• FancyLad @lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    One time, I got a job at a large, chain electronics store as a warehouse associate. They already had a guy there named Tim, but they immediately decided that they liked me more than him, and renamed that Tim (that worked there for 2 years) to “Other Tim.”

  • scarabic@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Oh snap! I once worked somewhere that already had a guy with my name and he asked me to use some other name. I thought that was bad enough (and told him no). But this is next level.

    • chatokun@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 days ago

      I know that’s a joke, but I worked with a friend who’d regularly discuss 4chan with me. I also sadly witnessed him slowly go from just laughing at Trump to supporting him, though that was back in 2015-2016. I moved and stopped using Facebook, so I haven’t had any recent contact with him.

      Edit whoops, this is cats. If politics isn’t allowed here I can edit this.

  • OrangeEnot@lemm.ee
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    10 days ago

    Honorifics work well in cases like this. Call the cat Connor-sama and the human Connor-kun.

  • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    Jokes aside, it’s probably easier for the cat to learn to ignore “Human Connor” than it is to learn a new name for themselves, right?

    • Chris@feddit.uk
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      10 days ago

      It’s probably easier for the human to recognise “Human Connor” than it is for the cat to learn a new name, right?

      • ms.lane@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        The cat isn’t going to understand ‘human’ either, so it’s just <human noises> CONNER <more human noises, where are the treats?>

        • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          Cats can definitely recognize phrases made up of multiple words, as words themselves don’t have a meaning for them.

    • gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com
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      10 days ago

      I dunno, I changed my cat’s name after my ex left (she named him Tiny Rick and I thought that was fucking stupid) and he bounced right back. He was maybe 3 at the time. It’s been nearly 8 years and he comes when called by his “new” name just fine.

      • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        Sure, I’m not saying it doesn’t work. But it’s probably gonna be pretty confusing for the cat to hear its name for no reason. I’m assuming you didn’t run around saying “Tiny Rick” every day for those 8 years?

        • gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com
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          10 days ago

          To the cat, wouldn’t saying its name at all be for “no reason,” even if it understands its name? It can’t really infer human reasoning unless it’s got something to do with feeding it or offering some other kind of direct interaction.

          Getting a cat to come when called mostly hinges on its ability to recognize a benefit to coming over, not on its ability to recognize a specific word (though you can use a word as reinforcement once the desired behaviour is achieved). This is how you can train a cat to come when you say anything at all — its name isn’t a magic word that unlocks secret cat behaviour, it’s about the conditioning behind it.

          All that to say that animals can recognize and respond to a new name, word, or action pretty easily when you use treats and positive reinforcement. My other cat (who recently passed away 😭) came running when I tapped my fingers on the ground because that was heavily associated with giving him treats and pets; I didn’t have to use his name to have him look at me or come over, he just did it based on the expectations that I fostered in him.

          • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            To the cat, wouldn’t saying its name at all be for “no reason,” even if it understands its name? It can’t really infer human reasoning unless it’s got something to do with feeding it or offering some other kind of direct interaction.

            I wasn’t talking about the cat understanding human reasoning. Animals learn to respond to their names because they learn that certain things will happen after (e.g. getting food, pets, getting scolded or whatever). If then suddenly they keep hearing the same name, but all the interactions they’ve learned are stopped, they’ll be very confused.

            Imagine if other people suddenly decided to change your name without telling you why, but they keep using your name every day. Wouldn’t feel nice, would it? It’s one thing if you totally stop using the name (like with “Tiny Rick”), but that’s not what the post is about.

    • kubica@fedia.io
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      10 days ago

      I’m not sure, maybe we underrate them. I knew of a dog that also answered to being called by two different names, it was so amusing when I saw it.

    • psx_crab@lemmy.zip
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      10 days ago

      The cat been responded to “connor” for so long, adding a “human” or “cat” at the front mean nothing to them.

      • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        I think they can learn to ignore “human Connor” fairly quickly when they don’t get the response they know/want.

      • redhorsejacket@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        He’s upset enough that he voiced his preference. Choosing to ignore that stated preference might be fine in this context, or it might not be. But, assuming that someone is not actually upset about a behavior that they’ve requsted change seems like an unnecessary leap of faith.

          • redhorsejacket@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            I mean, we can only go off of what is presented in the story, while acknowledging it’s 4chan and therefore both fake and gay. Within that frame, the new guy has been tagged with a nickname, he has mentioned to his colleagues that he’d prefer they not call him the nickname, and they are continuing to call him the name he’s expressly said he’d prefer they didn’t use. That’s a textbook hostile work environment, at a minimum.