why I really do need a little beetle-sized robot and VR goggles...
Many people have been amusing themselves by giving their cats buttons that say words: "pets", "toy", "food", "mad" etc.
Cats will readily learn to press buttons if it prompts a reaction from humans. There is a lot of over-interpreting cat behavior. The words are so suggestive... but it seems fun for the cats and people.
It is ... telling that multiple cats enjoy pushing the "mad" button over and over. Maybe because humans find it funny? Or maybe because it is true.
I've considered how one might make such buttons for ants.
But there is a fundamental problem. Ants struggle to perceive us due to our huge size. We are more like weather and terrain to them.
So, to interact with ants you would need an ant-size avatar. As an ant-size object that moves you will be classified as either: food, enemy, symbiont or colony member
Symbiont seems like the most fruitful stance.
This is why I really do need a little beetle-sized robot and VR goggles.
Of course the idea of being beyond one's understanding due to sheer size is terrifying and fruitful in its own way.
What being do we fail to see because we think they are fundamental forces, or properties of space-time?