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I think you have demonstrated well what separates us from the animals, namely the ability to use our hands to create.
Very nice looking indeed.
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Awesome!
To the Max
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Incredible!
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Savage!
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Nice craftsmanship, Mike- very well done!
anonymous: we are closer to our hairy relatives than you think. Bonobo apes and other primates have been making and using tools for longer than us humans have existed.
Fundamentally, perhaps controversially, but ultimately irefutible is the fact that the only significant difference between us and the beasts is staring you right in the face: the written word. The written word gives us the power to document, to record, to pass information between generations.
But even the most skilled monkey in the World couldn’t compete with The Stand of Majesty.
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Thanks very much folks 🙂 I think I’m going to stuff the day job and market this commercially.
… or maybe not.
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Alex, that’s an interesting point actually. I’ve also never met an ape who can roll… 😉
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Supposedly we ARE actually quite different from the apes.
There is a term, I forget what it is but it relates to the ability of humans to touch each of their fingers to their thumb, in quick succession.
Apparently humans are the only species that can do this.
It is meant to be the source of our amazing ability to create and use machines.
I’d love to know if I was wrong, though!
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Alex,
I never said that we are not similar to apes; of course we are.
All I said was that we have a supreme ability to create with our hands- machines
and so forth; even the Stand of Majesty. In fact, you confirmed exactly what I said: no monkey could create such a thing. Thus, the difference between us and apes is exposed.Of course we are similar in other ways.
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My brother farts like an ape.
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Dexterity is the word you are looking for, Mr anonymous!
So what about beavers?
They don’t even have hands, yet they can create a differential pressure regulator capable of curtailing one of nature’s strongest forces – running water.
And what about termites who engineer passive ventilation strategies into their homes, by utilising the buoyancy effect of warm air to draw in cooler air into the base of the mound?
Animals were making machines long before we were, my friend. What makes us special is our bizzare fascination for quantifying our environment. For example, who decided that the passing of time should be sub-divided as it is? Who called it time anyway?
Was a mile a mile before the first human walked his first mile? How was all this new information remembered?We are scientists, and it’s our ability to communicate with each other that gives us these powers.
Show me a talking monkey and I will retract my argument. (Ps Mike’s brother doesn’t count!)
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“The Green Heron is one of the few tool-using birds. It commonly drops bait onto the surface of the water and grabs the small fish that are attracted. It uses a variety of baits and lures, including crusts of bread, insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers.”(from birds.cornell.edu)
i’ve seen one use a flower to get the fish to rise.
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Gee, that looks like one mighty fine cheap birthday present to give a dedicated fishing buddy 😉
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🙂 hmm…
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