# What animals' capabilities don't have a technological counterpart? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684 "2006-11-16T15:25:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/21 "2006-11-18T04:15:55Z")
[QUOTE=Whack-a-Mole] Planes can fly but are not as nimble as a sparrow. [/QUOTE] True. And as soon as scientists figure out an aircraft that is as nimble as a sparrow, a dragonfly will land on the microphone at their first press conference. And they will despair. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/22 "2006-11-18T05:47:11Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Tell me how flocks of birds change direction… [/QUOTE] [Flocking Algorithms](http://www.red3d.com/cwr/boids/) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/23 "2006-11-18T05:48:05Z")
[QUOTE=Whack-a-Mole] Planes can fly but are not as nimble as a sparrow. [/QUOTE] Indeed - and there are birds that make sparrows look sluggish. It may also be worth noting that in terms of varying their geometry, the best aircraft are ridiculously far behind birds. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/24 "2006-11-18T06:12:53Z")
I understand some municipalities use bluegill to detect toxins in the public water supply. The fish respond to respiratory stress more quicky and accurately than our finest sensors. The price is right, too. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/25 "2006-11-18T10:33:36Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] The gecko’s ability to cling to any object is so far unparalleled. Though maybe not too long from now they’ll have a synthetic material that duplicates the pads of a gecko’s toes. [/QUOTE] In development; I read about it a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/26 "2006-11-18T12:23:30Z")
Love. Compassion. Curiosity. Humor. Envy. Empathy. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/27 "2006-11-18T20:23:09Z")
Efficiency is a big issue. Bacteria can synthesise proteins far faster–and on a much greater scale–than we can in the lab, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/28 "2006-11-18T21:04:48Z")
Insect immune systems are pretty impressive. We don’t have anything that will give us the amazing arthropod ability to fend off various parasites and pathogens. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/29 "2006-11-18T21:06:41Z")
I’m pretty sure we can’t turn flower nector into honey using technology, so the bees have us there. ---
**Author:** ![Gridnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ee59a6/32.png) [@Gridnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gridnak)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/30 "2006-11-18T21:11:19Z")
I don’t think we’ve managed to create a material matching the light weight, strength and elasticity of spider silk yet. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/31 "2006-11-18T21:26:27Z")
Walking, sure we can do it, but our robots suck at it. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/32 "2006-11-18T23:07:40Z")
Which technological capabilities don’t have a biological counterpart? I’d say: The ability to manipulate nuclear energy Supersonic flight (not even botflies) Space travel ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/33 "2006-11-19T02:10:08Z")
I think the converse is rather easy. Almost all machines don’t have a biological counterpart because if there was one, we wouldnt use a machine. Walk through any modern industrial plant and try imagining animals doing any of that stuff. They can’t lift as much, crush as strong, handle hot metals, everything. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/34 "2006-11-19T03:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Dogs (and maybe cats if they gave a fuck) can instantly identify their owner and other members of the family no matter what they are wearing, in dark or light, and out of large groups of people almost instantly and keep track of where they are with total ease. Show me a device that can do that. [/QUOTE] I dunno about that. I got out of my car once, at home, wearing a ball cap which I rarely do. All three dogs were barking hysterically, which is not their usual greeting (Being hounds they bell instead). After puzzling over it a moment I took off the cap and they shut up. I swear one looked a little sheepish. Maybe I got dud dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/35 "2006-11-19T04:36:51Z")
[QUOTE=DesertDog] All three dogs were barking hysterically, which is not their usual greeting (Being hounds they bell instead). [/QUOTE] Sorry for going off topic, but could you explain this? What does it mean for a hound to “bell?” Is that the “rowwr rowwr rowwr” sound that they make when they get excited? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/36 "2006-11-19T05:05:04Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Tell me how flocks of birds change direction, [/QUOTE] See my Staff Report: How does a flock of birds wheel and swoop in unison? ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/37 "2006-11-19T08:06:02Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] In development; I read about it a few years ago. [/QUOTE] [Linky.](http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3726) Machines still suck at dealing with changes. Sure, a robot can build a car - if all the parts come down the line in the predefined order, alignment, etc. But if you want to have the robot build a different car, a human still has to load a different program, make sure the correct parts are in place, and so on. If the old parts are still there but the robot has the new program, there will be problems. Also, they still haven’t made a machine that can repair itself. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/38 "2006-11-19T08:19:38Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Show me a device that can do that. [/QUOTE] RFID ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/39 "2006-11-21T04:36:02Z")
No form of technology seems to be able to determine the effects of administration of chemicals or drugs, especially when the administration of multiple chemicals/drugs create synergistic effects. That’s why we can not give up on animal testing now (at least, in cases where the testing is important - I don’t think anyone would say exposing rabbit eyes to hundreds of times normal human exposure of shampoo is really useful.) We just don’t have the technology to tell us what would happen. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684/40 "2006-11-21T11:21:06Z")
[QUOTE=rabbit] The demo had a guy “looking” through walls of plastic and metal and being able to “see” the shape of whatever was behind them. Quite neat actually. [/QUOTE] [Something like this?](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/3000260.stm) [QUOTE=Napier] Love. Compassion. Curiosity. Humor. Envy. Empathy. [/QUOTE] You do understand that eventually the machines will develop these, just as they’re about to wipe out humanity and we’ll all live happily ever after. Either that or exploit them as a human weakness 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-capabilities-dont-have-a-technological-counterpart/380684.md?page=1)