Kittens and personality software

[Conceptual]

This is an observation that anyone who has had or will have a kitten can observe. Even though the kitten was removed from its mother quite early, and may have only lived with its siblings in cage, once it gets home and comfortable, it is very common for them to play imaginary chase games. It is almost like internal brain software is projecting practice data through their eyes, into the environment, helping them to practice stalking, hunting and tracking skills. When they go into the environment they are already trained and prepared. Does basic collective human propensity also work via ingrained personality software and maybe projection?

[Nevermore]

It's more likely that they are using their imagination. All kids like to pretend.

[Conceptual]

Projection may be an over extension of the data, but the data does indicate some preprogramming, expressed via the imagination, that helps train the kittne alone the lines of the future needs of a cat.

[Mart]

I've had a number of cats and they have all shown strange behaviour where they appear to be literally seeing images that we can't. Their whole body language takes on the condition of being alert to something in their environment.

I think projection is a useful way to think about perception. Certain illusions - bent stick in water and misplacement of fast moving planes using the sound data show that there is a naive perceptual framework in us that is unaware of the way in which data is transferred to us.

[bascule]

I've certainly seen kittens freak out over their own reflections...

[Conceptual]

I brought up this observation because it indicates preprogramming within the kitten brain. The instincts are part of the brain hardware. Nobody has to teach us how to sleep or how to be hungry. The behavior of the kitten suggests something even more organized that is sort of a template of cat behavior. Periodically, the software is loaded and the kitten instinctly goes along with the program.

[clarisse]

yeah but it also could be true that they were really somthing real.. let' s remember that just because WE can't see something it doesn't mean it's not there.. and i'm not talking about ghosts or anything supernatural... just animals perceive differently.... like different spectra of light waves and sounds... so they could have been seeing like a really tiny piece of string or something which we, with our very limited perception can't see. because I have noticed several times that my cat (which isn't a kitten any more) becomes apprehensive all of a sudded and follows with her ayes somthing i can't see for whole minutes... and i truly believe she is SEEING something otherwise she wouldn't be so attentive....