Is a smile a human thing only humans can do?

[keith99]

Interesting trivia I heard, is that a dog is the only animal which will maintain eye contact with a human. Even the apes which are very intelligent don't do it. A dog can stare at you when you're talking to it as if it's desperately trying to decode your language and understand you. They're the best.

They are trying to hypnotize you into feeding them. They also try to make food teleport.

 

[Locutus]

They are trying to hypnotize you into feeding them. They also try to make food teleport.

mine try to teleport food from a particular cabinet in the kitchen. it hasn't worked yet, in 11 years of daily attempts.

 

[Xalith]

I've seen monkeys smiling and you can just tell the looks on their faces, they aren't doing it threateningly. Sometimes, I even get the impression that they are mischievous or even trolling at times.

 

[Locutus]

I've seen monkeys smiling and you can just tell the looks on their faces, they aren't doing it threateningly. Sometimes, I even get the impression that they are mischievous or even trolling at times.

they're definitely mischievous. anyone who's lived in a monkey inhabited place can tell you that. they're also irredeemable thieves.

on that, while parrots don't smile (difficult, with a beak), they are VERY smart and seem to 'get' humans astonishingly well. such different brains, the primate and the avian, but there it is.

 

[Xalith]

they're definitely mischievous. anyone who's lived in a monkey inhabited place can tell you that. they're also irredeemable thieves.

I've seen videos of that stuff, yeah. And some of the noises they make when they do, is kinda like their trolling laugh, like "haha there's nothing you can do about it!"

on that, while parrots don't smile (difficult, with a beak), they are VERY smart and seem to 'get' humans astonishingly well. such different brains, the primate and the avian, but there it is.

God gave many of the creatures on the Earth the ability to give us comfort, pleasure, food, and some He ordained should work for us (Horses, Oxen, etc).

And He even gave several different animals different personality types, knowing that different people would enjoy different animals (I'm sure everybody has heard of the great Cat vs Dog debate).

It's always a nice uplifting experience to stop and ponder for a second how diverse all of the animals, and even all of the people are, and how everything fits nicely into this incredibly complex puzzle so well.

 

[Locutus]

I've seen videos of that stuff, yeah. And some of the noises they make when they do, is kinda like their trolling laugh, like "haha there's nothing you can do about it!"
.

I've lived with monkeys. They're incredibly cute but incredibly trying. One small monkey is like 3 hyperactive 6 year olds. Actually in hindsight, make that 4 hyperactive 6 year olds.

 

[Locutus]

God gave many of the creatures on the Earth the ability to give us comfort, pleasure, food, and some He ordained should work for us (Horses, Oxen, etc).

And He even gave several different animals different personality types, knowing that different people would enjoy different animals (I'm sure everybody has heard of the great Cat vs Dog debate).

It's always a nice uplifting experience to stop and ponder for a second how diverse all of the animals, and even all of the people are, and how everything fits nicely into this incredibly complex puzzle so well.

Except of course, when you start pondering leeches, disease bearing mosquitoes, worms which burrow into the eyes of children, fish which swim up the human male urethra, tape worms, etc etc.

 

[Xalith]

Except of course, when you start pondering leeches, disease bearing mosquitoes, worms which burrow into the eyes of children, fish which swim up the human male urethra, tape worms, etc etc.

Every animal has its place in the world. Not all are pleasant, but they were all created for a purpose.

And don't forget, that some of these diseases are the result of man's meddling (either by antibacterial crap, or genetic mutations).

 

[Locutus]

Every animal has its place in the world. Not all are pleasant, but they were all created for a purpose.

And don't forget, that some of these diseases are the result of man's meddling (either by antibacterial crap, or genetic mutations).

Ah yes ... it's all god's wonderful plan and creation, until it isn't.

 

[Xalith]

Ah yes ... it's all god's wonderful plan and creation, until it isn't.

It always is, even in the worst of times.

The Bible teaches that even during times of affliction, we are still to give praise and glory to God, though a lot of Christians forget that. You have your faith listed as "Seeker" and I'm not quite sure what that means, so I would just ask that you understand that the Bible teaches that God is always good, regardless if you are experiencing times of ease or times of suffering. If you're in a mosquito-infested swamp, the natural reaction would be to complain about the mosquitoes, but yet at the same time, one who follows what the Bible really teaches is that the person will know in their heart that God placed those creatures there for a purpose, even if they are not pleasant to you.

