“Making fire” and “using a lighter” are kind of big distinctions. Once they start producing and selling lighters to each other we may have to start worrying, until then we just have to be careful about what we give away.
shouldbeworkingsays
Planet of the Apes may be closer than you think. All it takes now is for chimp to commit species treason and sell that technology to a gorilla and we’re doomed.
Kind of makes me wonder what would happen if we were to find a way to introduce fire-making abilities into a society of bonobos that wouldn’t just end in a bonobobonfire.
Oh God please don’t let yet another fucking species start that ‘let’s wave our lighters at concerts’ trend.
That’s what I take take away from this.
rolandsays
Is she really lonely?
rolandsays
Or maybe I should say, Are THEY really lonely?
michaelstone-richardsays
If a large black obelisk makes an appearance, then, yes sir, we have trouble. And that starts with a “t” and that rhymes with a “p” and that stands for “paleontology.”
kreativekaossays
“Could be trouble: the other apes are learning how to make fire, and you know where that ended up with us.”
Yep,… McDonalds and fast food!!! :)
Larrysays
Looks like the apes have moved beyond the “keep banging two rocks together” stage and are ready to start thinking digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
The program is proceeding nicely.
Doug Littlesays
With the housing market down and a lot mortgages severely underwater this chimp’s talents could be in high demand. No your honor I didn’t start the fire, my chimp did.
leighshryocksays
@theophontes:
Top rated comment on that video is racist. I vote we vote bomb it down.
Sobexsays
The video above is fairly short, so I understand why people think this bonobo is merely doing a few rehearsed tricks. His name is Kanzi and there are a set of videos about him you can find by googling Kanzi: An Ape of Genius. Four videos, about 52 minutes total, very worth watching.
quinnmartindalesays
There seems to be a lot of unjustified anthropomorphism in that video. Humans love to attribute emotions and ideas to animals on the slimmest of evidence.
robbsays
until chimps deploy predator drones, i am not too worried.
andyosays
A bit scary. Like a spin-off of Murders in the Rue Morgue but with an arsonist.
I’m just glad he didn’t put the fire out the way we did when I was in Boy Scouts!
Irene Delsesays
@ Trebuchet:
Let me take a wild guess: in a way that teenage boys find extremely funny?
davedsays
Orang-utans in Borneo have been making fire for a while. They simply take lighters from human camps, and they’re far too strong for the humans to take the lighters back again. (If you don’t agree, let’s see you do it.) It’s a real menace during the dry season, from what I’ve read.
sheilasays
Well they’ve had about 6 million years since our common ancestor. And presumably “smart” is still a survival trait.
Of course there’s a huge difference between working out how to make a fire yourself and copying someone else. Not to mention the difference between lighters and rubbing sticks.
Bit still – it seems that every time we get more data, humans aren’t as exceptional as we thought.
'Tis Himself, OM.says
They simply take lighters from human camps, and they’re far too strong for the humans to take the lighters back again. (If you don’t agree, let’s see you do it.)
Those of us who read Terry Pratchett know about the Librarian.
KGsays
Of course there’s a huge difference between working out how to make a fire yourself and copying someone else. – sheila
True, but the first stage in domesticating fire was almost certainly learning to use fire started by lighting and volcanic eruptions. There has been at least one modern human culture (the Tasmanian) in which knowledge of fire-making is said to have died out*; but they still used fire, carrying it around with them in the form of smouldering moss in a bark container, IIRC.
*Tasmanian culture itself, along with most of the Tasmanians, was eliminated by British settlers in the 19th century, so this could be wrong.
madscientistsays
That’s fantastic – although if they’re as slow as humans were, it’ll be a few tens of thousand years before they discover roast pig. Imagine that – it’ll take longer than the universe had been in existence!
Irene Delsesays
@ KG:
The claim that Tasmanian Aborigines at one point in their history lost the ability to make fire has been contested recently. Cf. Rebe Taylor’s 2008 paper:
Roast pig? No…teach them about bacon, and suddenly they’ll be mastering sharp knives and fire. And then we’re doomed.
Wowbagger, Madman of Insleyfarnesays
Well, don’t worry – I’m sure that, as soon as they discover marijuana and work out how to bring the two together, conservative governments everywhere will declare war on them.
anuransays
He’s a bonobo. Bonobos wouldn’t use rifles to kill anyone. They’d rework them into sex toys. Regular chimps? That could be a problem.
robstersays
Jees, this is bad timing. We watched the new Planet of the Apes movie last night. Now this! Hope they went back later and collected their trash.
DLCsays
If there are fire-using apes why are there still humans ?
Answer me that, Eviloutionists with your False Darwin God!!1 11!
Sadly I am not surprised. I suggest not ever reading the comments on youtube – nor commenting. That site really brings the worst out of the woodwork. (Because actually reading OP’s in regular blogs is to much effort for that type of commentor?)
