Why does the internet love cats?

  Are you like most of the guys who surf the internet most of the time? There's this one thing you can't escape from everywhere- cats! And it's the worst on YouTube! For those who don't know, cats may not be man’s best friend, but it rules the internet.

  "Cats" is one of the most-searched-for terms on the Internet, and YouTube videos starring cutest of them account for more than 26 billion views, making them the single most popular category on the site.

  No doubt cats are big on the web. Although the occasional panda, turtle or dog gets a slice of the viral action, cats are, and always are, the prevalent species to be found online. Why are there numerous kitty pics and videos cluttering up the Interwebs? And what's it about feline-themed content that creates it so weirdly shareable?

  Humans have always adored the cuteness of cats and felines and especially kittens. They're the perfect distraction from our hectic lives. You don't need any explanation or prior knowledge to understand the slapstick humor that animals provide. Their funny videos, images or even memes are easily digestible and do entertaining. And simply, they are viral due to their cuteness.

  Perhaps another reason for our obsession with all things feline stems from the fact that to this day, cats remain mysterious, wild creatures. Unlike dogs, which we domesticated and bred for our needs, cats basically domesticated themselves. As humans began farming, they moved in to prey on rodents attracted to crops, and they stuck around for the easy meals. 

  Cats have been with humans since 9000 years. Pretty old just like dogs. But cats were always given a high social status. They were worshipped and even some were mummified. Imagine, that level of respect. Still there's much about cats that scientists still can't find. Their weird behaviour, their habits, and how they self-domesticated and became how we want them.

  If you’ve ever spent much time around a cat, you’ve experienced firsthand that a cat’s affection isn’t freely given. You've got to earn it. That's damn true. Cats in my school didn't give me a shit of attention just like dogs did.  And this aloofness taps into a psychology principle referred to as scarcity, which basically argues that we give greater value to items that are scarce or difficult to get. In other words, when that adorable kitty pays attention to you, you would like to pet it that far more than a dog. I think it is the very disinterested behaviour of cats that creates us want to caption their thoughts, or put them ahead of a keyboard and see what happens. 

  Moreover, because we can’t possibly know what cats are thinking (due to lack of study), we assign human emotions and activities to them. We say that they’re grumpy or surprised or that they’re talking or playing piano. Indeed, some of the most famous felines earn their status not because they’re fluffy and cute, but because we attribute human characteristics to them. For instance, Cole and Marmalade: two rescued kitties that became youtube celebrities or Maru, the master of boxes and perhaps the most famous Grumpy cat. Also the cats have their own status in the meme world like the no no no no cat!

  While dog owners can meet fellow dog lovers on walks or at the local dog park, until the web, cat owners had no such place to attach with fellow feline lovers. But once they logged on, they didn’t simply find a couple of like-minded people — they found many them. Numerous studies have found that folks who identify as either cat people or dog people, possess certain characteristics. A University of Texas study concluded that folks preferring cats are more introverted, sensitive, non-conformist and artistic, and these traits are shared by many Internet users.

Posts before October 2021 have been marked as "Old Posts". Less likely, but they might have out dated or incorrect information, ugly looking bits of code, no labels, etc. Don't get me wrong, many of these posts are top-notch and interesting too.

I thought it would be better not to delete or revamp these posts, even if they suck. The bitter truth is that old works always suck, but I take that as a positive tool to convey that I am growing. Besides there's no better way to showcase my journey without these old, messy, poorly written posts!

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