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	<title>Comments for Human Spark</title>
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	<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark</link>
	<description>January 6, 13, and 20, 2010 at 8pm (check local listings)</description>
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		<title>Comment on In the News: What Does Ape Behavior Say About Us? by E=mc2</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/topics/primates/in-the-news-what-does-ape-behavior-say-about-us/286/comment-page-1/#comment-147</link>
		<dc:creator>E=mc2</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:19:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=286#comment-147</guid>
		<description>For those people who still doubt &quot;evolution&quot;, they should not use antibiotics, vaccines, MRI machine, cell phone...</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For those people who still doubt &#8220;evolution&#8221;, they should not use antibiotics, vaccines, MRI machine, cell phone&#8230;</p>
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		<title>Comment on Video: Introduction to the Series by KP</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/about-the-series/video-introduction-to-the-series/18/comment-page-1/#comment-146</link>
		<dc:creator>KP</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:21:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=18#comment-146</guid>
		<description>Anyone that finds this interesting will love Jared Diamond&#039;s book, The Third Chimpanzee-highly recommended!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Anyone that finds this interesting will love Jared Diamond&#8217;s book, The Third Chimpanzee-highly recommended!</p>
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		<title>Comment on Spark Blog: Share Your Spark! by Tom Alexander</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/featured/spark-blog-share-your-spark/237/comment-page-1/#comment-145</link>
		<dc:creator>Tom Alexander</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:41:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=237#comment-145</guid>
		<description>THE SPARK OF SEXUAL SELECTION 

The first females in our lineage, to become sexually receptive year round, changed everything (probably while we were still in the trees). 

A single dominant male fathering most of the offspring, produces a genetically homogeneous population with a small gene pool and is wasteful of non-reproducing males genes and resources. 

Once males no longer had to waste their energy competing for scarce females in heat, they could start cooperating with each other to help provide for their individual mates, producing more child care, survivability and higher birth rates. 

Because the females were now competing for the best available males, this sexual selection by each female for intelligence, strength, industriousness, hunting and running ability etc. rapidly produced a large heterogeneous gene pool. A large variety of sustainable traits in the population then made rapid evolution possible. Female sexual selection made it inevitable.

As long as life is easy, evolution has little to do. When the African climate dried out and the trees disappeared from the jungle the apes were in trouble. They had no choice but to live on the ground. The few successful surviving species of this challenge rapidly evolved to energy efficient upright bipeds freeing the hands for fighting hunting tool making etc. Like chimps we already lived in large social groups which require larger brains. This helped contribute the extra brainpower for the transition, along with the rapid evolutionary power of female sexual selection. 
Similarly, Bonobos also evolved female sexual receptivity when they also split off from the chimps long after we did. They however, still live successfully in the trees like the chimps and are more peaceful and cooperative. 

Once the Hominids were successful hunter-gatherers on the ground their evolution slowed while they spread out of Africa to Eurasia. Still without language and not yet human, the real evolutionary challenges lay ahead. A couple of long decimating ice ages necessitated further rapid evolution to avoid extinction. With the power of sexual selection in this harsh environment, we evolved larger modern brains capable of creating new technologies on the coast of south Africa by first beginning the difficult exploitation of the sea with shellfish. After the ice ages the new Homo sapiens displaced the old hominid populations around the world and continued to rapidly evolve language and culture to this day, still emphasizing the importance of proper mate selection. 

Few animals other than chimps can see themselves in a mirror like we can i.e. from another chimps point of view (two degrees removed) looking back at himself and know the image is himself instead of another animal. This objective thinking, from an artificial point of view outside of ourself, allows us to substitute artificial mental symbols for the real thing and manipulate them by age three. With language we can think five degrees removed from, chimps two-degree objective point of view.

