touch or go near them. If we were never told not to pick up dangerous bugs would we still be afraid of them?

Same sort of thing goes with this wilkweed plant i gave to them. They were cautious as they had never come across it before and after a quick nip they shook their heads and walked away. Now you could say that they learnet not to eat spiders because of past experiences but if they had eaten on, wouldn't they be dead?

Humans on the other hand could probably eat poisonous plants and die. Never drunk petrol but i've got to say its not a discouraging smell. If you gave me a poisonous plant and didn't tell me what it was, if it was lethal then there would be anything stopping me from eating it and dying. I wouldn't be able to know any better.

[Vagn]

Its a long story. I'll cut it short. I was walking around lifting up roof tiles and stuff off the grass after it had been left for a month. Just tons of different bugs under them. I decided to feed them to the chickens. First a snail. they ate that. next a slug, they ate that, next a pillbug, ate that, then a daddy longlegs spider, they looked it and followed it and they shook their heads, something they do when they dont like the taste of something. I had been told that these spiders are very poisonous, the chickens weren't afraid of it but just watched it run away. A natural instinct that humans probably don't have? Are our fears of spiders and snakes something we fear unconsciously solely because of their venom or are they a result of the people around us telling us not to touch or go near them. If we were never told not to pick up dangerous bugs would we still be afraid of them?

Same sort of thing goes with this wilkweed plant i gave to them. They were cautious as they had never come across it before and after a quick nip they shook their heads and walked away. Now you could say that they learnet not to eat spiders because of past experiences but if they had eaten on, wouldn't they be dead?

Humans on the other hand could probably eat poisonous plants and die. Never drunk petrol but i've got to say its not a discouraging smell. If you gave me a poisonous plant and didn't tell me what it was, if it was lethal then there would be anything stopping me from eating it and dying. I wouldn't be able to know any better.

I think that a lot of toxins have quite a bitter taste if I remember correctly. Obviously not all toxins are bitter and not all bitter things are toxic, but it does apply to quite a few of them, presumably this was selected for by natural selection, as someone who could tell the difference between a poisonous plant and one that isn't would stand a better chance of surviving. Humans also have the advantage of knowing how to cook things Plant poisons tend to be proteins, so heating them above 40 degrees celsius will usually denature them so they don't effect you, i.e. you boil them and get a nice tea as a result.

[Elfdude]

Humans at one point were far more sensitive to smells and tastes. Our powers of smell have been significantly reduced since the domestication of the dog.

[Vizsla]

Humans sacrificed slavish instincts for intelligence. It worked out alright. Don’t get me wrong, my dog has innate skillz and capabilities I envy. But ultimately I’m the one who supplies the food and shelter, so I get to be the boss.

Incidentally my dog came across a snake a few months back. It’s never seen a snake before or since. Yet it knew exactly what it was and exactly what it should do. Not as clever as humans but much better programmed for their environment.

[strategist.com]

Incidentally my dog came across a snake a few months back. It’s never seen a snake before or since. Yet it knew exactly what it was and exactly what it should do. Not as clever as humans but much better programmed for their environment.

Exactly, physical appearance alone can serve as a warning. The ladybugs, for example, are colourful with red colours and with black dots and we think it is cute but in fact it is a warning to other predators that they 'should not be eaten' or that 'they are poisonous'.

Physical apperance can ward off predators. Same thing with humans. Why do we fear frogs, snakes, spiders etc? It is a natural instinctive reaction to fear something because of the features alone. To ward off predators.

[Phier]

Humans at one point were far more sensitive to smells and tastes. Our powers of smell have been significantly reduced since the domestication of the dog.

I'd say it has more to do with our vision than our dogs.

[Elfdude]

I'd say it has more to do with our vision than our dogs.

Perhaps, society probably also has something to do with it. Whatever the reason humans seem to be quite capable of smelling on par if not better than rats. They can also detect long chain compounds better than dogs. Primates seem to have been given a bad reputation based off of receptor comparisons but even though only 350 of our 1000 or so olfactory genes are active it's quite possible for us to smell just as good. As it turns out more doesn't necessarily mean better something it seems we have to relearn and relearn in science.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC406401/

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/dec...ion/na-smell18

[Phier]

Perhaps, society probably also has something to do with it. Whatever the reason humans seem to be quite capable of smelling on par if not better than rats. They can also detect long chain compounds better than dogs. Primates seem to have been given a bad reputation based off of receptor comparisons but even though only 350 of our 1000 or so olfactory genes are active it's quite possible for us to smell just as good. As it turns out more doesn't necessarily mean better something it seems we have to relearn and relearn in science.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC406401/

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/dec...ion/na-smell18

I think the idea is that parts of our brain used for smell were 'taken over' by color vision and more acute hearing used for speech.

