Apes that write, start fires and play Pac-Man
By SUSAN SAVAGE-RUMBAUGH, TED
Added: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 UTC
Reposted from:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/susan_savage_rumbaugh_on_apes_that_write.html
Savage-Rumbaugh's work with bonobo apes, which can understand spoken language and learn tasks by watching, forces the audience to rethink how much of what a species can do is determined by biology -- and how much by cultural exposure.
About Susan Savage-Rumbaugh
Susan Savage-Rumbaugh has made startling breakthroughs in her lifelong work with chimpanzees and bonobos, showing the animals to be adept in picking up language and other "intelligent" behaviors.
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