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TED: Mark Pagel: How language transformed Humanity

submitted by DerHasisttot

1 decade 3 years 4 months 3 weeks ago

I don't agree with his conclusion, but everything else was fine.
Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of "social technology" that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool: cooperation.

3 Comments

darkpaw02 says...

He said that chimpanzees cannot learn from each other, which is not true.

http://www.janegoodall.org/media/news/difference-learning-sexes

Yep. He said a bunch more crap too. The only thing I like about this is that I've never heard the evolution of language as a tool explained.>> ^darkpaw02:

He said that chimpanzees cannot learn from each other, which is not true.
http://www.janegoodall.org/media/news/difference-learning-sexes

darkpaw02 says...

I don't know that he is giving enough credit to non-human animals on that either.

I reckon a good part of the evolution of language in humans and human ancestors would have been well before we had complex tools. It's not such a big jump from a wolf "saying" "Hey guys! Look! The rabbit's over here!!" to a bipedal ape being able to say "see Ugg? hit rock with rock". There's no way in hell that the early humans who could make those near-perfect arrow heads would go visit another tribe and give them a lecture about flint-knapping techniques.

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