Science Memes

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submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That's based on species though, so it would overrepresent unlikely encounters. I can go eat pine bark or grass on any continent and probably be A-OK.

I do wonder how that data compares with other mammals though. Is it just average, or is it significantly higher?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That’s based on species though, so it would overrepresent unlikely encounters.

That is fair, but also consider that an intelligent species isn't going to be limited by chance encounters. I regularly eat bananas, but I don't live in India. I regularly eat pineapples, but I don't live in Costa Rica. Very little of my diet is comprised of food that is native to my area. As an intelligent species, we farm food en masse, ship it around the world, and plant things outside of their natural habitat.

I do wonder how that data compares with other mammals though. Is it just average, or is it significantly higher?

Purely speculating, I'd wager slightly above average as a result of the thing I said about omnivores being a precursor to becoming intelligent.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

an intelligent species isn't going to be limited by chance encounters.

That's actually a fantastic point, we change our environment to be more suitable to ourselves, including cultivating unique yet safe species. I've never heard of a poison dart frog farm, nor a field of death caps.