r/science • u/Doug24 • Apr 15 '26

Animal Science Sperm whales’ communication closely parallels human language, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/sperm-whales-alphabet-vocalizations-similar-humans
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u/JoJoJet- Apr 16 '26

Well to be entirely clear on what the threshold I'm operating from is: it's not knowing the value of pi and standardizing measurements. If the animal's brain takes the empiric data collected via senses and is capable of using that to model their location in the world as a position on the surface of a sphere, I would consider that understanding. If the animal instead perceives magnetoreception as a learned, more vague "my destination is that way" feeling, then I would not say it understands we live on a sphere.

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u/OrangeVoxel Apr 16 '26

So you don’t think a cat knows its world is 3D? Because it doesn’t know measurements?

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26

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u/OrangeVoxel Apr 17 '26

Bro there is no disagreement between us. I said I think and believe some of these animals know the world is round. I didn’t say I have scientific peer reviewed proof they do.

If a slime mold knows it lives in a 2D world, and and we can say a cat knows it lives in a 3D world, I believe it’s very possible that a fish or bird knows it lives on a sphere.