Live Science is going ape these days with stories about apes and monkeys.
Putty-nosed monkeys, who dwell in African rainforests, give out warning "hacks" when predators are around. I love the description of the goals of the monkeys by the Live Science writer: "Their three main goals in life are to reproduce, eat, and not get eaten." Aint that what evolution is all about? More here.
Now it looks like humans and chimp ancestors may have interbred. " The initial split occurred around 6.3 million years ago. Sometime after, the descendents of the earliest known human ancestor—the 6.5 to 7.5-million-year-old "Toumai," a biped that probably didn't look much different than chimpanzee ancestors—mated with ancestral chimps and created a hybrid species.
Scientists can't say how long the hybridization carried on, but the final speciation occurred around 5.3 million years ago, possibly because the two species' genetic coded were too different to mix or the animals were simply physically unappealing to each other." More here
Unappealing to each other? I don't think they are talking about married couples who have been together too long.
And now for the best story, at least to me. Apes plan ahead.
"To determine if apes can also perform this type of "mental time travel," Nicholas Mulcahy and Josep Call, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, enlisted five bonobo chimpanzees and five orangutans for an experiment.
The researchers first led the animals into a room and taught them how to use a tool to get a food reward. Then the apes were directed to a "tool shed" containing tools for reaching grapes and juice bottles. Two of the tools were well suited for the task, while six were not.
After an ape made its selection, it was not allowed access to the goodie dispenser for an hour, so the animal hauled the tool back to a waiting room for storage.
When the researchers allowed the animals to have a go at the dispenser, the apes returned with a suitable tool and retrieved their treat in less than 5 minutes about 30 percent of the time.
One orangutan, a female named Dokana, was particularly adept at planning ahead. She returned to the feeding area with the correct tool for the task nearly every time. Even when she brought back the wrong tool, she figured out how to alter it to make it work anyway.
In a second test, the researchers extended the wait time to 14 hours and ran the test with Dokana and a male bonobo named Kuno. Dokana took tools with her in all 11 trials, and returned with the proper tool seven times. Kuno did even better, returning with the right tool eight times.
Reading an ape's mind
The authors suggest that selecting a tool, which has no value in itself, is evidence that the apes are actually planning ahead, since the animal knows that the tool will come in handy later on."
OK, now I would have guessed that Great Apes could think ahead. But this leads me to ponder why can't Palestinians think ahead. Maybe some of the Palestinian leaders need brain transplants. Give the Palestinian leaders bonobos brains and maybe, just maybe, there will be peace in the middle east.
Here is an example of how Palestinians think ahead:
Palestinians have yet to show any ability to think even one move ahead. They seem to be stuck on the past. Voting for Hamas was a perfect example of this. I have a feeling that when a Palestinian gets ready for a game of chess, he just imagines suicide belts on all the pawns.
"Their three main goals in life are to reproduce, eat, and not get eaten."
ReplyDeleteAnd drink Jack Daniels.
OK, man might have 4.
ReplyDeleteNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
ReplyDelete--Acts 4:13
Peter and John were two men who had been with Jesus, who for three years had looked into His eyes and heard Him pray.
They'd listened intently as He taught lessons of the kingdom and what it meant to follow Him. They'd seen His tears in the Garden of Gethsemane. They even watched Him die. Then they saw Him in the glory of His resurrection!
Because they had been with Jesus, Peter and John acted like Jesus. In fact, their lives had been revolutionized so dramatically because of the time they spent with Jesus that when people observed them-even their enemies-they knew there was something distinct, something uniquely different about these men.
When the world looks at you as a believer in Christ, I wonder if they can say the same thing. Can a watching world tell when you have worshiped…when you have bowed in your own time of prayer? Do they see evidence of being with Jesus?
When you interact with your friends, your family, and your business associates, I pray they will see that there is something different about you…that you have been with Jesus Christ.
It just keeps getting better.
ReplyDeleteA letter was written in prison by a Hamas leader. Nothing was formalized or agreed upon. As of right now, Hamas still does not recognize Israel, and one more thing, from what I read, they are demanding totat withdrawal to the 1967 borders, something that will never happen. You can't move 200,000 people, and some of the cities in the West Bank are like medium sized US cities now. I've always said that compensation should be made if peace was guaranteed, but a deal has to be realistic.
ReplyDeleteAnon, when you say that Peter and John had recognized they had been with Jesus, does that mean they had sex with him?
Who said anything about Paul? One more thing, about the Da Vinci Code: Why does the idea that Jesus had heterosexual sex bother Fundies so much?
