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>If we didn't collect and teach knowledge we've gained from the past then an adult wouldn't be too much better off than a child. And yet apes aren't able to do

>If we didn't collect and teach knowledge we've gained from the past then an adult wouldn't be too much better off than a child. And yet apes aren't able to do even that.

ithkuil 14y ago
You might have a "potential capability" to do something, yet you could miss some key aspect to actually do it. For example there are a lot of people you have a big creative potential, yet they are too lazy or lack of patience to actually do stuff for real. What does that mean? Are those humans "capable" of achieving these feats? Or the fact that they didn't actually do anything proves that they aren't? Cognitive science doesn't seek to judge the value of individuals, that's already our day job as social humans; we all do that constantly every day, that's what we ever did, since the dawn of time, judge other human fellows to praise the worth, and dispraise the villains; and of course we cannot refrain from extending this attitude towards others, other communities, tribes, races; let alone another species. A scientific quest to discover the origin of our cognitive abilities has to seek for similarities and not entrenching ourselves in our superiority in achievement. Of course, sometimes this might sound as if the claims are exaggerated, but you should always read the conclusions in the right context. It reminds me of somebody who told me "you know, Mayans were extremely advanced in astronomy", I asked back whether they had developed an heliocentric view of planetary motions, and he andwered "I told you, they were incredibly advanced!"; but this doesn't mean that they had a heliocentric view; advanced w.r.t what? I don't actually know, but I would be surprised if Maya had developed a heliocentric view. Being "advanced" in prediction of sun and star position doesn't mean more than what it means, yet people tend to use some assertions out of context to state things like "study demonstrates that apes are just like us" etc PS: w.r.t to apes and teaching http://www.livescience.com/7064-case-closed-apes-culture.html http://www.livescience.com/7064-case-closed-apes-culture.htm..., and you can find a lot of data about how apes transmit behavior (in some occasions also tool use etc)

>If we didn't collect and teach knowledge we've gained from the past then an adult wouldn't be too much better off than a child. And yet apes aren't able to do even that.

ithkuil 14y ago

You might have a "potential capability" to do something, yet you could miss some key aspect to actually do it. For example there are a lot of people you have a big creative potential, yet they are too lazy or lack of patience to actually do stuff for real. What does that mean? Are those humans "capable" of achieving these feats? Or the fact that they didn't actually do anything proves that they aren't? Cognitive science doesn't seek to judge the value of individuals, that's already our day job as social humans; we all do that constantly every day, that's what we ever did, since the dawn of time, judge other human fellows to praise the worth, and dispraise the villains; and of course we cannot refrain from extending this attitude towards others, other communities, tribes, races; let alone another species. A scientific quest to discover the origin of our cognitive abilities has to seek for similarities and not entrenching ourselves in our superiority in achievement. Of course, sometimes this might sound as if the claims are exaggerated, but you should always read the conclusions in the right context. It reminds me of somebody who told me "you know, Mayans were extremely advanced in astronomy", I asked back whether they had developed an heliocentric view of planetary motions, and he andwered "I told you, they were incredibly advanced!"; but this doesn't mean that they had a heliocentric view; advanced w.r.t what? I don't actually know, but I would be surprised if Maya had developed a heliocentric view. Being "advanced" in prediction of sun and star position doesn't mean more than what it means, yet people tend to use some assertions out of context to state things like "study demonstrates that apes are just like us" etc PS: w.r.t to apes and teaching http://www.livescience.com/7064-case-closed-apes-culture.html http://www.livescience.com/7064-case-closed-apes-culture.htm..., and you can find a lot of data about how apes transmit behavior (in some occasions also tool use etc)