We can&#039;t turn our brains off either. They are always doing something. I like to make use of this by asking questions for it to work on while I am busy. I am always amazed by what it finds. It is the source of my most creative non-linear ideas. We owe it all to female sexual selection and hard times.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>THE SPARK OF SEXUAL SELECTION </p>
<p>The first females in our lineage, to become sexually receptive year round, changed everything (probably while we were still in the trees). </p>
<p>A single dominant male fathering most of the offspring, produces a genetically homogeneous population with a small gene pool and is wasteful of non-reproducing males genes and resources. </p>
<p>Once males no longer had to waste their energy competing for scarce females in heat, they could start cooperating with each other to help provide for their individual mates, producing more child care, survivability and higher birth rates. </p>
<p>Because the females were now competing for the best available males, this sexual selection by each female for intelligence, strength, industriousness, hunting and running ability etc. rapidly produced a large heterogeneous gene pool. A large variety of sustainable traits in the population then made rapid evolution possible. Female sexual selection made it inevitable.</p>
<p>As long as life is easy, evolution has little to do. When the African climate dried out and the trees disappeared from the jungle the apes were in trouble. They had no choice but to live on the ground. The few successful surviving species of this challenge rapidly evolved to energy efficient upright bipeds freeing the hands for fighting hunting tool making etc. Like chimps we already lived in large social groups which require larger brains. This helped contribute the extra brainpower for the transition, along with the rapid evolutionary power of female sexual selection.<br />
Similarly, Bonobos also evolved female sexual receptivity when they also split off from the chimps long after we did. They however, still live successfully in the trees like the chimps and are more peaceful and cooperative. </p>
<p>Once the Hominids were successful hunter-gatherers on the ground their evolution slowed while they spread out of Africa to Eurasia. Still without language and not yet human, the real evolutionary challenges lay ahead. A couple of long decimating ice ages necessitated further rapid evolution to avoid extinction. With the power of sexual selection in this harsh environment, we evolved larger modern brains capable of creating new technologies on the coast of south Africa by first beginning the difficult exploitation of the sea with shellfish. After the ice ages the new Homo sapiens displaced the old hominid populations around the world and continued to rapidly evolve language and culture to this day, still emphasizing the importance of proper mate selection. </p>
<p>Few animals other than chimps can see themselves in a mirror like we can i.e. from another chimps point of view (two degrees removed) looking back at himself and know the image is himself instead of another animal. This objective thinking, from an artificial point of view outside of ourself, allows us to substitute artificial mental symbols for the real thing and manipulate them by age three. With language we can think five degrees removed from, chimps two-degree objective point of view.</p>
<p>We can&#8217;t turn our brains off either. They are always doing something. I like to make use of this by asking questions for it to work on while I am busy. I am always amazed by what it finds. It is the source of my most creative non-linear ideas. We owe it all to female sexual selection and hard times.</p>
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		<title>Comment on In the News: 2009 Kistler Prize to Dr. Svante Pääbo by Tom Alexander</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/video/in-the-news-2009-kistler-prize-to-dr-svante-paabo/298/comment-page-1/#comment-144</link>
		<dc:creator>Tom Alexander</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:07:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=298#comment-144</guid>
		<description>THE SPARK OF SEXUAL SELECTION 

The first females in our lineage, to become sexually receptive year round, changed everything (probably while we were still in the trees). 

A single dominant male fathering most of the offspring, produces a genetically homogeneous population with a small gene pool and is wasteful of non-reproducing males genes and resources. 

Once males no longer had to waste their energy competing for scarce females in heat, they could start cooperating with each other to help provide for their individual mates, producing more child care, survivability and higher birth rates. 

Because the females were now competing for the best available males, this sexual selection by each female for intelligence, strength, industriousness, hunting and running ability etc. rapidly produced a large heterogeneous gene pool. A large variety of sustainable traits in the population then made rapid evolution possible. Female sexual selection made it inevitable.

As long as life is easy, evolution has little to do. When the African climate dried out and the trees disappeared from the jungle the apes were in trouble. They had no choice but to live on the ground. The few successful surviving species of this challenge rapidly evolved to energy efficient upright bipeds freeing the hands for fighting hunting tool making etc. Like chimps we already lived in large social groups which require larger brains. This helped contribute the extra brainpower for the transition, along with the rapid evolutionary power of female sexual selection. 
Similarly, Bonobos also evolved female sexual receptivity when they also split off from the chimps long after we did. They however, still live successfully in the trees like the chimps and are more peaceful and cooperative. 

