Researchers Decipher Language of Spiders

23 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
  • |
Researchers at the University of Jersey Isle applied modern technology and the latest in linguistic tools to not only hear the sounds of spiders but decipher their language. Here's what they said, "
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    SO is this a joke I'm not getting, or did you post this accidentally before you finished it?
    Signature

    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8399913].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      SO is this a joke I'm not getting, or did you post this accidentally before you finished it?
      Oh, sorry, here's the translation:

      "Spiderman is awesome! He doesn't need a silly cape or baggy pants to be cool!"


      Disclaimer: These were spiders that inhabited a house with children, a large screen TV, and working parents. Results may differ with wild spiders.
      Signature

      Project HERE.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8401325].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author TLTheLiberator
    Are they smarter than dolphins???
    Signature

    "It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled. -- Mark Twain

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8400298].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    The fly that was next to it could be heard saying: "Heeeellp Meeeeeee"
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8400465].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Spiders don't chat much - they are too busy doing geometry in their heads to get the web angles just right.
      Signature
      Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
      ***
      Please do not 'release balloons' for celebrations. The balloons and trailing ribbons entangle birds and kill wildlife and livestock that think the balloons are food.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8400573].message }}
      • Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        Spiders don't chat much - they are too busy doing geometry in their heads to get the web angles just right.
        There is probably more truth to that than most people realize.
        Signature
        Arnold Stolting - Stolting Media Group
        "I LOVE The Song! The Vibe Is Positive And Firm!" - Kymani Marley. (Son of Bob Marley).

        "Very High Quality!" Jeremy Harding - Manager / Producer. Sean Paul.
        "They Are FANTASTIC!" - Willie Crawford.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8400699].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
          Originally Posted by thunderbird View Post

          Researchers at the University of Jersey Isle applied modern technology and the latest in linguistic tools to not only hear the sounds of spiders but decipher their language. Here's what they said, "
          You sure, l thought they said....























          Shane
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8400740].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
          Originally Posted by Kay King View Post
          Spiders don't chat much - they are too busy doing geometry in their heads to get the web angles just right.
          There is probably more truth to that than most people realize.
          Originally Posted by stoltingmediagroup View Post

          There is probably more truth to that than most people realize.
          That is an amazing concept and would have to be true. How else would they calculate how to make an intricately shaped web with available distance and space and objects? I don't think I ever thought about that, except maybe indirectly. That makes me suspect they must be the smartest bugs in nature, especially since they do it solo. BTW, here's an amazing video:

          Signature

          Project HERE.

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8401348].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Kay King
            Never wanted to be too close to spiders - but as a child I was fascinated with spider webs.

            If you go out in early morning when there's a blanket of dew - a spider web is beautiful. I used to "damage" one by messing up just one small portion of a garden spider's web...next day it would be repaired perfectly. (I always wondered if the spider was ticked off, though).

            Spiders have the suspension bridge concept under control and I think it's amazing how complex and perfectly proportioned their webs are.
            Signature
            Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
            ***
            Please do not 'release balloons' for celebrations. The balloons and trailing ribbons entangle birds and kill wildlife and livestock that think the balloons are food.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8402395].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
    Did you know that spiders hopped up on LSD actually spin webs more geometrically designed?

    Why did I mention this? Because I read it last week and I'll never be able to weave it into an actual conversation.
    Signature

    Raising a child is akin to knowing you're getting fired in 18 years and having to train your replacement without actively sabotaging them.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8402911].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Not being able to weave that into a conversation is probably for the best.

      So they gave spiders an itsy bitsy dose of LSD? Not cool.
      Signature
      Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
      ***
      Please do not 'release balloons' for celebrations. The balloons and trailing ribbons entangle birds and kill wildlife and livestock that think the balloons are food.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8403050].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
        Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        Not being able to weave that into a conversation is probably for the best.

        So they gave spiders an itsy bitsy dose of LSD? Not cool.
        They actually gave them doses of all kinds of drugs.

        While not the source I originally read (can't seem to find it now), this gives the gist:

        Mad Scientist #15: Peter N. Witt |
        Signature

        Raising a child is akin to knowing you're getting fired in 18 years and having to train your replacement without actively sabotaging them.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8403076].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
          Originally Posted by Dan Riffle View Post

          Alternatively titled, "Bugs on Drugs."

          It's funny that the most pronounced negative effect was from caffeine.
          Signature
          .
          Stop by Paul's Pub - my little hangout on Facebook.

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8404528].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
            Originally Posted by Dan Riffle View Post

            Did you know that spiders hopped up on LSD actually spin webs more geometrically designed?

            Why did I mention this? Because I read it last week and I'll never be able to weave it into an actual conversation.
            I would think if you and whoever you are speaking to were both on LSD, you could weave it in to that conversation very well..

            Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

            Alternatively titled, "Bugs on Drugs."

            It's funny that the most pronounced negative effect was from caffeine.
            Ah...that explains a LOT
            Signature

            Are you protecting your on line business? If you have a website, blog, ecommerce store you NEED to back it up regularly. Your webhost will only protect you so much. Check out Quirkel. Protect yourself.

            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8404542].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
        Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        Not being able to weave that into a conversation is probably for the best.

        So they gave spiders an itsy bitsy dose of LSD? Not cool.
        I recall seeing a joke video about the effects of LSD on spiders, but it turns out that researchers really did test the effects of drugs on spiders:
        Effect of psychoactive drugs on animals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        " At small doses of caffeine (10 µg/spider), the webs were smaller; the radii were uneven, but the regularity of the circles was unaffected. At higher doses (100 µg/spider), the shape changed more, and the web design became irregular. All the drugs tested reduced web regularity except for small doses (0.1–0.3 µg) of LSD, which resulted in more ordered webs."

