On 9/17/2012 10:41 PM, George Plimpton wrote:
On 9/17/2012 8:35 PM, Richard wrote:
On 9/17/2012 10:34 PM, George Plimpton wrote:
On 9/17/2012 8:19 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
George Plimpton wrote:



I forget where I read that cats are taught to hunt by their mothers,
but
I'm pretty sure it's true.

Oh, absolutely true! We had a group of feral cats that invaded the
neighborhood for a while. I got to see the mom stalking something, and
the kittens were following her every move. The mom caught everything
from
chipmunks to rabbits!

Now I remember where it was - it was an excellent PBS documentary on
cats about 20 years ago. It showed cats that had never been taught to
hunt by their mothers, and when mice were put into an enclosure with the
cats, nothing happened.


An excellent metaphor for how people learn (to hunt/hate/hurt?)

I don't think it's a very good metaphor at all. People are capable of
independent thinking and don't blindly follow their parents' lead.



I disagree.