Once the Hominids were successful hunter-gatherers on the ground their evolution slowed while they spread out of Africa to Eurasia. Still without language and not yet human, the real evolutionary challenges lay ahead. A couple of long decimating ice ages necessitated further rapid evolution to avoid extinction. With the power of sexual selection in this harsh environment, we evolved larger modern brains capable of creating new technologies on the coast of south Africa by first beginning the difficult exploitation of the sea with shellfish. After the ice ages the new Homo sapiens displaced the old hominid populations around the world and continued to rapidly evolve language and culture to this day, still emphasizing the importance of proper mate selection. 

Few animals other than chimps can see themselves in a mirror like we can i.e. from another chimps point of view (two degrees removed) looking back at himself and know the image is himself instead of another animal. This objective thinking, from an artificial point of view outside of ourself, allows us to substitute artificial mental symbols for the real thing and manipulate them by age three. With language we can think five degrees removed from, chimps two-degree objective point of view.

We can&#039;t turn our brains off either. They are always doing something. I like to make use of this by asking questions for it to work on while I am busy. I am always amazed by what it finds. It is the source of my most creative non-linear ideas. We owe it all to female sexual selection and hard times.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>THE SPARK OF SEXUAL SELECTION </p>
<p>The first females in our lineage, to become sexually receptive year round, changed everything (probably while we were still in the trees). </p>
<p>A single dominant male fathering most of the offspring, produces a genetically homogeneous population with a small gene pool and is wasteful of non-reproducing males genes and resources. </p>
<p>Once males no longer had to waste their energy competing for scarce females in heat, they could start cooperating with each other to help provide for their individual mates, producing more child care, survivability and higher birth rates. </p>
<p>Because the females were now competing for the best available males, this sexual selection by each female for intelligence, strength, industriousness, hunting and running ability etc. rapidly produced a large heterogeneous gene pool. A large variety of sustainable traits in the population then made rapid evolution possible. Female sexual selection made it inevitable.</p>
<p>As long as life is easy, evolution has little to do. When the African climate dried out and the trees disappeared from the jungle the apes were in trouble. They had no choice but to live on the ground. The few successful surviving species of this challenge rapidly evolved to energy efficient upright bipeds freeing the hands for fighting hunting tool making etc. Like chimps we already lived in large social groups which require larger brains. This helped contribute the extra brainpower for the transition, along with the rapid evolutionary power of female sexual selection.<br />
Similarly, Bonobos also evolved female sexual receptivity when they also split off from the chimps long after we did. They however, still live successfully in the trees like the chimps and are more peaceful and cooperative. </p>
<p>Once the Hominids were successful hunter-gatherers on the ground their evolution slowed while they spread out of Africa to Eurasia. Still without language and not yet human, the real evolutionary challenges lay ahead. A couple of long decimating ice ages necessitated further rapid evolution to avoid extinction. With the power of sexual selection in this harsh environment, we evolved larger modern brains capable of creating new technologies on the coast of south Africa by first beginning the difficult exploitation of the sea with shellfish. After the ice ages the new Homo sapiens displaced the old hominid populations around the world and continued to rapidly evolve language and culture to this day, still emphasizing the importance of proper mate selection. </p>
<p>Few animals other than chimps can see themselves in a mirror like we can i.e. from another chimps point of view (two degrees removed) looking back at himself and know the image is himself instead of another animal. This objective thinking, from an artificial point of view outside of ourself, allows us to substitute artificial mental symbols for the real thing and manipulate them by age three. With language we can think five degrees removed from, chimps two-degree objective point of view.</p>
<p>We can&#8217;t turn our brains off either. They are always doing something. I like to make use of this by asking questions for it to work on while I am busy. I am always amazed by what it finds. It is the source of my most creative non-linear ideas. We owe it all to female sexual selection and hard times.</p>
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		<title>Comment on Series Description by Tom Slexander</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/about-the-series/series-description/35/comment-page-1/#comment-143</link>
		<dc:creator>Tom Slexander</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:05:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=35#comment-143</guid>
		<description>THE SPARK OF SEXUAL SELECTION 

The first females in our lineage, to become sexually receptive year round, changed everything (probably while we were still in the trees). 

