Scientists on 3 continents now have evidence: Some chimps have entered the Stone Age.

originally posted by: InMyShell
I find it baffling that one species can evolve to where we are today while all other species have remained very similar in appearance/intelligence.

There is a massive difference between species evolving their hunting techniques and humans evolving from living in caves to traveling into space.

Can anyone explain to me why only the human species has evolved a lot more quickly than every other species.

I'd explain it but apparently you're still catching up in the evolution of intelligence part.

I wonder where they'd be in a million years time if we weren't hear to get in their way.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: VoidHawk

the real genius being shown here:

- the heron realizes when the bread isn't thrown out far enough, then uses technique to get it in "just the right" spot
- each time he casts it out, its closer and closer

He is luring the fish in closer. Not just using bait....but creating a plan with multiple steps to get the fish closer to the shore, out of their comfort zone.

That is a brilliant bird.

Yes.
Unfortunately when it was shown on the british news channels it was put across as a novelty, I dont think many people really appreciated just how much was going on in that birds mind.

When Mr Dog was alive I used to walk a river bank three times per day, and sometimes I'd sit and watch the herons that were on the river bank. They'd stand motionless waiting, but only for a few minutes, if no fish were there they would crouch down and sneak along the bank using clumps of vegetation to hide behind as they moved to a new spot.
They are very intelligent birds, but as you noticed, the bird in the vid took it a step further.
I hope the experts are wrong and it somehow passes on it knowledge.

Monkey w/AK-47 "King of the World"

The article referenced in the OP's link is here:
www.bbc.com - BBC - Earth - Chimpanzees and monkeys have entered the Stone Age...
This is amusing:

If it's not chimpanzees' and monkeys' hands that are holding them back, the problem probably lies in their brains, says Almécija.

"It seems plausible that the ability to create stone tools requires some additional cognitive abilities: not just recognising what would be a useful tool, but also creating it," says Alexandra Rosati at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

They're fools, I think. Like a lot of people, it never occurs to htem that the presence of the ancesotrs to humans kept the population of chimpanzees and others at bay. If the more successful ancestors of humans had never came to be or had not been successful, I believe hte chimpanzees or the others would have taken their place.

I'm saying intelligence of our kind requires space/time resources on our planet. A species cannot just evolve intelligence. It needs a lot of resources. The presence of another intelligent species will necessarily restrict the ability of another one to appear.

I know I'm exaggerating this. Maybe the effect is minimal or maybe it only exists today. I just feel like conservation of energy has to be a part of the creation of an intelligent species. It can't be free!

Maybe I got it wrong. Maybe the presence of an intelligent species somehow increases the intelligence of other species, or select ones. It's just hard to shake the ol' feeling that intelligence is earned. That it requires real freedom, not fake freedom. Domesticated animals have fake freedom. Yet not even "wild" animals today have true freedom from us.

Count me wrong if cats and dogs become intelligent. Maybe we'll engineer them to be? How is it more natural than GMO frankenfood? And it'll be OUR way. Only as intelligent and free to act as we allow.

originally posted by: hiddenNZ
a reply to: romilo
What? monkeys coming from behind? Whats next...gay rights for monkeys?

Don't be a dick, mate.

There are plenty of examples of homosexuality in the extra-human animal world. If anything, other animals are well ahead of humans regarding gay rights...


OP: interesting. There's a whole lot of things we're still finding out, and watching species evolve is one of them.
Thanks for the link.

a reply to: abe froman
The 100th Monkey

A story about social change.

by Ken Keyes, Jr.


The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoesdropped in the sand. The monkey liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirtunpleasant. An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new wayand they taught their mothers too.

This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists. Between 1952 and 1958 all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshimam onkeys were washing sweet potatoes -- the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let's further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.

THEN IT HAPPENED! By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But notice: A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea...Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes. Thus, when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind.

Although the exact number may vary, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the conscious property of these people.

But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

This is an excerpt from the book by Ken Keyes, jr. "The Hundredth Monkey."

originally posted by: Raggedyman

originally posted by: InMyShell
a reply to: yorkshirelad

No need to laugh or cry.

Just give me an answer that satisfies the question. Would really appreciate it.

Havnt you learned yet, never question the authority around here, never expect a reasoned logical answer either.
Good luck, let them laugh, plenty see how silly their statements are

It is a valid question

It's not a valid question unless you are just starting secondary school (age 11 in UK) and have no idea what ATS is about. To comment on a subject it would least help to have an understanding of the topic, even if you disagree with the concepts (creationists) but at least know what the goddam concepts are!. In this case you would have to have at least a modicum of understanding about evolution. That is way way longer than a reply on ATS. It will require people to read a book!

a reply to: yorkshirelad

No
I have a different opinion and consider your opinion a religion, a faith.

do you think you can bully me into your beliefs
I have to many unanswered questions about evolution and many other issues

Go teach primary school kids, they don't take much convincing

They are becoming smarter.

originally posted by: mapsurfer_

Monkey w/AK-47 "King of the World"

Yes i LMAO at that. is this th e vid with the allah ackbar in it? those dummies got what they deserved.

a reply to: aorAki
Hey man,get a sense of humour you fairy,the post was made in jest. Im still waiting for your answers on that thread you are so passionate about,but havnt replied to in over 2months....so yeah,save your smart arsed comments

There sure are a lot of sarcastic posts in this thread. Don’t know why that would be, but it just struck me as odd for some reason. Hmmm... Maybe it's just me.

Anyway, why is it so difficult for us to accept that other primates are capable of learning and evolving just the same as every other creature in this world? No need for anyone to answer that - it was a rhetorical question.

More and more we’re coming to realize that chimps are much more intelligent than we’ve ever given them credit for. In contests derived from game theory scientists have concluded that chimps consistently outperform humans in games that test memory and strategic thinking. After all, human and chimp DNA overlaps by around 99%.

I could go onand on, but I’m too lazy right now. Besides, there’s a football game coming on I want to watch. For anyone interested, there’s an article in Scientific American titled Chimps Outplay Humans in Brain Games you might find interesting.

Chimps Rule!!

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

But why as you say it grow exponentially while other do not. Why do other ape species exist while they evolved in the same environment?

Yes those are the things we are meant to do but the intelligence and expertise we possess go way beyond anything in our world.

There are many species that have existed long before us yet they remain at hunter gather.

Is it to be expected that we had a unique acceleration in our intelligence?

a reply to: abe froman

That is great becouse my kid just has to finally.

a reply to: Logman

It's a lot easier to laugh off a question than to answer it. Well done.

Just offer me an explanation of why only the human species has evolved to a level of space travel while every other remain even though some existing longer.

If it's so easy and not insulting your superior intelligence.

Since so many are arm chair enthusiasts, only willing to read what some one else shoves in front of their face for fear of...learning? Paper cuts? Carpel tunnel?

In any case here ya go.. To each his own I suppose..

scholar.google.com...

a reply to: mapsurfer_



teaching eachother to use machetes?

a reply to: InMyShell

There's no proof humans are the only species to have evolved on earth that have achieved space travel. Everything we've built would basically be gone within 50,000 years if we died out tomorrow. The earth is 4.3+ Billion years old. Our species, 200,000 years old give or take. That's a lot of unaccounted time and a lot of time for a civilization as progressed as us to come to an end and be swallowed by the sands of time.

Not saying there is proof lying around mind you but humans aren't long lived enough to give that question a definitive answer.