Midday Matinee – YouTube Treasures: Bonobos

Posted by Lake Toba | Apr 15, 2016 | Midday Matinee, YouTube Treasures | 8 |

YouTube Treasures continues with a fascinating look at bonobos and how amazingly human they are. Enjoy! (More)

Midday Matinee is our people watching, people doing and people being feature. Join the Woodland Creatures for an afternoon break.

Bonobos are bright, friendly and agreeable primates that have been studied for some time by anthropologists. Unlike their chimp cousins, they appear to have a much calmer and easy going disposition. In this Ted Talk, anthropologist Susan Savage-Rumbaugh talks about how amazing they are, and some of the breaking science that is changing how we view our closest primate cousins.

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Lake Toba

Lake Toba is a computer scientist, writer, and inventor.

Lake Toba

Hi everyone. This video blows my mind for two big reasons.

First, you see an animal make fire, and put it out.

Second, you hear an anthropologist say that bonobos have LANGUAGE. This is an assertion, that if proven true, blows the door off one of the remaining “differences” supposedly between animals and humans. It raises important questions about ethics, about what it is that is really human, and suggests that language in some form existed for far longer than was previously believed.

And in my mind, it raises the very interesting possibility that a lot of other animals are in fact using language. When we take “calls” which are sounds that are generally considered to be meaningful but not built on a framework of syntax and other linguistic complexities and replace it with the idea of language, suddenly everything changes. It means that we can communicate with animals. If only we could understand their worldview.
- sjterrid
  
  This video was incredible! Thank you so much for sharing.
  - Lake Toba
    
    You’re welcome Terri
Crissie Brown

That … was … astonishing!

I knew bonobos were smart. I had no idea they could make tools, learn to write … and learn the strategy of a video game.

Wow. Just. Wow.
- Lake Toba
  
  Or drive…
Lake Toba

test comment
winterbanyan

This was amazing! Thank you so much. I will watch it more than once. 🙂
- Lake Toba
  
  You’re welcome, WB.

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Midday Matinee – YouTube Treasures: Bonobos

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Lake Toba

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Midday Matinee – YouTube Treasures: Bonobos

About The Author

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