Comments on: Brilliant chimp

By: Zerg

Zerg — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 01:55:16 +0000

Well, I figured out the solution before looking at the video. I expect it took longer than 10 seconds, but then again, perhaps so did the chimp.With no mental picture of a zoo cage (actually I was imagining in the jungle, as per Greg’s profile picture) I didn’t assume no water was available. I was just looking for a reliable way to get the peanut out. Poking it with a stick didn’t seem too reliable, nor hitting the bottom of the tube.

By: the real cmf

the real cmf — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:37:07 +0000

I figured it out in less than three seconds: where’s that long needle nosed roach clip….silly chimps…As for the analysis of the video, I think some cross cultural rhetoric is necessary, maybe a critique of our egocentric, and phallo centric self, like, why did they use a long tube? And notice how the chimp is broooowwn! Ocbvious white male phallus centered,racist, and specieezest video….

By: MRL

MRL — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:22:45 +0000

I didn’t think of the chimp’s solution, but I did formulate one (two, actually) that I think would be similarly effective in the time before it showed the chimpanzee trying the water.Tactic A is simply a string tied to a piece of chewing gum; lower it in, maybe use a stick to press it against the peanut (to make sure it sticks), then pull it out.Tactic B just requires access to a sufficiently long piece of wire; bend the end into a school, stick the wire in, scoop up the peanut.I don’t think either solution is as elegant as that shown in the video, but they would work well enough.

By: Animal Inventory

Animal Inventory — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:25:28 +0000

The reactions to this video clip have been very interesting… and quite passionate. I agree that advertising tends to engage in manipulative tactics in order to encourage certain reactions from viewers. But the point of the ad was not really to convince you that apes are smarter than humans, but rather to point out that chimps are smarter than we give them credit for. In order to understand how much the chimp was trained to perform the task we’d have to watch the entire Nova special. Reiterating the point of RNB on a previous comment, this is not a controlled experiment. It’s just an advertisement.That being said, it still provides some enlightening information on how our culture (and the filmmakers in particular) view apes. There is a surprising dichotomy between the message that apes are smart and the context that they belong in cages. The stark contrast between the conceptual and visual message of the ad perpetuate (and reinforce) our own confusion over how to deal with animals in general. We recognize the startling intelligence of a creature, and at the same time we confine it with the assumption that it isn’t smart enough to know any better.

By: Julie Zickefoose

Julie Zickefoose — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:19:31 +0000

The comments are just as much fun as the video, which had me spluttering with delight. I agree that there’s a heavy smell of chicanery around this well-edited bit of magic, but in the end, the chimp provided the magic. I find myself wondering how, in a “civilized” world,how we justify confining a mind like that to a cage like that.

By: anne

anne — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:48:12 +0000

This is just a “chimp-friendly” version of a creative problem solving task often used in tests. Most human test subjects fail to solve the standard versions, so I’d say the chimp seems pretty brilliant.

By: cm

cm — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:19:14 +0000

Say what you want about this chimp, but that is some really accurate and tube spitting!

By: E

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:04:57 +0000

I wonder how many chimps DIDN’T solve the puzzle? Nevertheless, I was super-impressed. This video would be terrific for a grade four science class.

By: Kevin Emamy

Kevin Emamy — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:17:38 +0000

I can’t believe you people are so upset that you didn’t beat the chimp that you are crying foul like this!

By: Tam

Tam — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:29:11 +0000

Give me the tube, peanut, cage, and the producer of that ad.Let’s see how long it takes the producer to figure out how to get the tube out of his ass.