My Dog is Smarter than Your Toddler
Plus a book preorder.
Reminder: if you only want to read War of the Worlds and don’t want to read my blather, adjust your setting here.
Book Preorder
I had one goal over the holidays: finish final revisions on my first novel and set a release date. (I also had plans to eat too much sauerbraten and marzipan, but they were never in doubt.)
I’ll be releasing Shadows of the Past, the first book in The Great War of the Worlds series, on March 15th, and you can preorder it right here. That's a universal book link that will let you choose your favorite e-book e-tailer.
Blue Eye Samurai
Finishing my revisions meant I could finally look at Blue Eye Samurai, and I was not disappointed!
Blue Eye Samurai is an animated series on Netflix. It's set during the early part of Japan's Edo period, when the country was effectively shut down to foreigners. The main character has a Japanese mother and westerner father, and is seeking revenge on their absentee father.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse showed studios that animation can do more than slip clever double entendre into their shows to appeal to adults. Blue Eye Samurai is a show that got the message. The artwork is superlative, with a unique mix of three- and two-dimensional scenes, and masterful visual storytelling. The voice acting is exceptional.
I don't want to go into the plot because it might surprise you in the first few episodes. While it's not quite revolutionary, the writers make some interesting choices and avoid giving us another entry in the blood-spattered revenge porn genre.
Smart Dogs
I was a dog trainer in an earlier life. I dipped a toe back into training in 2021, but stopped when the place I was working at closed, and may go back to teaching classes this year.
Two things got me interested in dog training. The first was a puppy from hell. The second was finding out just how freaking cool animal behavior is. It has a lot in common with computer programming and dogs are like point and click coding on a computer for toddlers.
Dogs have adapted to our needs in a unique way. It’s not fluffy hyperbole to say that we have a special relationship with our canine friends. I came across this article about dogs on Ars Technica, and it reminded me of how exceptional this situation is.
Research has shown that if you point at an object, a dog will interpret the gesture as a directional cue, unlike a human toddler, who will more likely focus on the object itself.
That's right. Dogs understanding pointing better than human toddlers do. Earlier studies showed that they understand human body language better than primates.
And on that note, it’s Sci-Friday! That’s the day where you can find a whole mess of science and science-fiction related content on Substack.
Check out a few of my fellow Sci-Fridayers (Fridayens? Friars?) :
There are many, many, more. If you pop onto Notes, you’re sure to find them.
Have a great weekend!
Refer a subscriber to my list from this link, to get a free ebook copy of Shadows of the Past!
Eric Goebelbecker
Trick of the Tale LLC
25 Veterans Plaza #5276
Bergenfield, NJ 07621-9998