I don't think it makes sense we simply lost the use of our sense of smell due to say canines or other reasons because a keen sense of smell would still be valuable, just not as valuable as our current senses. Just think of all the illness you could avoid, especially before the last century, if you could smell tainted food better. I myself have a strong sense of smell as does my father and like him I get to be 'smell that' guy when our wives are not sure if something thats been in the refrigerator is safe to cook/eat. This was usefull even this thanksgiving when my grandmother brought over asparagus she just bought, but I could tell was starting to rot. There are people who make a living just off their sense of smell.

I think losing an acute sense of smell wasn't due to lack of use, just that there were better uses for existing connections.

[Plant]

Its a long story. I'll cut it short. I was walking around lifting up roof tiles and stuff off the grass after it had been left for a month. Just tons of different bugs under them. I decided to feed them to the chickens. First a snail. they ate that. next a slug, they ate that, next a pillbug, ate that, then a daddy longlegs spider, they looked it and followed it and they shook their heads, something they do when they dont like the taste of something. I had been told that these spiders are very poisonous, the chickens weren't afraid of it but just watched it run away. A natural instinct that humans probably don't have? Are our fears of spiders and snakes something we fear unconsciously solely because of their venom or are they a result of the people around us telling us not to touch or go near them. If we were never told not to pick up dangerous bugs would we still be afraid of them?

Same sort of thing goes with this wilkweed plant i gave to them. They were cautious as they had never come across it before and after a quick nip they shook their heads and walked away. Now you could say that they learnt not to eat spiders because of past experiences but if they had eaten on, wouldn't they be dead?

Humans on the other hand could probably eat poisonous plants and die. Never drunk petrol but i've got to say its not a discouraging smell. If you gave me a poisonous plant and didn't tell me what it was, if it was lethal then there would be anything stopping me from eating it and dying. I wouldn't be able to know any better.

I would say that as humans, we have just as many instincts as other animals. Our senses may be less fine, (though apparently humans have some of the best sight in the animal kingdom, it is greatly balanced for all needs,) and many of us instinctively recoil from sights, not because we've been told not to do so. I for can can never remember anybody telling me not to pick up dangerous bugs. Don't be so quick to denigrate your own natural senses and instincts. Do we not instinctively recoil away from certain smells and sights and tastes? Are we not as humans, cautious of meat and plants which we have never seen or eaten before? Would we too not take a quick nip and shake our heads before walking away?

[♔Goodguy1066♔]

We have instincts, but some have been worn down as a direct cause of the enviorment. Saharan Bedouins and Maori tribal hunters still have very efficent instincts that can challange a hyena's. Westerners have (relatively) recently moved into bigger, more crowded and safer houses, have luxuries such as running water in their own homes and meat from the market, can do their buisness without stepping out of the house and earn a living through society and not through nature - all this is the reason why the average Yank or Brit will have slower reflexes than a Zulu's (do they still exist?) and why the average isolated Congolese tribal cheif will find it harder to remember the rules of dining etiquette than Queen Elizabeth. It's all about upbringing, but I'm sure evoloution and genetics have something to do with it as well.

[Voodo chile]

Yea i was beginning to fear the 'collapse of society' with the price of food expected to rise in the 20%. The recent earthquake got me thinking about this as well. Would any of us be able to survive without food from supermarkets or water from the tap? We have 2 chickens in our back yard with if an emergency would have made a decent meal but slaughtering them would have been like killing a pet. I dont really know if people these days would even be able to rely on meat as a food source seeing as you have to kill it and dissect it while still in its 'true form' ei it still looks like an actual animal compared to supermarket meat which looks like a big ball of meat. Luckily the power was back on by the afternoon and everyone was back on their computers flooding the google search engine with 'christchurch earthquake' lol.

As far as i know, Maoris are pretty good at stealing stuff lol i dont live in a heavy maori populated area but thats what i hear. Real Maori tribes dont exist anymore, they all moved to the cities a few decades ago because of all the luxuries. The Maori 'tribes' are extremely wealthy corporations and i'm talking millions if not billions here. Buying the former wigram airport and i think turning it into a residential area. Thats the sort of stuff they do these days.

Well cheers for your contributions

[Tiwaz]

Our instincts have also altered a great deal.

Urban folk have little need for instinctual feel of something being "wrong" in forest. So we happily walk through forest which just screams "something awry" to native human.

But in exchange, urban people have their instincts honed to urban jungle. Say dark alley with some shady characters which says nothing to guy from the woods is essentially warning signal to urban native.