the wood wide web

lesbianjudasiscariot:

oh no cigarettes for me thanks i just wanted to be in this dank alleyway with you

(via meshugenist)

slopmaster9000:

charlottan:

eminem the building is crumbling i dont think we’ll make it out

gay eminem on 9/11: that plane just flew into a lower floor/id like to suck a man just once more

you have managed to condense three new post ideas into just one post

(via strangeauthor)

becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys:

fumblebeefae:

They don’t actually understand what the buttons mean. These animals aren’t capable of processing language like we humans do and they tend to react more to your tone and visual cues then the actual words you’re saying. 

The buttons are just very basic operant conditioning. I very basic form of cognition in animals. They press the buttons because they are rewarded for doing so, not because they actually understand the meaning behind the buttons.

You can see in those videos (they do usually edit it out, but sometimes the creator of these videos just outright admits it) that it can take their pet something like 15 - 20 minutes to respond via the buttons.

Claims that the pets are asking questions ect. feel very staged / trained (like the below for example). Remember these videos are all coming from people on tiktok and people will do anything for a bit of internet fame. Scientific research has shown that dogs do not pass the “mirror test” but the mirror test is a very outdated way to show self-recognition in animals.

You compare this to the language studies done by Pepperberg with African Grey Parrots like Alex; in which they were able to ask questions they weren’t already trained to ask, form sentences they weren’t previously trained to do, display self-recognition (via asking what colour they were), could understand syntax and form their own words eg. Alex called apples “banerries”,  a combination of “banana” and “cherry”, two fruits he was more familiar with.

I prefer not to touch on koko the gorilla because that research is already pretty widely criticised with a lack of actual data, and there was evidence of the Clever Hans effect (her trainers’ unconscious cues were prompting her to display specific signs). 

I lecture on this, and my students are always very disappointed when I have to explain this.

Thing is, it IS communication. Dogs are clever enough to learn, via operant conditioning, that certain words are linked with certain events or behaviours - pretty much anyone who has ever owned a dog can tell you that they learn what “dinner” and “walk” will lead to without you teaching them. These buttons definitely allow clearer communication between dog and owner. But that’s not quite the same thing as them understanding the words themselves.

One of the early examples from Stella, the pioneering dog with these buttons, was her owner asking her what order she wanted to eat, play, and go for a walk. Stella responds by pressing those three buttons, and the owner claims this is her expressing her preference. But here’s the problem: dogs have never yet been found to have sufficient cognition to understand the concept of future states vs present properly. If we believe Stella was genuinely weighing up her options and deciding she wanted to go for a walk before she has dinner and then spend the evening playing, then we are assuming she is capable of an unscientific level of future planning that her species lacks the neurology for. What’s more likely is that she’s simply repeating the words she just recognised in the moment - she knows that “eat”, “play” and “walk” are all good things, and so she repeats them back in the hopes she’ll get them. She has no concept of what order they’ll come in. She’s just hoping for all three, and also, she knows that her owner gets weirdly happy when she presses the buttons, and Stella is the goodest girl who deserves many treats.

The problem is that humans are very taken in and very easily fooled by words. We know what words mean, and we have trouble with the idea that an animal using them doesn’t. One of Stella’s videos shows her pressing the buttons for “good” and “bye” when one of her owners leaves the house, which was suggested as evidence she was creating the word “goodbye”. It’s straight-up nonsense - that’s a ridiculously advanced level of cognition and linguistic capability that dogs are absolutely not capable of, but if you want to see a talking dog, you’ll see a talking dog. Stella pressed two unrelated buttons, and they happened to sound like an English word - so, that’s what the human brain sees. 

But, these boards are absolutely a great communication tool between dog and owner, since they do give the dog the ability to communicate a basic level of wants and desires in the moment, and that’s a good thing! They just aren’t speech, and it’s easy to see something that isn’t there.

sunfortune:

the exaggerated threat of “not like other girls” circling back to just vilifying women who don’t conform to femininity. but this time it’s #feminist to ridicule them bc they’re the real misogynists for not liking makeup and pink

(via frocio)

entranas:

(via tacticalbolt)

readwebcomicsgdi:

I hadn’t but this sounds AWESOME, thank you for the suggestion! Go make some websites!!

https://rarebit.neocities.org

herpsandbirds:

Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), in transitional plumage, family Phasianidae, Alaska

photograph by Kristina Ellis

(via ixenvay)

ca-dmv-bot:

Customer: IT JUST MEANS I’M ALWAYS TIRED
DMV: VULGAR

Verdict: DENIED

(via bigprettygothgf)

play-now-my-lord:

jakethesequel:

play-now-my-lord:

Canadian version of Breaking Bad where Walter White refuses to pursue chemotherapy through state healthcare because it would be impolite, choosing instead to manufacture and distribute menthol cigarettes of astounding purity with the assistance of his former pupil Jessé Bonhomme-Rose

In canada high school french class we had to read a play about impoverished quebecois teenagers smuggling menthols across the US border to avoid taxes

i never imagined in a million years this shitpost would reflect anything real about canada

(via meshugenist)

plaidos:

cooing & stroking the neighbourhood cats but shaking my head the entire time so everyone knows i don’t ideologically agree with outdoor cats

(via uglygirlstatus)

mortalityplays:

one of the most important things, perhaps the most important thing I have learned in my life is that nice people can fuck each other up in monstrous ways. people can be bone deep kind and loving and self reflective and still lash out under pressure. people can be earnestly neighbourly and charitable and hospitable and generous and still find themselves in situations where they become selfish. people can be well meaning and easygoing and gregarious and hold deep seated opinions that turn them into vicious little bullies under the right conditions. nobody is just one thing, and nobody stays one way. every person is a kaleidoscope and they will surprise you. you will surprise yourself. it’s not a warning and it’s not a judgement and it’s not an excuse, and it’s certainly not a reason to stop trying or to stop trusting. it is just a fact.

(via earthwyrms)

dogheadhermitsshed:

Sorry man. You are too weird and unpleasant. Can you please never talk to anyone again and starve to death in a small cell? Thank you.

(via scalfiire)

nevesceramics:

golden trout pipe

2022

(sold)

(via dogwise)

apas-95:

comedy list of fake future films shown in a 1999 movie

(via strangeauthor)

briarpatch-kids:

cane-you-dig-it:

happy disability pride month to those with conditions no one talks about, online or in general:

multiple sclerosis (me lol)

marfans

cerebral palsy

bells palsy

hidradenitis suppurativa

cauda equina syndrome

mixed connective tissue disorder

hyperadrenergic pots

non hypermobile eds types

stickler syndrome

mitochondrial disease

cystic fibrosis

sickle cell disease

myasthenia gravis

post-cholecystectomy syndrome

SWAN (syndromes without a name)

…just to name a few. i see you and you deserve awareness and understanding.

this list is non exhaustive, rb with other conditions you want to see represented!!

[ID: a post banner with dark red background and medium grey bolded text in the center. it reads “This post is about physical disabilities, do not derail.” On each side there is the dynamic disability icon, a gray symbol of person in manual wheelchair leaning forward with arms bent behind them mid-push. /end ID]

This is the first time I’ve actually seen a positivity post mention my illness type! That’s really cool.

(via kumatora)