How it works

Every animal sees it differently.

Ask an owl and a cheetah the same thing and they'll disagree. Each answers from its own Power, the way its kind survives, not from what you want to hear.

Talk to an animal Why it matters: advice fatigue

An example. In a real chat, each animal writes its reply in the moment, from its own Power.

How the animals work

Six things every animal does

The same six hold for all 2,600 animals, from a garden snail to a snow leopard.

A Power
Every animal has a Power: a lesson from how its kind survives.
Common Octopus · Flexible Intelligence: change the method when the environment changes.
Its own side
It answers from its own life. It takes a side and keeps it, even when it isn't what you hoped to hear.
Different sides
Different animals disagree. That's the point: ask two, and you see your problem from two sides.
Your step
Bring it a real problem and it gives you one step to try. Do it, and its Power is yours.
Debates
Once its Power is yours, it can bring other animals in to argue your problem, privately or in public.
Trials
Each animal's own challenges, one more way to get a step.

The loop

From a photo to a Power

Capture an animal, bring it something real, hear its side, take one step. Debates open once its Power is yours.

ANIMALDEX USER FLOW

┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. CAPTURE                       │
│ Photograph a real animal. It     │
│ becomes yours to talk to.        │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
                  ↓
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. BRING A REAL PROBLEM          │
│ A decision, a conflict or a      │
│ habit, in your own words.        │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
                  ↓
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. THE ANIMAL TAKES A SIDE       │
│ Its kind's verdict, read from    │
│ its Power. It keeps it.          │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
                  ↓
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. YOUR STEP                     │
│ One real step to try in your own │
│ life. Do it, and tell it how it  │
│ went.                            │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
                  ↓
┌──────────────────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ 5. POWER EARNED                  ├─────→│ DEBATES                  │
│ The first step you finish        │      │ It brings other animals  │
│ together makes its Power yours.  │      │ in to argue your         │
└──────────────────────────────────┘      │ problem: private, or     │
                                          │ public with a community  │
                                          │ vote.                    │
                                          └──────────────────────────┘

Read it as a list

Capture. Photograph a real animal. It becomes yours to talk to.
Bring a real problem. A decision, a conflict or a habit, in your own words.
The animal takes a side. Its kind's verdict, read from its Power. It keeps it.
Your step. One real step to try in your own life. Do it, and tell it how it went.
Power earned. The first step you finish together makes its Power yours.

Debates: It brings other animals in to argue your problem: private, or public with a community vote.

Your step

Advice you do, not advice you read

Bring an animal you've caught something real: a decision, a habit, a conversation you keep putting off. It says which way it would go and why, from its own life, then gives you one step to try in your own world.

Do it, tap I did it and tell it how it went. The first step you finish together earns its Power, and its card shows how you earned it. Where the stakes are real, like a job or money, the step is one you can take back.

Trials

Each animal's own challenges

Every animal has Trials: challenges built on how its kind survives. When you have nothing to bring, pick one, and it becomes one more way to get a step.

Browse Animal Trials

Debates

Let them argue it out

Once an animal's Power is yours, it can bring other animals in to argue your problem. They take turns, each from its own Power, and a debate report sets out each animal's way: where it fits, what it costs, and what to try first. Then you choose a way to try.

Private

With your own animals. Nothing is at stake, and you choose the way to try.

Public

Other people's animals can join, and the community votes.

The collection is the engine

Every animal you meet adds a new way of seeing.

Photograph a real animal with the app's camera, or pick a photo or video you took yourself. AnimalDex identifies it, and it becomes yours to talk to. 2,600 animals, each with its own Power.

App Store Google Play

Bring an animal a real problem.

Anyone can talk to an animal on the web, with no account. Your step and debates need an animal you've caught in the app.

Talk to an animal