"Picture someone washing their hands. The water running down the drain is a deep red. How you interpret this scene depends on its setting, and your history. If the person is in a gas station bathroom, and you just saw the latest true-crime series, these are the ablutions of a serial killer. If the person is at a kitchen sink, then perhaps they cut themselves while preparing a meal."
"How we act in the world is also specific to our species; we all live in an 'umwelt', or self-centred world, in the words of the philosopher-biologist Jakob von Uexküll (1864-1944). It's not as simple as just taking in all the sensory information and then making a decision. First, our particular eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin already filter what we can see, hear, smell, taste and feel."
Identical sensory input can lead to different interpretations depending on context and individual experience, such as crime, accident, or art. Organisms inhabit species-specific umwelten where sensory organs filter available information and exclude signals like ultraviolet or infrasound. Body size and shape constrain possible actions and create trade-offs between capability and vulnerability, exemplified by parkour athletes versus cats. Environmental changes, including seasonal shifts in vegetation, alter resource availability and cascade through food webs. Animals must negotiate sensory limitations, bodily constraints, and dynamic environments to exploit opportunities and persist.
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