“Animals are controlled by what they see.”
Temple Grandin, Animals in Translation
This line jumped out at me when I was on the plane to Billings earlier this week. Actually that was only yesterday. Today is only Tuesday? Crikey.
I am fascinated with this book already. I’m pretty sure the gent sitting next to me thought I was a little touched as I feverishly jotted down notes and thoughts sparked by Temple Grandin’s writing.
So much of her insight thus far has been about the differences between animals and humans, how detail-oriented animals are, how they perceive the world.
And how true is it, this fact that animals are controlled by what they see? While sight is certainly a factor for humans, I’d say we folks are more controlled by our thoughts and our emotions than by what we see.
I hope to share more of my thoughts on Temple Grandin’s ideas as I read through her literature, but I think this quote sums up the key theme of what we need to remember:
“This is the single most important thing to know about the way animals perceive the world: animals see details people don’t see.”
If we can remember that animals aren’t human, then maybe we humans will get along with our animals that much better.
I have read a few of Dr Grandin’s books and read some lectures. While I don’t agree with everything she has to say, her material has made more aware to learning about animal behavior and handling.