Last couple years, we've had trouble with stinkbug infestations though thankfully those have tapered off during this past year. It was really bad the year before last. Annoying little suckers, but yet I know God had a reason for their existence. But yet, because of the meddling of men, the bugs were everywhere. I say that, because the bugs are indigenous to the east, namely Japan, China, and Taiwan but were introduced to the US in 1998 (it seems to have taken that long for natural predators to start feeding on them).

So this is an example of man's meddling interfering with the way God designed the Earth and its ecosystem. There are many other examples of people moving plants and animals to places they were never meant to be if you were to look. Some of them were to disastrous effects, even.

 

[DaisyDay]

they're so in tune, aren't they. they accommodate us unconditionally, and never fail to adapt to whatever we need to do in our human lives.

our dogs are a working breed (sheep herders), and they're insanely intelligent. they seem to know what we're thinking, what we'll do before we do it, what weather is coming, and even quite often appear to understand basic sentences. they're also stunningly obedient in the sense that the slightest hint of a signal gets a response, and each response is 100% committed. we can voice control them from a long distance, and even longer distance by hand signals or whistles. and these are untrained dogs. as in not trained for herding, only for basic domestic obedience.

We unwittingly trained our dog to be a Princess Dog so it is we who accommodate her. When we first got her after years in the shelter, she was happy just to be a house dog, all wags and cuddles. Now she has expectations. I know I wouldn't go for a walk in the park every night if it were not for her incessant whining and moaning - she even has the nerve to bark at me. We have a perfectly nice fenced-in half acre with interesting creatures like voles, squirrels and groundhogs, but that is no longer good enough.

 

[timewerx]

naw... Having had Wolf/Malamute/Shepherd mixes most of my life, I can tell you certain that they smile. It is not always a threat when the teeth are bare - and one certainly knows the difference...

I agree, we also have a shepherd mix

Here she is happy:

Here she is contemplating about the meaning of life:

 

[keith99]

they're so in tune, aren't they. they accommodate us unconditionally, and never fail to adapt to whatever we need to do in our human lives.

our dogs are a working breed (sheep herders), and they're insanely intelligent. they seem to know what we're thinking, what we'll do before we do it, what weather is coming, and even quite often appear to understand basic sentences. they're also stunningly obedient in the sense that the slightest hint of a signal gets a response, and each response is 100% committed. we can voice control them from a long distance, and even longer distance by hand signals or whistles. and these are untrained dogs. as in not trained for herding, only for basic domestic obedience.

We allowed ours to be at our feet at the dinner table. In time it worked out that the command to lie down was"

"What do you do at the dinner table?"

 

[Chesterton]

Another interesting thing besides smiling is the appearance of guilt or shame they seem to display. Do you think it's guilt, or just fear of punishment, or both? Even if it's just fear of punishment it's still fascinating that they could make the connection that "I did something which is going to cause unpleasant consequences for me". But I swear they look like they feel guilty.

 

[roamer_1]

I agree, we also have a shepherd mix [...]Here she is happy: [...] Here she is contemplating about the meaning of life:

I got caught out in the high country one time, way above the tree line, right up near the ridge - Found a cave, and enough stuff for making a fire... Me and my dog Charlie, just sitting on the top of the world, sharing my emergency canned spam and vienna sausages, and Top Ramen in my old camp cup... The sun was setting across the range to the West, and the sunset was nothing short of spectacular...

Right there, I saw the most human sense ever in that old Wolf/Malamute... Contentment... Peace... And a profound appreciation of the beauty of that place and that moment. Hard to describe, but impossible to deny.

 

[keith99]

Another interesting thing besides smiling is the appearance of guilt or shame they seem to display. Do you think it's guilt, or just fear of punishment, or both? Even if it's just fear of punishment it's still fascinating that they could make the connection that "I did something which is going to cause unpleasant consequences for me". But I swear they look like they feel guilty.

Since punishments aside from verbal were non-existent with ours I'm saying it could not have been fear in the typical meaning of the word. Surely not fear of punishment. Fear of having their people mad at them perhaps.