ReplyDeleteJesus is pure. Sex is dirty.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I think I must be the son of God because my parents never had sex (as far as I'm aware).
I don't think Muslims play chess. Face it: they can't get their heads around the rules. A woman the most powerful piece on the board? I mean, sheesh.
ReplyDelete(Interesting to note: when a pawn, with or without a suicide belt, advances to the last rank -- kind of like reaching heaven -- it can become a Queen.) Yeah, I figure the jihady brigade would have qualms about such a game.
Off topic, but you'll probably want to look at this and maybe post it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=11fbf4a8-282a-4d18-954f-546709b1240f
Iran eyes badges for Jews
Law would require non-Muslim insignia
Chris Wattie, National Post
Published: Friday, May 19, 2006
Not just Jews but the other original inhabitants like the Zoroastrians.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I saw this earlier today. I'm sure the Palestinian supporters won't give a hoot about it.
I'm more racist for imnplying they should care, because that is an opinion, than I am for saying Arabs were behind 9/11 (because that is fact)
ReplyDeleteThanks, I saw this earlier today. I'm sure the Palestinian supporters won't give a hoot about it. from BEAJ
ReplyDeleteAj - youre such a racist for even SUGGESTING they should care. from kahlo
How is that first statement a "suggestion" of anything? Clearly, it is not.
Amateurish bloggers love to put erroneous words in "people's mouths" so they can stand on their soap-box and deliver their bullshit monologues.
Anyway, it turns out now that the story may be false, or that the law may have been passed but there are no plans to enforce it. The problem seems to be that the primary sources are Iranian ex-pats living in Canada.
Hold on! maybe kahlo was being sarcastic in that remark, if so.... my apologies
ReplyDeleteYes, Lya was being sarcastic. It is a running joke, as other commenters have called me racist because I seem to shed a bad light on Arabs.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything denying the story here.
This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at USC.
ReplyDeleteThere was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist.
His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester to prove that God couldn't exist.
His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic.
Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation.
At the end of every semester on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!"
In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, "Because anyone who believes in God is a fool".
If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet He can't do it."
And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces.
All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare.
Most of the students thought that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but! For 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up.
Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll.
He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about his professor.
He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said, or what the class thought.
Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith...he hoped.
Finally, the day came. ! The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom.
The professor shouted, "You FOOL!!!
If God existed, he would keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!"
He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall.
The young man who had stood, proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 299 students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of His power through Jesus.
Nice try. But the story is an old one, and just a story. See here.
ReplyDeleteAnon Christian, please sign a name(make something up at the end of your crap posts), so I can differentiate between the Anons here.
By the way, that is such a stupid story too, but I'm sure Churchies love it.
I took an anthropology course in college, and it was the most fascinating class of my college experience. I learned all about human evolution, chimps, bonobos, orangutans and every species in between. Admittedly, many of my fellow students seemed to be bored to tears. I, on the other hand, paid attention with rapt interest. What could be more fascinating?
ReplyDeleteI love all the news that's been out there lately regarding this stuff. Gaps are being filled faster than fundie creationists can invent them!
W, again, I don't see why you won't set up your own blog. If you need help, I will help you set one up. Just email me at beaj666@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYou seem that you have a message to preach, and you should be looking for a bigger audience than my blog.
Oh yeah, you should read this.
Doctor B, that was hilarious.
ReplyDeleteSimon, maybe you are the Messiah.
Frances, I'm fascinated in apes and monkeys myself, and I don't understand why others wouldn't be especially in an anthropology class.
You don't seem to miss a chance in calling Arabs subhuman or saying how backwards and dumb they are.
ReplyDeleteI think you once said that there's something genetically wrong with them.
Can you explain this please.
http://www.americanarabforum.org/arabamericans_welleducated.htm
If you think that's a biased site.. Google: Arab Americans
Thank You.
I believe that middle Eastern Arabs are brought up in a culture of hate and death. This has been backed up by first hand information, people who don't lie about it or spin it.
ReplyDeleteI have also posted INFORMATION that up to 50% of Saudi Arabians for example are products of 2nd cousin or less marriages.
I think the culture is sub human by my standards causing people to ACT subhuman.
I also have acknowledged that Arabs schooled in America and/or born in America have normal IQ and literacy levels. Then again, most Arabs who comes to America realizes that the Western culture is superior to the Arabian culture, and therefore most likely overcame their hatred of the West.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I don't like and probably hate the culture and/or ideology of Arabia. People are people. But a person brought up to hate, is most likely too far gone for my liking.
Thanks for clearing things up for me. You do make many valid points.
ReplyDeleteRick