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This Atlas Obscura story about a Japanese diver who has been friends for 25 years with a fish, a sheepshead wrasse, is an awfully cute story.


It also makes me wonder about changing human perceptions about fish. Until relatively recently, the consensus both scientific and popular seems to be that fish were not at all bright, that they were barely more than automatons. The idea of fish as beings that—for instance—might be worthy of concern or care was just not there.

This has started to change recently. Not only are there stories like this, but there have recently been scientific studies suggesting cognition among fish is more complex than we once thought. They can have enduring memories, personalities, social skills, even a liking for play. If cephalopods, once feared as monsters, can start to gain a reputation as cute smart things, surely fish cannot be far behind. We have Finding Nemo, after all.

I wonder if we can advance the timetable for recognizing fish skills and even empathizing with fish by much. I am inclined to say not: as smart as many fish may be, they are (in aggregate) less smart, less like us, and less in regular contact than other species pop culture and science began to praise. Or am I wrong?
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