this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2023
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the archerfish can accurately spit jets of water to hunt inscects ... I'm sure there are much more examples of other species accurately throwing things around. we're not that special ...
This is a pretty big stretch. I wouldn't say spitting and throwing are comparable.
I'm interested in hearing about the other examples of species accurately throwing things though.
it is not such a stretch. according to Oxford dictionary, to throw is :
1.propel (something) with force through the air by a movement of the arm and hand.
which is a very human concept. We then can not judge other species ability to do it (exept primates). just like we can not say animals don't have languages because thay don't speak english.
2.send suddenly into a particular state or condition.
The archer fish is then very efficient at sending water into a particular state or condition with high accuracy.
the octopus for exemple has been observed throwing stuff around.
edit : elephants do it to. and you can find plenty of bird examples.
The whole point was the unique and exceptional nature of specifically human throwing, of course the judgment will be levied against other species.
If you were talking about animals great at spitting with accuracy, the archerfish takes the prize.
If we were talking about the fastest animal on earth, we probably look at a falcon in a dive.
If we're looking at the species with the best accurate throwing ability? Humans win.
Again, that's the whole point of the post. That humans are uniquely good at the skill.
You know which animal is great at having brains distributed throughout its tentacles? Octopi. They're better at having brains in their tentacles than other species.