In a time of chimpanzees, I was a penguin.
The religious right is motivated by the suspicion that someone, somewhere,
is having fun -- and that this must be stopped.
The Mighty Fang contemplates the notion that somehow government spending could be "crowding out" private investment in a world where short-term Treasuries are selling for 0% interest, and appears skeptical about the notion... even a cat, with a walnut-sized brain, isn't that dumb.
-- Badtux the Cat-owned Penguin
Oooh, SHINY!
Ground rules: Comments that consist solely of insults, fact-free talking points, are off-topic, or simply spam the same argument over and over will be deleted. The penguin is the only one allowed to be an ass here. All viewpoints, however, are welcomed, even if I disagree vehemently with you.
WARNING: You are entitled to create your own arguments, but you are NOT entitled to create your own facts. If you spew scientific denialism, or insist that the sky is purple, or otherwise insist that your made-up universe of pink unicorns and cotton candy trees is "real", well -- expect the banhammer.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
I believe it is a walnut-sized brain, but your actual milage may vary. (I'm not sure if that is shelled or unshelled, though).
ReplyDeleteOkay, updated ;).
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Walnut-sized-brain-owned Penguin
From Wikipedia
ReplyDeleteThe brain size of the average cat is 5 centimeters in length and 30 grams. Since the average cat is 60 cm long and 3.3 kg,[1] the brain makes up 1/12 of its length and 1/110 of its mass. Thus, the average cat's brain accounts for 0.9 percent of its total body mass, compared to 2 percent of total body mass in the average human. The surface area of a cat's cerebral cortex is approximately 83 cm². The modern human cerebral cortex is about 2500 cm².[2] Cat brains have been shown to be more similar to human brains than dog brains, and the part of the brain for emotions is the same in both cats and humans.[3] According to researchers at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, the physical structure of human brains and that of cats are very similar; they have the same lobes in the cerebral cortex (the "seat" of intelligence) as humans do. Human brains also function the same way, conveying data via many identical neurotransmitters.
Which does not explain their disdain.
Cheers!
JzB the pet-free trombonist
So, if our brains are so much larger, why do we have to go to work, and they just lay around the house? I think they've got us outsmarted...
ReplyDeleteBT - I hoped as a writer and cat person, you might enjoy this piece I wrote - any criticism is welcome.
ReplyDeletehttp://hubpages.com/hub/To-Stephanie
Marc, cats do work hard around the house, at least mine do. They make sure that objects on higher places get relocated to lower places where they're easier to reach, they make sure that any spider is properly squashed long before it can crawl across my foot and cause me to dance in dismay, and they properly inspect all boxes to ensure that they contain nothing that would impair a nap. Plus they purr and cuddle, which is clearly a huge task because they spend so much time doing it.
ReplyDeleteTampa, I really have nothing to say about your essay. It is something personal between you and the target of the essay and it would be presumptuous for me to comment on that.
Daisy Ernestine, my household energy conservation expert, with a brain the size of a walnut, suggests that The Mighty Fang is daydreaming about dinner.
ReplyDeleteFood is necessary before contemplation of more human-related things.
I think he's daydreaming more about jumping on my lap and cuddling. TMF is a very cuddly kitteh, he loves sitting on my lap and being cuddled close, he purrs and kneads and when I try typing either grabs my hand with his paw to pull it back into its proper place, or nips at my fingers that are doing the untoward thing of typing rather than stroking him.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Cat-dominated Penguin