Here's something I don't understand. Why do we keep trying to make chimps and other non-human primates into humans? We move them in with "open-minded" (crazy?) families, teach them sign language, treat them like a human baby, but are then surprised when their strength overcomes our strength, their sex drive becomes inappropriate for human interaction. It's like creating an all-knowing robot, which is fun at first, but then we get scared and act like lunatics when they can outsmart us.We're interfering in ways that maybe we shouldn't.
Because we can't control them (why are we surprised??), the chimps are put back into the wild, completely unprepared, or taken away from those they know as their family and put in research facilities or institutes. They face difficult and psychologically disrupted adult life. They are confused and hurt, with complicated understandings of their place in life. They can't communicate as a chimpanzee should, because they've learned to communicate like a human. Despite DNA similarities between humans and chimps, there are some key differences that impact behavior and cognitive skills.
I think it's animal abuse, actually.
These two stories will show you where this is coming from.(It'll take a few minutes to get through both, but listen especially to "Lucy".)
Lucy: RadioLab
Lucy from Radiolab on Vimeo.
Nim: NPR Media Player
I guess these types of mistakes have to be made, and are fairly inevitable. Without pushing limits, we'd never make advances. "What if" questions should be asked, and maybe these "what if"'s inadvertently lead to some unexpected, more critical answers. I hope.
I feel ya on this one. I guess I feel this way about lot of things that us humans do though. We like to play God in areas that we have no business meddling in. Things are the way they are for a reason...to survive.
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