A bogong moth will never know what a zebra finch hears in its song, a zebra finch will never feel the electric buzz of a black ghost knifefish, a knifefish will never see through the eyes of a mantis shrimp, a mantis shrimp will never smell the way a dog can, and a dog will never understand what it is like to be a bat. We will never fully do any of these things either, but we are the only animal that can even come close. We may not ever know what it is to be an octopus, but at least we know that octopuses exist, and that their experiences differ from ours. Through patient observation, through
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