        The more I look into spiders, the more I suspect that they are probably intelligent. It turns out that, except for a few species, venomous spiders rarely bite humans and most "spider bites" turn out to be something else entirely. Why would a smart bug pick a fight with a large animal such as a human, unless the spider was on PCP, steroids, or something?

        The spider that bit Spiderman ordinarily would not have bit him, but was traumatized, suffering from the effects of exposure to radiation during scientific experiments.
        Signature

        Project HERE.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8403093].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author lcombs
        Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        Not being able to weave that into a conversation is probably for the best.

        So they gave spiders an itsy bitsy dose of LSD? Not cool.
        I don't know.... sounds pretty cool to me.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8410937].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by Dan Riffle View Post

      Did you know that spiders hopped up on LSD actually spin webs more geometrically designed?

      Why did I mention this? Because I read it last week and I'll never be able to weave it into an actual conversation.
      AKA the articulated Timothy Leary spider...
      Signature
      Discover the fastest and easiest ways to create your own valuable products.
      Tons of FREE Public Domain content you can use to make your own content, PLR, digital and POD products.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8410990].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
    Physics students calculated that Spiderman's webs really would be able to stop speeding trains:

    Science proves Spider-Man's webs really can stop a subway train | DVICE

    Here's a person's interesting observation of a spider's intelligent behavior:
    Just how smart are spiders?
    "For the last month or so, I've had a spider living outside of my office window. He started out small and has grown to a pretty good size, body being about a nickel around, much bigger if you count the legs. His presence means I've been watching him eat a lot of small bugs from about two feet away. Lately he seems to have perfected his technique: he no longer has his web across the window, but at an angle to it, and instead of running across his web to grab his latest victim, he has a zip line from his perch at the top of the web to its center. That zip line allows him to cover the two feet to the center of the web in startling quickness.

    While watching him, I saw something that suggested to me he was a lot “smarter” than I gave him credit for. A small hornet, about the same body size as the spider, flew into his web and was putting up a hell of a struggle. Spidey zipp-lined down to him and probed him with a few touches of his legs, then backed off, made an opening in the web, came around the other side and started spinning his web on the wasp where he was safer from getting stung. So I'm sitting here thinking that Spidey was pretty clever working out a solution to situation he'd never faced before. I'm watching this little drama play out when a wasp, what we call a mud dauber, does a fly by and starts hovering around the web. Mud daubers hunt spiders, sting them, which puts the spider in a coma, and then puts them in their little mud nests for their larva to feed on when they hatch. Kind of like Alien.

    Anyway, as soon as the wasp flies by, Spidey becomes completely motionless, you could tell, if you did a little anthropomorphic projecting, that he was crapping his little spider pants. The hornet that Spidey was spinning up is still struggling in the web and the movement seemed to be attracting the attention of the wasp. I was stunned to see Spidey, very slowly and carefully, extend one leg all the way out and place it on the hornet, in effect pushing it into the web and holding it still. He did this until the mud dauber flew away. He waited a full 30 seconds before moving again and then he hurriedly finished wrapping up the hornet, did his quick vampire bite, and then dashed back up to his perch with the hornet in tow.

    So that got me thinking. I always figured spiders operated on instinct, never gave them or any other insect much in the way of 'intelligence' but after witnessing the events today, I'd say these guys are running a pretty big program in their little brains. Anybody have any real knowledge on the matter?"
    Signature

    Project HERE.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8404963].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author USA
    Originally Posted by thunderbird View Post

    Researchers at the University of Jersey Isle applied modern technology and the latest in linguistic tools to not only hear the sounds of spiders but decipher their language. Here's what they said, "
    I read the research paper that the scientists originally published about this.

    I believe the first translation they were able to decipher was a conversation between some type of orb weaver who was conversing with a house fly caught in her web. It went something like this...

    "It is I" said the spider to the fly!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8406160].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Big Rob
    It turns out that, except for a few species, venomous spiders rarely bite humans and most "spider bites" turn out to be something else entirely.
    The Brown Recluse and Black Widow are very prevalent in my area.
    And aggressive.
    Yay,Florida!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8406209].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author USA
      Originally Posted by Big Rob View Post

      The Brown Recluse and Black Widow are very prevalent in my area.
      And aggressive.
      Yay,Florida!

      Actually we have many more brown widows than black widows here in Florida, at least on the Gulf Coast. I sometimes find in upwards of 50 or more at a time (no kidding) nesting around the outside perimeter of my home. They love my mailbox!

      The brown widow varies in color from a light tan to black. The are typically larger than the black too. I was troubleshooting an electrical problem at Florida Gulf Coast University and encountered a momma and her egg clusters under a fried circuit board. The egg sacs had numerous spikes on them. I found more of them throughout the area I was working and showed to the folks at FGCU. They called a professor from the biology department over and he filled me in about the brown widow.

      If the widows have spiked egg sacs, regardless of their coloration, they are of the brown widow species. He told me that are an introduced species (I believe he said South America), and are proliferating all up and down the west coast of Florida. The prof. said that their venom is more toxic than that of our own species, but that they are not as aggressive, except when the female is defending her eggs.

      Their appearance in great numbers appears to be cyclical. Some years there are hundreds of them on my property (they even nest under the hood and fenders of my vehicles), and other years there are not so many of them.

      I've only come across a few brown recluses.

      The only problem I have with the widows is my wife!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8406299].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    This reminds me of the book Everything Men Know About Women « Randommization

    -Ray Edwards
    Signature
    The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8411883].message }}

Trending Topics