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> living side by side with creatures that are only quite like us is an experience that has been lost in the collective human memory I played with and interacte
by grecy 3y ago
> living side by side with creatures that are only quite like us is an experience that has been lost in the collective human memory
I played with and interacted with chimpanzees quite a few times around Africa [1], and spent hundreds of hours watching them and just chilling while they ate, slept and played.
Sitting face to face with a large chimp on your lap is an incredible experience, and watching their facial expressions, emotions and reactions while checking out their fingerprints and having them groom your beard is a very powerful experience.
To my very core I had the feeling we are them and they are us.
Spending time with gorillas was cool too [2], but I didn't exactly play with them!
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfdo3s8tPUk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfdo3s8tPUk
[2] https://youtu.be/M1vhZ03OKKE?t=84 https://youtu.be/M1vhZ03OKKE?t=84
- RichardCA 3y agoI remember an old PBS Nova episode from the 70's. Someone used a PDP-8 to build an icon-based chat mechanism. The chimp caught on pretty fast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwZWWsc5xDk#t=32m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwZWWsc5xDk#t=32m
- grecy 3y agoIt was very clear how intelligent they are. I saw them distract and trick each other (and me), I saw them quickly hone in on my keys in my pocket and try to get them, I saw them be kind, gentle, hurtful, violent, angry, sad, lazy, sleepy. I saw and experienced them being extremely kind, patient and gentle, and very clearly try to communicate to me with hand gestures, smiles, and "follow me" hands. Even the little ones ran over to me and held up their arms for "pick me up!"