A single dominant male fathering most of the offspring, produces a genetically homogeneous population with a small gene pool and is wasteful of non-reproducing males genes and resources. 

Once males no longer had to waste their energy competing for scarce females in heat, they could start cooperating with each other to help provide for their individual mates, producing more child care, survivability and higher birth rates. 

Because the females were now competing for the best available males, this sexual selection by each female for intelligence, strength, industriousness, hunting and running ability etc. rapidly produced a large heterogeneous gene pool. A large variety of sustainable traits in the population then made rapid evolution possible. Female sexual selection made it inevitable.

As long as life is easy, evolution has little to do. When the African climate dried out and the trees disappeared from the jungle the apes were in trouble. They had no choice but to live on the ground. The few successful surviving species of this challenge rapidly evolved to energy efficient upright bipeds freeing the hands for fighting hunting tool making etc. Like chimps we already lived in large social groups which require larger brains. This helped contribute the extra brainpower for the transition, along with the rapid evolutionary power of female sexual selection. 
Similarly, Bonobos also evolved female sexual receptivity when they also split off from the chimps long after we did. They however, still live successfully in the trees like the chimps and are more peaceful and cooperative. 

Once the Hominids were successful hunter-gatherers on the ground their evolution slowed while they spread out of Africa to Eurasia. Still without language and not yet human, the real evolutionary challenges lay ahead. A couple of long decimating ice ages necessitated further rapid evolution to avoid extinction. With the power of sexual selection in this harsh environment, we evolved larger modern brains capable of creating new technologies on the coast of south Africa by first beginning the difficult exploitation of the sea with shellfish. After the ice ages the new Homo sapiens displaced the old hominid populations around the world and continued to rapidly evolve language and culture to this day, still emphasizing the importance of proper mate selection. 

Few animals other than chimps can see themselves in a mirror like we can i.e. from another chimps point of view (two degrees removed) looking back at himself and know the image is himself instead of another animal. This objective thinking, from an artificial point of view outside of ourself, allows us to substitute artificial mental symbols for the real thing and manipulate them by age three. With language we can think five degrees removed from, chimps two-degree objective point of view.

