Category: Thinking

What Does Your Pet Think Of You?

We know so little about our own consciousness, let alone that of animals. Which leads to the question: what does your pet think of you?

Animals in general, and pets in particular, clearly have some level of thought. They can learn some basic tricks, and many of them respond to their name. They exhibit feelings, at times being happy, or sad, or angry.

Some pets have even learned a rudimentary way of talking. By programming a number of buttons that say a particular word when pressed, the owner of a dog or a cat can teach the pet to press a button to “say” words like “food”, “walk”, “play”, and many others.

Of course, this may be a combination of rewards training, randomness, and anthropomorphizing. It is difficult to say for certain, since we don’t really know what pets think or feel.

Still, humans that have pets can discern patterns in behavior. A cat owner may notice the cat being able to tell when dinner time is approaching. Or a dog might associate the picking up of a leash with going out for a walk.

It is fun to speculate how exactly our pets see us. Do they see us as just an odd-looking member of their species? Is the owner seen as a parent, or are they seen as a juvenile who needs protection and feeding? (People who keep cats, for example, may be familiar with being “gifted” with a dead mouse or bird.) Or perhaps they understand the concept of different species?

If you have a pet, or know someone who does, have you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of that pet? What do they think of us?

Related questions: What is your relationship with your pet? How does your pet bring you joy? Is your pet part of your family? Cats or dogs?

How’s It Going?

In order to improve your life, sometimes you first need to evaluate your life. With that in mind, how’s it going?

In life, it is easy to get caught up worrying about the future. In particular, at this moment in time, the future is very uncertain.

For instance, there is an important election coming up. What will happen if my side wins, and what if they lose? There are also other existential threats, from A.I. to climate change to global conflicts.

There are also more personal level concerns. Maybe you are worried about the future of your job, or your kids, or your health, or something else entirely.

You might also be obsessive about the past, even if you can’t do anything about it. A contentious conversation may play over and over in your head. Or you may have regret over a mistake you made, or a snarky comment you said in passing.

To prevent these unhelpful thoughts, it might help to take stock of your current situation. In this moment, right now, how do you feel? Why do you feel that way? Does it make sense? Is it helpful, and is it productive?

Knowing your present state might help you to calm down. However, being aware of your inner state, your thoughts and feelings, is absolutely crucial to your future self. In order to become the person you want to be, you need to know who you are first.

This is a skill that not many people develop. The ability to think about yourself, to evaluate why you say what you say and act the way you do is difficult. It is also valuable, both to yourself as well as to the people around you.

In addition to this introspection, we also are checking in on our readers. With that in mind: How’s it going?

Related questions: How are we doing? What are you thinking about? How do you feel? How can we appreciate life more?

Do You Have A Personal Philosophy?

Do you have a guiding principle in your life, one that helps you make the day-to-day decisions you are called upon to make? Do you have a personal philosophy?

Philosophy, for some, is an intimidating-sounding word. It might conjure images of long-dead, long-bearded, humorless men lecturing others on how to behave.

In reality, though, philosophy just means thinking about your life. If you have ever wondered about the world and your place in it, you have participated in philosophy.

It is one of the oldest areas of knowledge, which makes sense. What differentiates us from other animals is the size of our brain, and using that brain to ponder anything and everything comes naturally to us.

While there are numerous philosophy texts and classes, concentrating on great thinkers over the last two or three thousand years, it can be surprisingly relevant on a personal level. If you develop a set of personal guidelines, and individual mission statement, as it were, you are building a personal philosophy.

For example, one person might choose kindness a core belief. Be as kind as possible to everyone you meet, no matter their age, race, or religion. When faced with an unexpected or new situation, first think: “Can being kind help make this situation better?”

Alternately, someone might reason that the only person they are truly beholden to is themselves. Personal comfort, achievement, and happiness is what is most important. After all, you have just one life, and no one else lives it.

Admittedly, these examples are simplistic. As you live your complicated life, chances are there are a number of different guiding principles and motivations. Still, a personal philosophy is helpful to have, and useful to spell out in detail.

What guides you? What is your personal philosophy?

Related questions: What makes you you? How do we become our best self? Is there a principle according to which you try to live your life? What gives you purpose?

Big Picture Or Detail-Oriented?

Are you the type of person who sees the big picture? Or are you more detail-oriented regarding projects you work on?

Share why if you wish.

Big Picture Or Detail-Oriented?
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Why Do We Remember What We Remember?

Memory, and what we happen to remember, is a mysterious thing. No one really knows the details of how memories are formed, physically, in the brain.

Bur apart from the question of the mechanics of memory formation, it is equally mysterious how it is determined exactly what is remembered, and what is quickly forgotten. It would be impossible to remember absolutely everything, so most of us naturally ignoring or forgetting most things going on around us.

But how, then, does our brain decide what to keep and what to discard?

Certainly, we can try to commit certain things to memory. Repetition is a good way to learn something, but it is not very efficient.

But what about those things that just naturally become lodged in our brain? The earworm, for example, that you don’t try to remember, but plays on an endless loop, seemingly by itself. Or perhaps you recall the lyrics of a song you heard once or twice on the radio more than a decade ago, but details from yesterday are already fuzzy.

One oddity is that different people remember different things. One person, for example, might find that people’s names are easy to remember, while another might find that faces are easier to recall. Similarly, some people find it easier to learn directions by the names of streets; others by landmarks on the route.

Have you thought about why a certain passage from a book stays with you, while most of the rest gets forgotten? Or why one song on an album lingers in memory, but the others don’t? You don’t necessarily remember the best bits, but rather those things that, for whatever reason, resonate with you.

Why do we remember what we remember?

Related questions: Does your memory define you? What is the earliest memory you have? How do you want to be remembered?