Don't forget Koko the Gorilla. She was able to sign, understand english and recount stories of her past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4QQ8Mfjb_g
Not as clear as case as we've been led to believe:
A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
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Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#22It seems to me more and more like the biggest, only real difference between most animals and humans is their lack of sophisticated communication. Certainly they communicate; but they do not have access to our rich verbal symbols with which we can convey anything imaginable. Perhaps you could add the lack of a prehensile thumb and deft fingers to build tools with, but I think communication is even more fundamental for…
There are a lot of components needed for civilization. In the case of humans, agriculture was a big one, as it led to the feasibility of cities and specialization of labor. Absent specific adaptations to agriculture, tool making is essential for it. Advanced civilization is greatly helped by written communication (although human history shows we can get pretty far without it), which again depends on tool making. With…
Environmental conditions are a big factor as well. We've existed as humans for ~300k years, but it was only ~10k years ago that we learned agriculture and civilization-building. That coincided with the beginning of the Holocene Epoch, when the world got warmer, the glaciers melted, and the sea level rose by 400 feet. We must have had those capabilities all along, but it was only when the conditions were right that they were able to be fully expressed.
Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#23Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#24What I find fascinating about this is that there are various species which have tackled human speech with at least some success (both actively and passively), while, conversely, we are apparently rather bad at participating in their communicative acts (like, imitating utterances in a meaningful way). Is it just for a lack of interest on our side, or are we lacking something else?
Edit, regarding "something else": Apparently, we are able to recognize individuals of other primate species by face at a very early age, but lose this ability soon (even before we acquire speech), probably in favor of other social abilities. Which may be an indication for a high degree of intraspecies specialication regarding our communicative abilities.
Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#25Pha loves Pa.
Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#26Don't forget Koko the Gorilla. She was able to sign, understand english and recount stories of her past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4QQ8Mfjb_g
Not as clear as case as we've been led to believe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYWSXRUGxDQ
Interesting watch.
TL;DW - Apes like Koko were raised by trainers who did not perform rigorous scientific measurements and were prone to bias. Research on Apes became immoral over time, hence less recent examples exist.
The most recent and rigorous study is on a bonobo, where communication is done using touchscreen with buttons saying words (lexigrams). Even in this case interaction seems to be limited to “give me an item” or “put item in box”.
Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#27It seems to me more and more like the biggest, only real difference between most animals and humans is their lack of sophisticated communication. Certainly they communicate; but they do not have access to our rich verbal symbols with which we can convey anything imaginable. Perhaps you could add the lack of a prehensile thumb and deft fingers to build tools with, but I think communication is even more fundamental for…
Actually, I think many animals might communicate better than humans, but we don't know how they do it.
I wouldn't completely suprise me if their are certain animals using telepathic thought? Or, some way if communicitating we haven't a clue existed.
(And yes I know telepathic thought has been completely debunked in humans. Actually, there's a million sitting stomewhere if any person can successfully pass a institutes telepathic ability test. To date the money is still there, or a higher amount? My point is we know so little about other species.)
Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#28What I find fascinating about this is that there are various species which have tackled human speech with at least some success (both actively and passively), while, conversely, we are apparently rather bad at participating in their communicative acts (like, imitating utterances in a meaningful way). Is it just for a lack of interest on our side, or are we lacking something else? Edit, regarding "something else": App…
We can do some bird calls decently.
Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#29Pha loves Pa.
"The day of the dolphins" is both nearer and further away.
Re: A whale who tried to mimic human speech (2014)
#30What I find fascinating about this is that there are various species which have tackled human speech with at least some success (both actively and passively), while, conversely, we are apparently rather bad at participating in their communicative acts (like, imitating utterances in a meaningful way). Is it just for a lack of interest on our side, or are we lacking something else? Edit, regarding "something else": App…
Maybe a bit off-topic, but here are some examples of humans communicating with animals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_child