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TED: Susan Savage-Rumbaugh - Animals which are a lot like us

submitted by drattus

1 decade 6 years 8 months 1 week ago

Savage-Rumbaugh asks whether uniquely human traits, and other animals' behaviors, are hardwired by species. Then she rolls a video that makes you think: maybe not. The bonobo apes she works with understand spoken English. One follows her instructions to take a cigarette lighter from her pocket and use it to start a fire. Bonobos are shown making tools, drawing symbols to communicate, and playing Pac-Man -- all tasks learned just by watching. Maybe it's not always biology that causes a species to act as it does, she suggests. Maybe it's cultural exposure to how things are done.

http://www.ted.com

7 Comments

it's exciting to see scientists looking at the role of culture within a species and how this is a learned thing. our children learn to do and speak by watching and listening. makes sense that other species do the same and rather humbling that our culture can be acquired by another species so easily.

It's almost like evolution is true!

did you notice the apes are smoking cigarettes in a couple scenes?

That's why they have those little smoking monkey toys, with the teensy ciggies that blow smoke-rings....and those monkeys that steal cameras from the tourists at temples? They find those things full of pictures, of tourists doing cute things.

ah the bonobos... the shameless apes...

Tags for this video have been changed from 'evolution, biology, species development' to 'evolution, biology, species development, bonobo, chimpanzee' - edited by jonny

8 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.

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