I would not make a very good laboratory rat. I wouldn't. I'm not very good at learning basic repetitive tasks on the basis of their consequences. And even when I have learned them, I'm not very good at remembering them.
I forget to stand back when I open the oven door, so that I'm met by a rush of hot air in my face, and my glasses steam up. I then can't see whether the food is cooked or not. Every time I do it, I think "oh bother, I ALWAYS do that"
In the summer, I think to myself "oh, I'm sure I can just nip outside and hang the washing out without getting bitten by mosquitoes, if I'm quick". I always return back inside with 2 or 3 mosquito bites, and I think "oh bother, that ALWAYS happens".
I have finally cracked the car keys one. I have learned that if I don't put the car keys in the same place, every time, as soon as I walk into the house, then I will have a stressful few minutes looking for them when I am wanting to leave the house again. That's quite a complicated one, because it involves delayed negative consequences. Rather more advanced than avoiding the hot air rush and the mosquito bites. But it did take me a long time to exhibit consistent behaviour. I think the scientists would have given up on me long before I'd achieved it, and moved on to the next batch of rats. I'd have been patted on my ratty back, and let loose in a remote and beautiful woodland location where there were plentiful supplies for all my ratty needs, and other ex-working rats to make friends with. That's what they do when they retire laboratory rats, you know.
So come on people. Let's give the laboratory rats a little more credit for their achievements. It's not as easy as it looks.
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pretty sure i would be a lab rat failure too.
ReplyDeleteIt always surprises me that my silver necklace gets hot when I do the oven thing. Which given that we are celebrating dd's 7th birthday with a group of small people tomorrow for a birthday tea I have done many times today.
ReplyDeleteMy car keys have to stay in my handbag, otherwise I have to spend at least two weeks looking for them.
ReplyDeletei keep doing the same dumb things over and over and still expect a different outcome.
ReplyDeletei am a failure as a lab rat too.
;-)
I do the same with the carkeys; and I am always trying to persuade The Doctor to do likewise as he has a habit of leaving them in coat pockets. And the mosquitoes thing made me laugh - in the summer I kept thinking 'surely I don't need repellent on to go outside for ten seconds' and then regeretting it....
ReplyDeleteI'd be a useless rat, I think they would get frustrated and exterminate me after a week.
ReplyDeleteI finally figured out that I needed to put my work ID tag (which gets me into the building) back in the outside pocket of my laptop bag every day as I leave work. The secretary gets really snotty with me if she has to 'buzz' me in to the building. I still haven't quite got the hang of doing the same thing with the car keys - they can be in one of two places, one of which is my pocket and that means I have to remember what I was wearing the previous day.
ReplyDeleteIf they retired me as a lab rat I'd probably never figure out how to find my own food!
What would Skinner think of us all eh? I wonder if he'd have published anything if he'd used humans instead of rats for his experiments. At the age of 52 I am looking back on my life and seeing so many things that repetitive behaviour has got me into trouble with - we do learn, eventually!
ReplyDeleteAs I read this I realized I had no idea where my keys were. I do have a place near the door where they are supposed to go, but when I come home carrying things they inevitably get set down where the things I was carrying end up. I just found the keys in the kitchen next to the groceries.
ReplyDeleteOh good grief! It's no wonder they use rats and other rodents - they are far more intelligent than us (and I too do the oven thing with my glasses on!) I always suspected Douglas Adams was right...
ReplyDeleteOh don't worry, I do the oven thing too!
ReplyDeleteThe Ball & Chain has a go at me for losing my keys. It's alright for him. He comes in the back door every night, walks to his chosen place in the study, puts all his stuff in place (including keys) before he even acknowledges anyone.
ReplyDeleteMe- sometimes it's the front door, sometimes the back. Always with a rambunctious 6 year old, at least one instrument slung over my shoulder and perhaps a papier mache project from school. What I do with the keys is anyone's business. I am not ashamed.
You wear glassess?
ReplyDeleteI think a failed rat goes to the pet store.
ReplyDelete