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Razengan | 5 days ago

I mean there are space physicists who don't understand dark matter, etc.

I think this is a "qualia" issue: Like for example biologists can find out what kind of light frequencies the eyes of a mantis shrimp can receive, but we'll never know what it FEELS like to be able to see a zillion times more colors.

You can see this happen with human languages too: Ever walk around in a different country? your brain doesn't even register the sounds other people are making.

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bitwize|5 days ago

It turns out that the fact that mantis shrimp have 12 different color receptors in their eyes means they can see... 12 colors. They can't combine the input from the different color receptors into a spectrum like we and other vertebrates can. Their eyes even perceive different things in different regions of the compound eye. It's a surprisingly limited visual system for all its supposed extra capabilities compared to ours, which to your point makes "seeing like a mantis shrimp" even more inscrutable from our POV.

Razengan|5 days ago

Nnnooooo they nerfed my hero!!