Book Review of “The Vast World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Areas Around Us” by Ed Young

The premise of this book is that all species have access to different pieces of reality, and we humans can gain new perspectives by taking advantage of these alien worldviews.This powerful idea was first proposed by an Estonian biologist. Jakob von Uexkull Marinated in 1909, a century ago catch up Among modern scientists. Over the last decade, there has been an explosive increase in research into how other animals recognize and understand the world (also known as the “environment”). Yong, an Atlantic science journalist, summarizes these findings in “An Immense World” and promises to give readers a glimpse into another science-based animal.

“Through patient observation, through the techniques we have at our disposal, through scientific methods, and above all, through our curiosity and imagination, we can try to step in. [other animals’] “The world,” Yong wrote.

Yong progresses sensuously, from the familiar ones (sight, smell, taste) to the exotic ones (echolocation, electrical acceptance, magnetic acceptance). He reveals a world in which humans (perhaps thankfully) are flooded with insensitive information: bats screaming in decibels deafening all night, bats playing the stems of plants like the strings of violins. , A flower that burns with ultraviolet bullseye. Yong explains how these sensations work (sometimes up to the biochemical level) and takes you on a field trip to meet the scientists behind the findings. But as he went through the chapters, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t reach his promised destination. Get used to Another animal.

This may not be possible.Perhaps you are familiar with essaysWhat does it feel like to be a bat??? Written by the philosopher Thomas Nagel in 1974. Negel argues that even scientists who have learned everything they need to know about echolocation cannot actually imagine the experience of a bat, its environment. That’s because bats have a lifelong batty experience that shapes their worldview, not to mention their completely different brains and bodies.He argues that the best you can hope for is to understand what it will look like. you, Become a human, a bat.

In my opinion, this is not a real limitation. Even if you could get the bat to talk, he’s probably the same as you’re confused if someone asks you to explain your sensory and conscious experience. It will be difficult to explain the experience of the moment of life. (That is, unless you happen to be James Joyce.) This is because your environment is the only one you ever know. Whenever possible, the only way to understand the environment of other animals is by comparison and imagination. These are the two areas where Yong is missing.

Over and over again, Yong stands on the cliffs of another animal’s experience, but never completely takes that last imaginary leap. For example, when meeting with cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz and her dog Finn, Yong ponders Horowitz’s insights into her experience focusing on the sense of smell of her dog. Past residents of Horowitz’s room have left no ghostly visual traces, but their chemical traces are there for Finn to detect. “

This is all important information, but it doesn’t answer the underlying question. To do dog? Since we humans are such visual creatures, visual metaphors may be useful. Perhaps the “view” of the dog world is like a long-exposure photo, as the scent lasts longer. Finn “sees” the ghostly faded image of the dog that was here yesterday. He also has some clairvoyance ability (smell that passes through the surface), but he is a little myopia because the scent does not reach the light.

Overall, Yong avoids using metaphors for other senses, but when he indulges in them (or more often, when he cites a scientist who is making that imaginary leap). These are some of the books I keep thinking about. When asked what it would be like to echo-locate like a bat or a dolphin, Yong “touches with sound” and “the dolphin seems to reach out and squeeze the surroundings with fantastic hands. “.

But it is the animals that Yong never actually reaches Inside It is alive. As part of the Environment Revolution, scientists are looking for ways for other animals to weave sensory information into a consistent experience of the world. This is a squishy and controversial area of ​​comparative psychology and cognitive ethology, asking questions such as: Do dogs experience jealousy? ((((yes!! ) Do cats understand the cause and effect? ((((May not be!! ) Do dolphins have self-consciousness? ((((probably).

These discoveries extend our imagination and force us to think of new ways to experience the world. What does it mean to not feel a separation between yourself and your environment? How do you experience time if you slow down or speed up depending on your body temperature? Will cats push things off the shelves forever, as the results will never be amazing?

The “big world” does not completely draw the reader into the world of other animals, but it shows how much humans miss and misunderstand if they do not consider the worldview of other animals. I am. This in itself is a big achievement. Or, as Yong writes, “As Nagel predicted, this task will be difficult, but the effort has value and glory.”

Sadie Dingfelder is a Washington-based writer.

How animal sensations reveal hidden areas around us

Random house. 464pp. $ 30