(Sorry for top-posting) Yep, part of the baby's hardware. Also, the interface is not limited to visual and auditory information: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pheromones-sex-lives/ ________________________________ From: Python-list <python-list-bounces+sjeik_appie=hotmail....@python.org> on behalf of Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2016 7:00:48 AM To: python-list@python.org Subject: Re: Is that forwards first or backwards first? (Re: unintuitive for-loop behavior)
On Tuesday 04 October 2016 14:51, Michael Torrie wrote: > On 10/03/2016 08:21 PM, Steve D'Aprano wrote: >> On Tue, 4 Oct 2016 05:48 am, Michael Torrie wrote: >> >>> There is that old, but false, saying that the only intuitive interface >>> is the nipple. Turns out everything, even that, is learned >> >> Citation required. > > Sure, just ask a nursing woman. [...] > Sucking seems to be instinctive but the actual interface is learned > (albeit very quickly) by experience. You say tomahto, I say tomarto. It sounds like we're using different language to describe the same thing. Babies do have an instinct to suck if you stick a nipple (or a finger) in their mouth, or even if you merely touch them on the lips or cheek: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5392 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primitive_reflexes#Rooting_reflex The rooting instinct, together with the sucking instinct, is present in all healthy babies. I would expect that only the most severe development abnormalities would prevent instincts as important for survival as these two. Between the rooting and sucking instincts, I consider "the only intuitive interface is the nipple" is correct. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that babies will suckle well: there are all sorts of reasons why babies don't breast-feed well, e.g.: http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=302&id=1960 > Babies don't just see a nipple and know what it's for. Of course the instinct isn't *visual* -- babies may not open their eyes for many minutes after birth (one study found that about 3% of babies hadn't opened their eyes within 20 minutes, the maximum time allotted) which may be long after their first suckle. Nevertheless, there are senses other than sight. -- Steven git gets easier once you get the basic idea that branches are homeomorphic endofunctors mapping submanifolds of a Hilbert space. -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
