ROBERT SCHNECK: Artificial ears

Japan is a remarkable place. Despite earthquakes, tsunamis and reactor meltdowns they still manage to produce surreally cute devices that are both endearing and vaguely disconcerting. Consider the negomimi:

'From the cybernetic labs of Japan come these moving cat ears, which purportedly adjust themselves in response to your thoughts or mood...the ears seemed eerily good at foreshadowing facial and vocal expressions, leading the more poker faced among us to wonder if they don't give away too much.'

(Full story and video at: http://gawker.com/5800564/mind-reading-cat-ears-promise-endless-embarrassment)

An even more interesting possibility is the way animals, for whom an ear-flick can be an invitation to romance or a challenge to butt heads, might react.