Unconfirmed Reports

Lately, as I am back in Adelaide, I take my dogs for a walk every day.

I have noticed that they don’t seem to be aware of the leashes that they are wearing as they walk. The leashes are always there, every time they walk, controlling how far they can wander. This has been the case throughout their whole lives, but they don’t ever seem to have gained an insight into it. They often pull senselessly on the leash, apparently not understanding that it is a non-negotiable limitation on their movement. Or sometimes they turn and get their legs tangled in it, never having learnt to avoid this.

I thought, “how strange that an understanding of this leash system appears to be simply beyond their understanding. They perceive the leash momentarily when it effects them, but they seem unable to synthesise these perceptions into an understanding of how it works.”

Then I thought, “I wonder if humans are similarly influenced by things that we haven’t even begun to understand?”