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Either Koko could communicate complex thoughts, or she was just spamming nonsense and the trainers are deceiving us. That's the binary part. Surely a lot of wh
by arcticfox 8y ago
Either Koko could communicate complex thoughts, or she was just spamming nonsense and the trainers are deceiving us. That's the binary part.
Surely a lot of what she signed was garbage, and surely she could communicate some of the simplest things regardless (like a dog can). But if she legitimately communicated even one complex thought with signs, that's a binary difference from the rest of the animal kingdom.
- JackFr 8y ago> Either Koko could communicate complex thoughts, or she was just spamming nonsense and the trainers are deceiving us. That's the binary part. That's a false dilemma. "Either Koko could communicate complex thoughts, or she could not." That is a binary choice. And even that is contingent on precise definitions of complex, communicate and thought.
- drb91 8y ago> Either Koko could communicate complex thoughts, or she was just spamming nonsense and the trainers are deceiving us. If there is a worldview where it makes sense to structure thinking of communication as a dichotomy between "complex and nonsense", I cannot see it.