Monkeys With Syntax

jamie writes "The Campbell's monkey has a vocabulary with at least six types of basic call, but new research published in the PNAS claims that they combine them and string them together to communicate new meanings. (Login may be required on the NY Times site.) For example, the word for 'leopard' gets an '-oo' suffix to mean 'unseen predator.' But when that word is repeated after 'come over here,' the combination means 'Timber!' — a warning of falling trees. Scientists have known for some time that vervet monkeys have different warning calls for different predators — eagle, leopard, and snake — but unlike the Campbell's monkeys, vervets don't combine those calls to create new meanings, a key component of syntax. The researchers plan to play back recordings to the monkeys to test their theories for syntax errors."

Comments

Re:It was the blurst of times.

[causality]

For the record, that isn't my blog. And I only agree with 75% of the blog author's opinions.

But let me please get this straight: according to you, anyone who disapproves of socialism is incapable of humor? Or anyone who dislikes Obama is undeserving of positive feedback from this group?

There's one thing that blogger is damn straight about. Things are not quite what they seem and we are being lied to. I can tolerate all kinds of differences in belief so long as there is the common ground of recognizing that. I don't like Obama either but it's not personal. No man who really has your best interests at heart needs a multimillion dollar campaign to convince you of that. That's the case with Obama and whoever else has any real chance at winning a presidential election. It really does not matter who is in office. It's about who has the money and power to put them there. In that sense they're all the same to me. None of them are going to do anything that is too contrary to the interests of their benefactors. That's going to be the case so long as we have the two-party duopoly.