I have known people who
are able to remember the names of individuals no matter how many
people they meet. My ability to remember a new person's name is
maybe ten seconds. I wish I could remember people's names. The good
thing is most people forget my name so conversations can get
interesting between me and someone who I have just been introduced to
and neither of us can remember the one's name.
“I'm sure you had a
nickname in high school”
“No, I'm sure you
have a nickname at work.”
“No, I forgot your
name and we were introduced a few minutes ago.'
“Oh good, I forgot
your name also. Now, I don't feel so bad.”
“What is your name?”
“I don't know, but
it's okay because I don't know the name of anybody else.”
“Huh?”
A study has been done
that shows a horse remembers the facial expressions of people they
have previously seen. This is a good thing. They may know when
someone who did not have Gax-X with their meal but should have used
it.
Below are excerpts from
the story with my valuable insights in italics.
SUSSEX, England — Some
people never forget a face. Apparently, neither do horses. A study by
researchers at the University of Sussex and the University of
Portsmouth found that horses can remember the facial expressions of
people they’ve seen before.
The researchers believe
horses use this ability to discern people who might be a threat to
them.
I bet horses will be
attracted to happy people, stay away from angry people and try and
get as much food as possible from dumb people. Being able to
determine the meaning of a person's facial expression is valuable. I
learned early in my marriage to look for an escape route when my wife
would give me the look. It is the expression a wife gives her
husband clearly communicating he has done something wrong without
saying it. Once a man has detected his wife having the look, fear
overcomes him like an antelope that has just seen a hungry lioness.
The only means of escape could be throwing chocolate and running the
other way. It has saved me more than once.
For the study, the authors
showed domesticated horses a photograph of an angry or happy human
face. A few hours later, the real person seen in the photograph would
interact with the horse in an emotionally neutral state. The horses
showed distinct differences in subsequent responses when meeting the
individual in person later the same day.
I wonder what the
distinct differences the horses displayed? Did they run from the
person with the angry expression? Were they calm with the person who
had a happy expression? Did they see past the forced expressions and
go get a person some Gas-X?
I can only imagine what
it would be like with a horse from New York City.
“Aye, why you got to
go and look all angry and everything?”
“Hey, you're a
talking horse.”
“Don't go getting all
crazy about it. My great grandfather was named Mister Ed. You know
what I mean?”
“Making facial
expressions were part of an experiment.”
“Aye, I got your
experiment right here. How about you go and get me some carrots.”
“Why would I go and
get you carrots?”
“Because you ain't
had your Gax-X, and I'm a talking horse that can tell anyone who will
listen that smell ain't from me. We got a deal?”
“The carrots are on
their way.”
“Pleasure doing
business with you.”
Even though humans
meeting the horses in person was in a neutral state during their
interaction, the direction of the horses’ gaze proved to the
research team that they perceived the person more negatively if they
had seen a photo of them looking angry than if they saw a photo of
the person looking happy.
(Sarcasm Alert)
They can tell if a
horse knows a person was angry or happy because of the horses' gaze.
I wonder what they can tell if the horse makes a loud whinny sound?
Maybe researchers believe this is a sign the horse does not like a
person's clothes and they are recommending the person try a new type
of fashion. If a horse hits its hoof on the ground, this could mean
the horse believes a person should try a new hairstyle. If a horse
turns its back to a person and releases some of its feces, this could
mean the horse finds this person disgusting and is ready to go on
vacation. I'm sure there is a special horse gaze associated with
many different things.
“We know that horses are
socially intelligent animals, but this is the first time any mammal
has been shown to have this particular ability,” says co-lead
author Dr. Leanne Proops.
I'm sure it is
beneficial to society for horses to remember people's expressions. A
horse will notice the joy on people's faces when they win a race, or
the pain on a person's face when they lose a race. They will also
notice the look on a person's face who hasn't taken their Gas-X and
know to stay far away from them.
Below is a link to the
story.
https://www.studyfinds.org/study-finds-horses-can-remember-facial-expressions-from-people-theyve-seen-before/
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