seriously though

“What we learned is there’s something that keeps the birds from becoming fully machinelike in their responses,” says Wasserman, the study’s corresponding author. “Maybe it’s in their best interest to keep some variability in their behavior. You don’t want to be too locked in, because things happen, and the world could change.”

The study also extends the notion of the edge of chaos beyond evolutionary biology, where flexibility to a changing environment can be beneficial to a species’ survival.

“Might other, more intricate and innovative behaviors like playing an instrument, composing music, and creating visual art involve similarly adaptive variation?” says Odysseus Orr, study co-author and third-year graduate student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences who earned his undergraduate degree from Iowa in 2023. “Only time will tell, but the pigeons provide a convenient gateway for answering those questions under highly controlled circumstances.”

...

“Such dramatic behavioral instability is most definitely not consistent with the Law of Effect,” says Wasserman, who has studied pigeon cognition and behavior for more than five decades. “The pigeons maintain this exploratory tendency and keep trying multiple sequences. They do not abide by the familiar maxim: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

source of shitpost https://now.uiowa.edu/news/2026/04/edge-chaos-pigeons-keep-their-options-open

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https://chuffed.org/project/150674-support-umm-mohammeds-family-to-rebuild-their-future-and-to-survive-amidst-the-genocide

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s not your fault that the modern world is so fucking hard for us.

And it’s not just us, even neurotypical folks are really struggling, but it’s hitting us like a freight train.

We love you being here and we need you to keep being here so badly. We are told from all directions of the modern world that we are the problem - and we need more of us who know how hard it is and can have a little bit of compassion for us.

We can force this world to cut us a break. We can be the ones that stand up for the kids who get yelled at all day because they can’t sit in a chair all day and can’t instantly recall what was told to them 2 minutes ago. We can be the ones who stand up to those who think the only measure of a persons worth is the ability to work in paid employment for 40-80 hours a week.

I love you guys. Just because conformity isn’t our forte and that is the what is valued most in the modern world doesn’t mean you don’t have worth.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s not your fault that the modern world is so fucking hard for us.

And it’s not just us, even neurotypical folks are really struggling, but it’s hitting us like a freight train.

We love you being here and we need you to keep being here so badly. We are told from all directions of the modern world that we are the problem - and we need more of us who know how hard it is and can have a little bit of compassion for us.

We can force this world to cut us a break. We can be the ones that stand up for the kids who get yelled at all day because they can’t sit in a chair all day and can’t instantly recall what was told to them 2 minutes ago. We can be the ones who stand up to those who think the only measure of a persons worth is the ability to work in paid employment for 40-80 hours a week.

I love you guys. Just because conformity isn’t our forte and that is the what is valued most in the modern world doesn’t mean you don’t have worth.

“Hey remember that one toy that came with the happy meal? Yeah that one was awesome, I wonder what happened to that franchise. Oops the name is gone and the internet doesn’t help, guess we’re thinking about this every two days now. (If anyone would know=> it’s monster trucks with mouths alla Jayce and the wheeled warriors, but more modernised, early 90’s?)

Or how about that small rubber suctioncup thingy that looked like one of those green guys from Commander Keen? Was it? You’ll never know. Some kid stole it from you probably. Think about that one daily why don’t you.

Hey remember those collectible cards that came with the candy, they had tattoo like artwork on it?…”

Every fucking single day. And it’s just there not serving any purpose aside from nostalgia. Shut up already brain.