I once witnessed a spider controlling a motion activated flood light to catch prey.
At first I assumed the flood light in my backyard was just being triggered by the wind, as a spider had built a web in front of the sensor, however I then noticed that the light would turn on even when there wasn’t any wind.
Upon closer inspection, I found that the spider had created a singular strand of webbing, thicker than the rest (5x-10x), directly over the front of the sensor.
It would then pluck this thicker strand whenever it wanted the light to turn on.
I had previously read a few papers on spider intelligence, specifically the planning capabilities of certain species, but this seemed like another level.
Not only had it discovered the sensor, it crafted a tool to use it for it’s own advantage.
Humans think they’re something forever unique and special in the evolutionary timeline, but the remembered words of our ancestors trick us into thinking individuals are larger than the herd.
Intelligence comes in many shapes and sizes, and claiming to be above the rest parallels, in my experience, the likes of a liar more so than a truth seeker.
What is consciousness? That which separates us from the animal kingdom. A lie we tell ourselves to sleep at night and die for false prophets.
Judging from the spiderwebs clinging to it, the emergency stairway was hardly ever used.
To each web clung a small black spider, patiently waiting for its small prey to come along.
Not that the spiders had any awareness of being “patient.”
A spider had no special skill other than building its web, and no lifestyle choice other than sitting still.
It would stay in one place waiting for its prey until, in the natural course of things, it shriveled up and died.
This was all genetically predetermined. The spider had no confusion, no despair, no regrets. No metaphysical doubt, no moral complications. Probably.
Don't those motion lights typically use passive infrared sensors? I'm surprised it's sensitive enough to see spider silk moving. Could the strand possibly have been blocking some radiative source behind the strand (the sun?)?
Yeah spiders are uniquely smart for their size. I had one using stone and some complicated physics to catch pray (don’t remember exactly the details but was impressed)
At first I assumed the flood light in my backyard was just being triggered by the wind, as a spider had built a web in front of the sensor, however I then noticed that the light would turn on even when there wasn’t any wind.
Upon closer inspection, I found that the spider had created a singular strand of webbing, thicker than the rest (5x-10x), directly over the front of the sensor.
It would then pluck this thicker strand whenever it wanted the light to turn on.
I had previously read a few papers on spider intelligence, specifically the planning capabilities of certain species, but this seemed like another level.
Not only had it discovered the sensor, it crafted a tool to use it for it’s own advantage.
Humans think they’re something forever unique and special in the evolutionary timeline, but the remembered words of our ancestors trick us into thinking individuals are larger than the herd.
Intelligence comes in many shapes and sizes, and claiming to be above the rest parallels, in my experience, the likes of a liar more so than a truth seeker.
What is consciousness? That which separates us from the animal kingdom. A lie we tell ourselves to sleep at night and die for false prophets.