Random variable rewards

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Lisa writes: I was at a girls-only birthday dinner last night and left Tom to his own devices. He took a nap, ate some food, and took a walk. Alone. He took a walk all by himself. Ostensibly, he was getting exercise. Secretly, maybe even subconsciously, I'll bet he was looking for a cat.

It's just straight-up B.F. Skinner. Operant conditioning. He loves cats. One night, we go for a walk and come home with a cat. Ergo, he will go on many, many more walks. It's the same reason people gamble. It's the same reason I check my email 800,000 times a day. It's the same reason you keep checking this blog. There's usually nothing, but there might be something good.

Comments

Jen said…
Why no cat, Lisa? They are beautiful and mysterious and poorly behaved! What more could you want in a pet?

We have a part-time cat, Shenehneh, that we share with our neighbor. She visits us after Linus Paul goes to bed. It is a perfect arrangement.
3:42 PM
Lisa said…
Sadly, allergies. Both of us. And there is really no good substitute for people who aren't home a lot and want an interactive pet. (sigh)
4:57 PM
Anonymous said…
How about a hypo-allergenic cat, like Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers movies? They're so ugly, they're cute. Still, the hamster thing is a viable option. How about another chinchilla?
8:58 PM
Jen said…
Do NOT get a parrot. Red is home 5 days a week, and Linus still enjoys punishing us on the mere 2 days he is home alone by:

1. Shredding all of our unread magazines
2. Pulling the ink cartridges out of all our pens
3. Taking single bites out of every single fingerling potato in a kitchen basket
4. Knocking my kitchen vase full of fresh herbs into the sink, then shredding said herbs.

Interactive! One of his nicknames is the Grey Destroyer.
2:39 PM
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