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Pavlov's Cats: Day One: Rang bell, cat fucked off. (Oh dear) Day Two: Rang bell, cat went and answered door. Day Three: Rang bell, cat said he had eaten earlier. (cheeky bugger) Day Four: Went to ring bell, but cat had stolen batteries. Final Day, Day Five: Went and rang bell with new batteries, but cat put his paw on bell so it only made a thunk noise. Then cat rang his own bell. I ate food.

Eddie Izzard#66

HumorAnimalsTraining

About this quote

What does it mean?
This subverts Pavlovian conditioning by showing a cat outsmarting its trainer.
In plain terms
A cat refuses training and eventually tricks the human into feeding it.
What can you take from it?
Agency and humor win over rigid systems.

Where it applies

  • training pets
  • workplace dynamics
  • learning

Putting it to work

  • respect autonomy
  • look for loopholes

Questions to consider

  • Can you teach an animal to think?
  • When did you outsmart a system?

Another view

It anthropomorphizes animal behavior for a joke.

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