15 July 2011

It was science killed the beast

Project Nim

Crit
Good god, we can be a dumbass species. Quick quiz:
  1. Good idea to take a newborn chimpanzee from his mother and--ostensibly in an effort to teach him sign language--hand him over to a loony hippie, who knows no sign language or anything about apes--to bring up as a child in her brand new Brady-bunch melded family?
  2. And if that doesn't work out, good idea to hand him over to a bunch of student researchers, who do at least have sign language skills and primate knowledge, but lack any real guidance from the nominal director of the project, and to leave him there for five years, or until the chimp becomes stronger and more aggressive than any of the humans?
  3. And if that doesn't work out, good idea to ship him from New York back to his natal facility in Oklahoma, where they have no place to lodge him but a cage and no capacity for catering to his special talents?
  4. And then is it a good idea for his well-intentioned rescuer to move him to an equine rescue ranch, where they have no place to lodge him but another cage, and no other apes to keep him company?
It's a miracle he never killed anyone; I would have. Horrible.

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