Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
AMAZING. A new study in @ScienceMagazine shows that dogs can learn new words the way a little kid does: by listening to other people talking.
Basket the collie knows 150+ words and picks up this new one ("armadillo") just from listening to mom chat with a friend. Good girl!!!
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Abilities like this have enormous moral implications because they show animals experiencing "theory of mind." Basket is not just experiencing things herself. She's not just a Pavlovian machine. She's trying to understand what SOMEONE ELSE is thinking and learning from that simulation process.
Fundamentally, moral consideration should be based on sentience. I don't care if an animal is smart, if she can feel pain. But for those who say otherwise, evidence like this shows VERY CLEARLY that many animals are much smarter than, say, a 1 year old child. You should no more hurt them then you'd hurt your neighbor's infant child.
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The Simple Heart on Substack - Subscribe to Wayne Hsiung's newsletter to learn more about the #RightToRescue at https://simpleheart.org!
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AMAZING. A new study in @ScienceMagazine shows that dogs can learn new words the way a little kid does: by listening to other people talking.
Basket the collie knows 150+ words and picks up this new one ("armadillo") just from listening to mom chat with a friend. Good girl!!!
---
Abilities like this have enormous moral implications because they show animals experiencing "theory of mind." Basket is not just experiencing things herself. She's not just a Pavlovian machine. She's trying to understand what SOMEONE ELSE is thinking and learning from that simulation process.
Fundamentally, moral consideration should be based on sentience. I don't care if an animal is smart, if she can feel pain. But for those who say otherwise, evidence like this shows VERY CLEARLY that many animals are much smarter than, say, a 1 year old child. You should no more hurt them then you'd hurt your neighbor's infant child.
-
The Simple Heart on Substack - Subscribe to Wayne Hsiung's newsletter to learn more about the #RightToRescue at https://simpleheart.org!
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