 

[Locutus]

Another interesting thing besides smiling is the appearance of guilt or shame they seem to display. Do you think it's guilt, or just fear of punishment, or both? Even if it's just fear of punishment it's still fascinating that they could make the connection that "I did something which is going to cause unpleasant consequences for me". But I swear they look like they feel guilty.

Not sure if guilt is precisely it, but canines are known to be profoundly sensitive to censure. They need to be, to live in packs. If they weren't, chaos would reign and the pack wouldn't survive. It's all part of the very sophisticated and complex moral code of the wolf pack - yet again! For our human purposes though, it's as close to the same sort of guilt we experience that the differences are effectively meaningless. I don't think you can over-anthropomorphise dogs. In fact, I suspect they caninomorphise us

 

[Locutus]

I got caught out in the high country one time, way above the tree line, right up near the ridge - Found a cave, and enough stuff for making a fire... Me and my dog Charlie, just sitting on the top of the world, sharing my emergency canned spam and vienna sausages, and Top Ramen in my old camp cup... The sun was setting across the range to the West, and the sunset was nothing short of spectacular...

Right there, I saw the most human sense ever in that old Wolf/Malamute... Contentment... Peace... And a profound appreciation of the beauty of that place and that moment. Hard to describe, but impossible to deny.

I love this story, thank you.

There is something incredibly reassuring about the presence of a dog when things aren't going according to plan. And when that curve ball turns into an unexpected communion with nature, the dog's presence hardwires us to the natural world.

 

[Locutus]

It always is, even in the worst of times.

The Bible teaches that even during times of affliction, we are still to give praise and glory to God, though a lot of Christians forget that. You have your faith listed as "Seeker" and I'm not quite sure what that means, so I would just ask that you understand that the Bible teaches that God is always good, regardless if you are experiencing times of ease or times of suffering. If you're in a mosquito-infested swamp, the natural reaction would be to complain about the mosquitoes, but yet at the same time, one who follows what the Bible really teaches is that the person will know in their heart that God placed those creatures there for a purpose, even if they are not pleasant to you.

Last couple years, we've had trouble with stinkbug infestations though thankfully those have tapered off during this past year. It was really bad the year before last. Annoying little suckers, but yet I know God had a reason for their existence. But yet, because of the meddling of men, the bugs were everywhere. I say that, because the bugs are indigenous to the east, namely Japan, China, and Taiwan but were introduced to the US in 1998 (it seems to have taken that long for natural predators to start feeding on them).

So this is an example of man's meddling interfering with the way God designed the Earth and its ecosystem. There are many other examples of people moving plants and animals to places they were never meant to be if you were to look. Some of them were to disastrous effects, even.

I'm well aware the Bible teaches that Yahweh is always good. It's the foundation of religious Stockholm Syndrome. It's how theists are able to 'excuse', or at least process, all of the atrocities of the god in question. If you didn't first buy into that, your natural goodness and morality wouldn't allow you to accept such a god, much less worship it.

Stinkbugs? Seriously? When your children are dying in agony due to parasites your god created and planned would infest your kids, you might see things a little differently.

 

[Xalith]

I'm well aware the Bible teaches that Yahweh is always good. It's the foundation of religious Stockholm Syndrome. It's how theists are able to 'excuse', or at least process, all of the atrocities of the god in question. If you didn't first buy into that, your natural goodness and morality wouldn't allow you to accept such a god, much less worship it.

So basically, your take on it, is that because bad stuff happens, that means one shouldn't worship God, or any god? That you believe that God should have made everything roses and gold?

Stinkbugs? Seriously? When your children are dying in agony due to parasites your god created and planned would infest your kids, you might see things a little differently.

I dunno, if you're talking about Africa and similar places, there's plenty of Christians there too. And I'm quite sure they've seen their fair share of death and hardships. How about the people who were executed by ISIS? Those people have guts and courage, to lie face-down on the sand, watching their brothers and sisters die, and still refuse to denounce Christ even when offered the chance.

God made us, and without Him we wouldn't exist period. Death is a certainty, and our lives will have aches and pains, there's nothing we can do about it, but bear them and go on. Whatever ills we suffer in this life, repayment will be paid in the next, if we stay faithful and true. <100 years of painful life isn't too great a price to pay for an eternity of happiness, is it?