KC

From the NY Times:


Darwinian Storytelling


KC

pangloss

I attended a meeting 2 years ago in which Pinker came up.

Apparently, Pinke had written some things about how much more "advanced" we are than chimps, and had mentioned such things as the chimps' inability to point or to recognize symbolic representations of "reality."

Roger Fouts - who was giving a talk - did not take too kindly to this, and showed videotape of chimps engaging in the very things Pinker claimed them unable to do.

Ever since then, I have taken things Pinker writes with a grain of salt.

KC

My dear Irish grandmother always said that chimps didn't talk because they knew if we ever heard them, then we'd put them to work.

KC

Doubting Didymus

...and they much prefer to be poached?

MortalWombat

I prefer my chimps over easy.

Doubting Didymus

Awwww.

RufusAtticus

Well Pinker and Bloom's paper Natural Language and Natural Selection is a landmark paper in evolutionary biology. From what I've been told, it pretty much was the impetus for much of the current work on the evolution of language ability.

theyeti

Heh, they say the same about orangutangs in Borneo (or wherever it is they live). Local folklore has it that they're just people who are too lazy to work, so they hide out in the trees all day.

BTW, thanks for posting that review. It was interesting reading, and I find myself very much in agreement with most of Orr's points. I'm also satisfied that he did not simply dismiss evolutionary psychology out of hand, and instead recognizes its potential. But with some strong caveats.

theyeti

Dr.GH

A very good review. Thanks for the link. I will cause my poor students to read it this week.

KC

Orr is an excellent writer as well. He certainly gives the issues he discusses great thought.

Cheers,

KC