Why can’t we understand Dolphins?

[1602Mark]

Higgs boson said:

coppernorks said:

Talking to dolphins ?

Not sure it would serve any porpoise.

We could always try just for the Halibut?

[croyde]

Reminds me of an old Star Trek the Next Generation episode when the crew encounter a race that communicate in Metaphors.

But without knowing their history the crew can't comprehend what they are trying to say.

(Despite the aliens speaking perfect American )

[anonymous-user]

Catatafish said:

There was a scientist a while back who established a rappor by giving one hand jobs. There should be enough data there to establish hand jobs as a point of reference, and move on from there.

Yay science!

[1602Mark]

Wasn't there some chap that used to get it on with a dolphin?

ETA - https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/man-sex-dolp...

[anonymous-user]

Esceptico said:

People suspect that Dolphins communicate with each other verbally yet if they do we have no idea what they are saying. Why not? Humans that don’t share a common language don’t usually take long to learn each other’s language. We also have computing power to help us analyse what Dolphins are saying. Why aren’t we able to either work out what they are saying or conclude they don’t have language?

Maybe we can’t speak dolphin as they don’t actually have a language after all? The scientific position must then be that they don’t have a language unless someone proves it rather than having to formally conclude they don’t have a language.

Everyone likes the dolphins though so I suspect the idea that we’ll be able to talk to them will be popular for some time.

Same as with dogs, it’s just dog noises like barking and woofing and body language and not any language we can learn and speak.

I don’t rate dolphins myself, the idea that they’re so intelligent and can talk but they’re dying from eating plastic bags and haven’t got porn or Wi-fi yet.

Even if they can speak all they’ll do is be all judgy about polluting the sea.

[The Wookie]

croyde said:

Reminds me of an old Star Trek the Next Generation episode when the crew encounter a race that communicate in Metaphors.

But without knowing their history the crew can't comprehend what they are trying to say.

(Despite the aliens speaking perfect American )

Darmok and Jalad when the Walls Fell!... thus proving that I deserved being bullied at school

[Northernboy]

Ash_ said:

Sadly it went over my head, as I don't know the "Ludwig", "Lion" and "Circus" reference, either as I'm un-educated or it alludes to an element of popular culture I haven't been exposed to.

A link or background would be nice though, as I'm now intrigued. (runs off to google)

Ludwig Wittgenstein, the philosopher, said that if a Lion could speak English we'd not be able to understand it, with his point being that you also need points of reference shared to be able to understand communication.

I learned that from a Ricky Gervais routine.

[Ayahuasca]

El stovey said:

Even if they can speak all they’ll do is be all judgy about polluting the sea.

Good point. Then the grinning bds will start appointing lawyers to sue us.

[anonymous-user]

Ayahuasca said:

El stovey said:

Even if they can speak all they’ll do is be all judgy about polluting the sea.

Good point. Then the grinning bds will start appointing lawyers to sue us.

They’re waiting till we learn their language and the first thing they’ll say is “lawyer up humans!”

Fishy sneaky little fks! The tuna boats are going to be all over them if that happens.

[croyde]

The Wookie said:

croyde said:

Reminds me of an old Star Trek the Next Generation episode when the crew encounter a race that communicate in Metaphors.

But without knowing their history the crew can't comprehend what they are trying to say.

(Despite the aliens speaking perfect American )

Darmok and Jalad when the Walls Fell!... thus proving that I deserved being bullied at school

I'm impressed.

[Louis Balfour]

[Toltec]

croyde said:

The Wookie said:

croyde said:

Reminds me of an old Star Trek the Next Generation episode when the crew encounter a race that communicate in Metaphors.

But without knowing their history the crew can't comprehend what they are trying to say.

(Despite the aliens speaking perfect American )

Darmok and Jalad when the Walls Fell!... thus proving that I deserved being bullied at school

I'm impressed.

Everyone knows that one, don't they?

Maybe dolphins communicate in sonic pictograms? You can only understand if you have a brain evolved for sonar.

[randomeddy]

Dolphin 1.
What are you doing tomorrow.

Dolphin 2.
I am going into town to get a tattoo of a fat woman on my flipper.

[randomeddy]

croyde said:

I'm impressed.

At Tanagra.

[hidetheelephants]

El stovey said:

Maybe we can’t speak dolphin as they don’t actually have a language after all? The scientific position must then be that they don’t have a language unless someone proves it rather than having to formally conclude they don’t have a language.

Everyone likes the dolphins though so I suspect the idea that we’ll be able to talk to them will be popular for some time.

Same as with dogs, it’s just dog noises like barking and woofing and body language and not any language we can learn and speak.

I don’t rate dolphins myself, the idea that they’re so intelligent and can talk but they’re dying from eating plastic bags and haven’t got porn or Wi-fi yet.

Even if they can speak all they’ll do is be all judgy about polluting the sea.

If various navies have managed to train them to place mines and detect miscreant enemy divers etc, as is claimed, there must be a reasonable level of intelligence; like the whales they're not prehensile so communication is largely going to be about food, sex/childrearing and predators as they've not had the opportunity to invent the internet with which to have arguments about which version of Dolphin Trek was better, who should have won Large Cetacean Male Sibling, how that Flipper was a right diva and post endless pictures of catfish.

[leef44]

Maybe with all that intelligence they have become philosophical:

They say "look at the silly humans fighting with each other to race to the top, polluting the earth until they can no longer survive on this planet, with their stupid consumerism. Not like us, we work together with our coordinated effort to get fish and we share without fighting."

[Ash_]

Northernboy said:

Ash_ said:

Sadly it went over my head, as I don't know the "Ludwig", "Lion" and "Circus" reference, either as I'm un-educated or it alludes to an element of popular culture I haven't been exposed to.

A link or background would be nice though, as I'm now intrigued. (runs off to google)

Ludwig Wittgenstein, the philosopher, said that if a Lion could speak English we'd not be able to understand it, with his point being that you also need points of reference shared to be able to understand communication.

I learned that from a Ricky Gervais routine.

Thank you.

[otolith]

leef44 said:

Maybe with all that intelligence they have become philosophical:

They say "look at the silly humans fighting with each other to race to the top, polluting the earth until they can no longer survive on this planet, with their stupid consumerism. Not like us, we work together with our coordinated effort to get fish and we share without fighting."

Same reason aliens won't talk to us.

[Equus]

El stovey said:

Same as with dogs, it’s just dog noises like barking and woofing and body language and not any language we can learn and speak.

I'm assuming you don't own a dog?

Dog language (both vocalisation and body language) is fairly simple, both in its scope and the ease with which a human can understand it.

We can't replicate it easily, because we don't have the right morphology or vocalisation skills, and they're not going to be giving us complex monologues on the meaning of life, but they're able to express the things that are important to them, as a dog, in a way that most attentive owners can easily understand.

[98elise]

leef44 said:

Maybe with all that intelligence they have become philosophical:

They say "look at the silly humans fighting with each other to race to the top, polluting the earth until they can no longer survive on this planet, with their stupid consumerism. Not like us, we work together with our coordinated effort to get fish and we share without fighting."

Man has always assumed that he is more intelligent than dolphins because he has achieved so much--the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But, conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.