I still think it’s going to be newts.
You mean Gingrich knows about fire?? :alarmed:
Zippy’s brother, Zippo?
“Making fire” and “using a lighter” are kind of big distinctions. Once they start producing and selling lighters to each other we may have to start worrying, until then we just have to be careful about what we give away.
Planet of the Apes may be closer than you think. All it takes now is for chimp to commit species treason and sell that technology to a gorilla and we’re doomed.
Well that was both adorable and interesting.
Kind of makes me wonder what would happen if we were to find a way to introduce fire-making abilities into a society of bonobos that wouldn’t just end in a bonobobonfire.
@ PZ
Your wish is my command: Chimp with AK47.
Oh God please don’t let yet another fucking species start that ‘let’s wave our lighters at concerts’ trend.
That’s what I take take away from this.
Is she really lonely?
Or maybe I should say, Are THEY really lonely?
If a large black obelisk makes an appearance, then, yes sir, we have trouble. And that starts with a “t” and that rhymes with a “p” and that stands for “paleontology.”
“Could be trouble: the other apes are learning how to make fire, and you know where that ended up with us.”
Yep,… McDonalds and fast food!!! :)
Looks like the apes have moved beyond the “keep banging two rocks together” stage and are ready to start thinking digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
The program is proceeding nicely.
With the housing market down and a lot mortgages severely underwater this chimp’s talents could be in high demand. No your honor I didn’t start the fire, my chimp did.
@theophontes:
Top rated comment on that video is racist. I vote we vote bomb it down.
The video above is fairly short, so I understand why people think this bonobo is merely doing a few rehearsed tricks. His name is Kanzi and there are a set of videos about him you can find by googling Kanzi: An Ape of Genius. Four videos, about 52 minutes total, very worth watching.
There seems to be a lot of unjustified anthropomorphism in that video. Humans love to attribute emotions and ideas to animals on the slimmest of evidence.
until chimps deploy predator drones, i am not too worried.
A bit scary. Like a spin-off of Murders in the Rue Morgue but with an arsonist.
Not enough global warming being caused by humans?
Chimps will release the forest carbon, and we’ll obviously keep on burning whatever we can extract from the earth.
Glen Davidson
I’m just glad he didn’t put the fire out the way we did when I was in Boy Scouts!
@ Trebuchet:
Let me take a wild guess: in a way that teenage boys find extremely funny?
Orang-utans in Borneo have been making fire for a while. They simply take lighters from human camps, and they’re far too strong for the humans to take the lighters back again. (If you don’t agree, let’s see you do it.) It’s a real menace during the dry season, from what I’ve read.
Well they’ve had about 6 million years since our common ancestor. And presumably “smart” is still a survival trait.
Of course there’s a huge difference between working out how to make a fire yourself and copying someone else. Not to mention the difference between lighters and rubbing sticks.
Bit still – it seems that every time we get more data, humans aren’t as exceptional as we thought.
Those of us who read Terry Pratchett know about the Librarian.
True, but the first stage in domesticating fire was almost certainly learning to use fire started by lighting and volcanic eruptions. There has been at least one modern human culture (the Tasmanian) in which knowledge of fire-making is said to have died out*; but they still used fire, carrying it around with them in the form of smouldering moss in a bark container, IIRC.
*Tasmanian culture itself, along with most of the Tasmanians, was eliminated by British settlers in the 19th century, so this could be wrong.
That’s fantastic – although if they’re as slow as humans were, it’ll be a few tens of thousand years before they discover roast pig. Imagine that – it’ll take longer than the universe had been in existence!
@ KG:
The claim that Tasmanian Aborigines at one point in their history lost the ability to make fire has been contested recently. Cf. Rebe Taylor’s 2008 paper:
http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ch0155.pdf
Roast pig? No…teach them about bacon, and suddenly they’ll be mastering sharp knives and fire. And then we’re doomed.
Well, don’t worry – I’m sure that, as soon as they discover marijuana and work out how to bring the two together, conservative governments everywhere will declare war on them.
He’s a bonobo. Bonobos wouldn’t use rifles to kill anyone. They’d rework them into sex toys. Regular chimps? That could be a problem.
Jees, this is bad timing. We watched the new Planet of the Apes movie last night. Now this! Hope they went back later and collected their trash.
If there are fire-using apes why are there still humans ?
Answer me that, Eviloutionists with your False Darwin God!!1 11!
@ leighshryock
[racist comments on youtube]
Sadly I am not surprised. I suggest not ever reading the comments on youtube – nor commenting. That site really brings the worst out of the woodwork. (Because actually reading OP’s in regular blogs is to much effort for that type of commentor?)
I can almost predict one of those staged Nature programs with Kanzi facing off with Smokey the Bear.