In winter, when gardening gloves are hard to find, Willy doesn't become a mitten kitten. His offseason prey is dirty socks from the laundry room.

Despite his criminal nature, neighbors get a kick out of Willy. Cassone said the cat likes to accompany the mailman up and down the block, all the way to each front door.

Poor Willy. Can he be rehabilitated?

But I don't think tone is conventional wisdom. I do think it's obvious. Which is why I wonder if the paper's about something more subtle than that.

Oh, it is about something more subtle than tone in general -- it's about unconscious tone. People could "hear" if the speaker was looking at something moving fast or slow while they talked.

Isn't there a disorder, for instance, where the hearer can't interpret tone?

Don't a lot of autistics have difficulty interpreting tone and facial expression? Or is that something I made up in my head?

Is this what happens when kittens lose their mittens?

it's about unconscious tone

I'd say that's not unobvious either. I'd be more surprised at an assertion that tone is conscious.

I guess there's something I'm completely failing to get.

Maybe it's tone.

And in re the research about tones, I checked out the feral child site and one of the children - who grew up with dogs, I believe - can speak but does so flatly, with no expression (just as a matter of interest).

I'd say that's not unobvious either.

Me too.

Is this what happens when kittens lose their mittens?

Yes. Apparantly the cat's behavior is intended to circumvent the "no pie" consequence of losing mittens.

If people would stop talking about cats, maybe I could lose this "Cat came back" earworm. It's been days.

t /hec

We need a cat thread.

We could also kill two birds with one stone and make a Snakes on a Plane thread at the same time.