there is something very funny about the idea that “give a chimpanzee stuff and see if they like it”

    "the extent to which a certain kind of lizard chooses to eat certain kinds of pizza"
    "what a nursing baby experiences when the baby’s mother eats garlic"
    "some real plants imitate the shapes of neighboring artificial plastic plants"

https://improbable.com/ig/winners/

Sure seems stupid on first glance but most science seems pointless. It’s only when several loosely interconnected ideas that prove something MIGHT be commercially viable do we find out that it was the first curious question that … again seems stupid… was the seed of inivation

Great comment. It's bananas. Chimps like bananas too, right?

> But he’s also very interested in “the impact of crystals on the history of art and the history of mind,”

This made my eyes roll a bit.

"Breaking: Animals Have Preferences"

Imagine if monkeys could communicate using crystals. That would be interesting - human - animal language!

Research could lead into shit like cows TELLING us when feeling sick or know something etc. Food production, pets, police animals - a lot of potential uses.

The same as literally chemistry and rocks gave us transistors.

Almost no study is crazy.

Playing with glass gave us telescopes and microscopes.

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