We can&#039;t turn our brains off either. They are always doing something. I like to make use of this by asking questions for it to work on while I am busy. I am always amazed by what it finds. It is the source of my most creative non-linear ideas. We owe it all to female sexual selection and hard times.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>THE SPARK OF SEXUAL SELECTION </p>
<p>The first females in our lineage, to become sexually receptive year round, changed everything (probably while we were still in the trees). </p>
<p>A single dominant male fathering most of the offspring, produces a genetically homogeneous population with a small gene pool and is wasteful of non-reproducing males genes and resources. </p>
<p>Once males no longer had to waste their energy competing for scarce females in heat, they could start cooperating with each other to help provide for their individual mates, producing more child care, survivability and higher birth rates. </p>
<p>Because the females were now competing for the best available males, this sexual selection by each female for intelligence, strength, industriousness, hunting and running ability etc. rapidly produced a large heterogeneous gene pool. A large variety of sustainable traits in the population then made rapid evolution possible. Female sexual selection made it inevitable.</p>
<p>As long as life is easy, evolution has little to do. When the African climate dried out and the trees disappeared from the jungle the apes were in trouble. They had no choice but to live on the ground. The few successful surviving species of this challenge rapidly evolved to energy efficient upright bipeds freeing the hands for fighting hunting tool making etc. Like chimps we already lived in large social groups which require larger brains. This helped contribute the extra brainpower for the transition, along with the rapid evolutionary power of female sexual selection.<br />
Similarly, Bonobos also evolved female sexual receptivity when they also split off from the chimps long after we did. They however, still live successfully in the trees like the chimps and are more peaceful and cooperative. </p>
<p>Once the Hominids were successful hunter-gatherers on the ground their evolution slowed while they spread out of Africa to Eurasia. Still without language and not yet human, the real evolutionary challenges lay ahead. A couple of long decimating ice ages necessitated further rapid evolution to avoid extinction. With the power of sexual selection in this harsh environment, we evolved larger modern brains capable of creating new technologies on the coast of south Africa by first beginning the difficult exploitation of the sea with shellfish. After the ice ages the new Homo sapiens displaced the old hominid populations around the world and continued to rapidly evolve language and culture to this day, still emphasizing the importance of proper mate selection. </p>
<p>Few animals other than chimps can see themselves in a mirror like we can i.e. from another chimps point of view (two degrees removed) looking back at himself and know the image is himself instead of another animal. This objective thinking, from an artificial point of view outside of ourself, allows us to substitute artificial mental symbols for the real thing and manipulate them by age three. With language we can think five degrees removed from, chimps two-degree objective point of view.</p>
<p>We can&#8217;t turn our brains off either. They are always doing something. I like to make use of this by asking questions for it to work on while I am busy. I am always amazed by what it finds. It is the source of my most creative non-linear ideas. We owe it all to female sexual selection and hard times.</p>
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		<title>Comment on Spark Blog: Alan Alda&#8217;s &#8220;King Kong&#8221; Encounter by Cecil</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/featured/spark-blog-alan-aldas-king-kong-encounter/277/comment-page-1/#comment-142</link>
		<dc:creator>Cecil</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:29:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=277#comment-142</guid>
		<description>Whose social cognition are you studying?  What is the importance of knowing how chimpanzees know and can use facial features?  Knowing that they are close to humans, perhaps we can just work on making a place for them in the wild and forget about doing experiments on them.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Whose social cognition are you studying?  What is the importance of knowing how chimpanzees know and can use facial features?  Knowing that they are close to humans, perhaps we can just work on making a place for them in the wild and forget about doing experiments on them.</p>
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		<title>Comment on In the News: 2009 Kistler Prize to Dr. Svante Pääbo by Dr.Melvin Mednick</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/video/in-the-news-2009-kistler-prize-to-dr-svante-paabo/298/comment-page-1/#comment-141</link>
		<dc:creator>Dr.Melvin Mednick</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:50:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=298#comment-141</guid>
		<description>At least two elements to be found in the last part of the brain to develop has  gone unmentioned in the whole series. These elements are unique to human and make society possible and what it is.
.1 The ability to inhibit, manipulate, and direct fundamental impulses. A human can be taught to fear obey,love without the rewards or punishment necessary to train animals.Sexual arousal is an  example of the ability to inhibit and direct physical impulse-humans are the only animals who when sexually aroused can say -not here or not now, or not with you.
 This is linked to and makes possible another human characteristic that receives no mention in this series.Humans are possibly the only animal species that has no  distinct breeding period.Aside from menstral periods, the human female is sexually receptive all year around and for a significant period of her life.Males are even more easily aroused.. For most other animals the rutting season is a period of tension, combat, foregoing easting, sleeping.How did humans come to be so different, and what role did it play in human evolution.
  I believe the series could benefit by some input from biological anthropologists who have been trained to look at human bevaviour in addition to stones, bones, and DNA.

 

