SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING ABOUT KOKO the SIGNING GORRILLA????

Question

IF THIS WAS DONE IN A LARGE NUMBER OF THE SPECIES, WOULD THEY CONTINUE TO GROW AND LEARN WITH EACH GENERATION ON THEIR OWN?? IT SEEMS IF THEIR SMART ENOUGH TO LEARN IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, WHICH IS A PROVEN FACT, THEN WOULDN'T THAT BE THE BEGINNING OF POSSIBLY A NEW CIVILIZATION... I'M NOT SUGGESTING PLANET OF THE APES TYPE OF THINKING, AND DON'T YOU BELIEVE TO CERTAIN EXTENT THAT EVER SPECIES ON THE PLANET HAS IT'S OWN FORM OF COMMUNICATION, LIKE ANTS, BEES, BIRDS, MAMMALS, ECT......... YET DIFFER FROM OUR ON......... AND WHO'S TO SAY IT ISN'T JUST AS COMPLEX AS OUR OWN..........

Answer 1

Whoa partner,

It wasn't the thumb that got us on our feet.

It wasn't the vocal chords that lead to language

It wasn't pattern recognition that lead to abstract thought.

Because we had thumbs, we could get on our feet to see the tiger in the grass.

Because of our ability to have a language, we could warn others in our pack of the tiger danger.

Because we could contemplate where the tiger could hide, pass that thought to our children's children, we could formulate a tiger pit, and the tools to dig that pit and camouflage it.

Our REAL advantage over all the other animals, is our ability to pose and solve problems that haven't happened yet.  To avoid problems is a survival trait, a trait every species must excel at, or become extinct.  To avoid POTENTIAL problems is not just a survival trait; it is an over-population problem in and of itself.

And what happens to a person when he is host to a virus so successful that its over-population goes unchecked.  Right, the host dies.  Only, our host is the Earth, and we will self-limit ourselves through starvation.

So don't ask me to support some weary, starving person in lower Whoknowswhere.  Or, the poor deer in Whocares.   The land won't support them; why should I try to assist the virus?  I'm trying to take care of the only species that matters to me, MINE.

Answer 2

As I understand it,Koko and others are not able to teach their offspring the language they learn themselves. And it seems to be the case that the apes do not use the human-taught language among themselves, only when dealing with humans.

Answer 3

Why are you yelling your question?

Answer 4

Mushrooms?, lichen?, limpets? The evidence suggests otherwise.

Answer 5

washoe a chimp was taught sign language and was latter seen teaching her adopted offspring loulis how to sign researchers did not sign in front of loulis and he learned 50 different signs. today they live with three other signing chimps videotape has confirmed that they do sign to each other when no humans are present.

the thing is wild apes do have language and talk to each other we taught them sign because it was easier then learning there languages

the skill with signing seen in different apes taught it is at least on the level of a two or three year old.

your right most animals do have means of communicating with each other and species that they interact with in a friendly way (humans and dogs zebras and ostriches) the limiting factor on complexity is the level of intelligence the species has fish school threaten and engage in courtship displays but that is it, wolves do all that plus play and coordinate hunts and some animals such as barnacles seem to have no communication at all

Answer 6

Teaching a Gorilla sign language is interesting, but you are asking what if Koko (with human asistance ofcourse) taught another Gorilla to sign, and that Gorilla taught more and onward. Yes over a period of time the sign language would develope due to the needs and ideas expressed of the Gorillas in question, or they would discard it as unessesary to their survival with only afew very important signs being passed on memeticaly. This is a interesting question because not only does it include genetic evolution but memetic evolution aswell. Your idea would make quite a grand experiment, and until such a experiment was conducted and observed no one could speculate for sure. If the Gorillas were taught and totaly educated by humans, they would infact slowly become more like us. After that we could explain to them QED and see if they can figure out gravity.