John Cuthber Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I think flies, cockroaches and other insects do not have a brain ... They do. https://www.thoughtco.com/do-insects-have-brains-1968477 I read recently that a fly's reaction to being swotted is not actually a brain reaction in the first instance, but hard-wired somewhere else. ... Similar reactions are found in most animals, including us. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_arc 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itoero Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Similar reactions are found in most animals, including us. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_arc This is imo because your unconscious mind sends out a reaction. You don't use your conscious mind to decide for the appropriate reaction since that would take to long. It's like when you immediately extend your arm when you see a glass falling. Today I learned the Pangolin is the only mammal with large, protective keratin scales covering their skin. They eat mostly ants and termites and look like armadillos. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin#Diet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 This is imo because your unconscious mind sends out a reaction. You don't use your conscious mind to decide for the appropriate reaction since that would take to long. It's like when you immediately extend your arm when you see a glass falling. Well, that may be true in your opinion, however, in fact, it's not. The reflexes can still happen even in a brain dead individual http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041134503012752 The classic "test of reflexes" is this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patellar_reflex And if you get someone else to tap your knee just under the cap you will notice an odd effect. You see your foot move before you feel the tap. You can't have made, even an unconscious, decision to move the foot before you felt the stimulus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koti Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 They do. https://www.thoughtco.com/do-insects-have-brains-1968477 Yep, pretty embarrassing for me. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdEarl Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 The smallest brain I've heard of is in a fairywasp, which IIRC has about 100,000 neurons and the nucleus shrink as it matures. These are the smallest of insects, being the size of a large amoeba. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itoero Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Well, that may be true in your opinion, however, in fact, it's not. The reflexes can still happen even in a brain dead individual http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041134503012752 The classic "test of reflexes" is this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patellar_reflex And if you get someone else to tap your knee just under the cap you will notice an odd effect. You see your foot move before you feel the tap. You can't have made, even an unconscious, decision to move the foot before you felt the stimulus. Ok but when a fly flies away because of being swatted then he or she reacts on a conscious observation. When a brain dead person moves or when the patellar reflex moves your leg, its not because of a conscious observation...it's pure physical. It's pure physical : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Ok but when a fly flies away because of being swatted then he or she reacts on a conscious observation. No. It's a reflex action- like when you put your hand on something hot + pull it away before you even know it's painful. (And that's before we get into the question of whether or not flies are conscious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koti Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 (And that's before we get into the question of whether or not flies are conscious. Since I haven't seen a convincing definition of "consciousness" I say they're both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itoero Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 No. It's a reflex action- like when you put your hand on something hot + pull it away before you even know it's painful. (And that's before we get into the question of whether or not flies are conscious. How can you know your hand might get burned without a conscious observation? A reflex action is involuntary but the sending of a reflex action can be voluntary or involuntary. When the sending of a reflex action is involuntary then it's pure physical.(brain dead person moves or patellar reflex moves your leg) When it's sent voluntary then it's sent because of a conscious observation...like when a fly observes a swatting device. This is a nice video. The fact that the fly flies away in the opposite direction of the swatter imo shows that it's a conscious choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypervalent_iodine Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 How can you know your hand might get burned without a conscious observation? A reflex action is involuntary but the sending of a reflex action can be voluntary or involuntary. When the sending of a reflex action is involuntary then it's pure physical.(brain dead person moves or patellar reflex moves your leg) When it's sent voluntary then it's sent because of a conscious observation...like when a fly observes a swatting device. This is a nice video. The fact that the fly flies away in the opposite direction of the swatter imo shows that it's a conscious choice. ! Moderator Note You are welcome to start your own thread on this, but dragging this thread down specific rabbit holes - which is against the spirit of the OP - needs to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrettin Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Today I learned that a tyrannosaurus rex called Sue (although I doubt that was her name whilst alive) probably suffered from gout. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdEarl Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) Today I learned that a tyrannosaurus rex called Sue (although I doubt that was her name whilst alive) probably suffered from gout. Poor thing, she should have eaten less meat and watched her weight. Today I learned that Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO) is spending a $B per year to put a base on the moon built by robots. Edited July 4, 2017 by EdEarl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Antares Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I learned that small animals perceive time at a greater resolution than humans. A fly can perceive up to 7 times more audio and visual information per second than a human. It would seem that small animals live shorter but faster lives, a dogs life of 15 years while experiencing time at a higher resolution might be just as "long" as a larger animals life living longer but at a lower time resolution. Fascinating...I wonder if Einstein had these kinds of thoughts while coming up with relativity. https://curiosity.com/topics/small-animals-perceive-the-world-in-slow-motion-curiosity/ I came to this conclusion and was going to make a thread on it months ago but I forgot about it. I guess they beat me to it then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NimrodTheGoat Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 (edited) Today I learned a lot of rather insignificant facts about goats ( which is why I love them). One of those things is that goats are sometimes kept with racehorses as a companion animal. This is thought to have a calming effect on the horse. The term "Get your goat" (meaning to agitate someone) is rumored to have originated from the practice of stealing the companion goat so the racehorse would do poorly. http://www.barnyardpetvet.com/GoatTrivia1.html P.S. Sue's name was probably rargagharargh. Edited July 5, 2017 by NimrodTheGoat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimreepr Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Today I learned a lot of rather insignificant facts about goats ( which is why I love them). One of those things is that goats are sometimes kept with racehorses as a companion animal. This is thought to have a calming effect on the horse. The term "Get your goat" (meaning to agitate someone) is rumored to have originated from the practice of stealing the companion goat so the racehorse would do poorly. http://www.barnyardpetvet.com/GoatTrivia1.html P.S. Sue's name was probably rargagharargh. They were also used in slaughterhouses, to calm the other animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrettin Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 The term "Get your goat" (meaning to agitate someone) is rumored to have originated from the practice of stealing the companion goat so the racehorse would do poorly. Nice theory, but there is an alternative one, that "goat" was a prison slang for "anger". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrmDoc Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) Today I learned why Americans refrigerate eggs and Europeans don't. To combat salmonella, American egg producers wash their eggs in a solution that removes a protective "cuticle" coating. The loss of that coating renders those eggs vulnerable to additional contaminants that refrigeration prevents. Europeans prefer to vaccinate their chickens against salmonella rather than remove their eggs protective coating; therefore, refrigeration isn't required. Edited July 7, 2017 by DrmDoc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Antares Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 What? Since when do Europeans not refrigerate eggs? I've never seen an egg not being refrigerated. I cannot speak for all European countries, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrmDoc Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 The linked article described procedures in England but did not mention any other country. Whether eggs are refrigerated in other European countries appears to remain an open question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itoero Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Today I learned there is a retirement home for former prostitutes in Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Today I learned that someone actually did a check on how well waterglass preserves eggs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrmDoc Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Today I learned that having a photographic memory is a myth; however, eidetic memory is real and common to children not adults. Also, today I learned about an extraordinary letter from Jordan Anderson, a freed slave, to his former master when said master asked Mr. Anderson to return as a paid worker. What a well done response it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itoero Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Today I learned there lived a Straight-tusked elephant in the late Pleistocene in Eurasia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-tusked_elephant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koti Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Today I learned there lived a Straight-tusked elephant in the late Pleistocene in Eurasia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-tusked_elephant Hey, I knew that. You could have just asked me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itoero Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 (edited) Hey, I knew that. You could have just asked me If I say something else about elephants, I'll contact you first.🐘 Edited July 14, 2017 by Itoero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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