Who knows the truth about Lucrezia Borgia? Did she poison people with toxins hidden in a hollow ring, leading them to food that would kill them? Did victims or friends trust her as she offered them food or drink during the Banquet of the Chestnuts in the Vatican Palace? Is the whole story of the ring a fiction? Who could tell? Maybe Fido.
Let’s make this succinct. The title of an article by Lucrezia Lonardo and others is “Dogs follow human misleading suggestions more often when the informant has a false belief.” * Lucrezia—the twenty-first-century Lucrezia, not the Renaissance Lucrezia—ran an experiment that involved dogs following the instructions of a person with a false belief or the instructions by a person with a true belief. The belief centered on whether or not food was available in one of two buckets that had been switched in the presence of the dog by a third person in either the absence or the presence of the persons with true or false beliefs. Go back. Look at that title again.
Here are buckets publicly offered. Bucket A: Newscaster #1 believes falsely the claims of a politician who is lying. Bucket B: Newscaster #2 believes claims by a truthful politician.
Here’s your test: Determine which informant has a false belief in the truth of a claim.
Are you as insightful as a dog? Would you have known whether or not the Renaissance Lucrezia was offering you edible or toxic food and drink? On what grounds do you decide to follow the instructions of an informant? See whether or not you can sniff out the truth in tonight’s news. Choose your bucket wisely; otherwise, you’ll look for truth in an empty bucket. Read well the intentions of those who invite you to dine at their tables. Both truthful and untruthful Lucrezias throw banquets. Look out for the one wearing the hollow ring.
*Lonardo, Lucrezia, et al. 21 July 2021. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, published online at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.090
Let’s make this succinct. The title of an article by Lucrezia Lonardo and others is “Dogs follow human misleading suggestions more often when the informant has a false belief.” * Lucrezia—the twenty-first-century Lucrezia, not the Renaissance Lucrezia—ran an experiment that involved dogs following the instructions of a person with a false belief or the instructions by a person with a true belief. The belief centered on whether or not food was available in one of two buckets that had been switched in the presence of the dog by a third person in either the absence or the presence of the persons with true or false beliefs. Go back. Look at that title again.
Here are buckets publicly offered. Bucket A: Newscaster #1 believes falsely the claims of a politician who is lying. Bucket B: Newscaster #2 believes claims by a truthful politician.
Here’s your test: Determine which informant has a false belief in the truth of a claim.
Are you as insightful as a dog? Would you have known whether or not the Renaissance Lucrezia was offering you edible or toxic food and drink? On what grounds do you decide to follow the instructions of an informant? See whether or not you can sniff out the truth in tonight’s news. Choose your bucket wisely; otherwise, you’ll look for truth in an empty bucket. Read well the intentions of those who invite you to dine at their tables. Both truthful and untruthful Lucrezias throw banquets. Look out for the one wearing the hollow ring.
*Lonardo, Lucrezia, et al. 21 July 2021. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, published online at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.090
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