 .</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At least two elements to be found in the last part of the brain to develop has  gone unmentioned in the whole series. These elements are unique to human and make society possible and what it is.<br />
.1 The ability to inhibit, manipulate, and direct fundamental impulses. A human can be taught to fear obey,love without the rewards or punishment necessary to train animals.Sexual arousal is an  example of the ability to inhibit and direct physical impulse-humans are the only animals who when sexually aroused can say -not here or not now, or not with you.<br />
 This is linked to and makes possible another human characteristic that receives no mention in this series.Humans are possibly the only animal species that has no  distinct breeding period.Aside from menstral periods, the human female is sexually receptive all year around and for a significant period of her life.Males are even more easily aroused.. For most other animals the rutting season is a period of tension, combat, foregoing easting, sleeping.How did humans come to be so different, and what role did it play in human evolution.<br />
  I believe the series could benefit by some input from biological anthropologists who have been trained to look at human bevaviour in addition to stones, bones, and DNA.</p>
<p> .</p>
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		<title>Comment on Spark Blog: Alan Alda&#8217;s &#8220;King Kong&#8221; Encounter by Ron K</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/featured/spark-blog-alan-aldas-king-kong-encounter/277/comment-page-1/#comment-140</link>
		<dc:creator>Ron K</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:51:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=277#comment-140</guid>
		<description>It is wonderful to see that Mr. Alda will be back on TV and associated with Nova. I enjoyed him on Scientific American Frontiers. I look forward to the new programs in January</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It is wonderful to see that Mr. Alda will be back on TV and associated with Nova. I enjoyed him on Scientific American Frontiers. I look forward to the new programs in January</p>
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		<title>Comment on Your Sparks: June 26, 2009 by cinnamonape</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/featured/your-sparks-june-26-2009/248/comment-page-1/#comment-139</link>
		<dc:creator>cinnamonape</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:16:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=248#comment-139</guid>
		<description>This is a &quot;toughie&quot; as it would have to be something that is found in every &quot;normal&quot; human being [and there will be huge debates about this] and certainly normal in every human culture...while at the same time absent in our nearest non-human relatives and other mammals (and all other organisms). I think it&#039;s probably the combination of features more than any one...language- which gives a way to communicate about events in the future or the past. That places us in a world of symbols...bound with other humans in a human society.

The capacity to see oneself as another organism might (and also the belief that one can enter the mind of  other non-human organisms) . This was useful both to play the Machiavellian chess-games in the social world, but also to make a good hunter...since it allows one to predict an animals movements and responses (including anthropomorphizing and personification). But this also allows us to impose minds and purposiveness into inanimate objects (&quot;Damn Car!&quot;) or into nature or the power behind nature [the &quot;deity&quot;]. 

But other organisms constantly surprise us - ants raise aphids like we do cattle, and harvest fungus like plants. Apes make tools, mentally map their environments returning to fruit trees as they go into fruit years down the road. Japanese macaques passing on inventive ways of manipulating food from one generation to the next.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This is a &#8220;toughie&#8221; as it would have to be something that is found in every &#8220;normal&#8221; human being [and there will be huge debates about this] and certainly normal in every human culture&#8230;while at the same time absent in our nearest non-human relatives and other mammals (and all other organisms). I think it&#8217;s probably the combination of features more than any one&#8230;language- which gives a way to communicate about events in the future or the past. That places us in a world of symbols&#8230;bound with other humans in a human society.</p>
<p>The capacity to see oneself as another organism might (and also the belief that one can enter the mind of  other non-human organisms) . This was useful both to play the Machiavellian chess-games in the social world, but also to make a good hunter&#8230;since it allows one to predict an animals movements and responses (including anthropomorphizing and personification). But this also allows us to impose minds and purposiveness into inanimate objects (&#8221;Damn Car!&#8221;) or into nature or the power behind nature [the "deity"]. </p>
<p>But other organisms constantly surprise us &#8211; ants raise aphids like we do cattle, and harvest fungus like plants. Apes make tools, mentally map their environments returning to fruit trees as they go into fruit years down the road. Japanese macaques passing on inventive ways of manipulating food from one generation to the next.</p>
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		<title>Comment on Spark Blog: Squirrels Bury Nuts, But Are They Planning Ahead? by cinnamonape</title>
		<link>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/topics/behind-the-scenes/spark-blog-squirrels-bury-nuts-but-are-they-planning-ahead/251/comment-page-1/#comment-138</link>
		<dc:creator>cinnamonape</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:55:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/?p=251#comment-138</guid>
		<description>I think that squirrels pretty much must do things without &quot;thinking ahead&quot; on this. After all, many squirrels have never been successfully through a winter, so they must either be copying what other squirrels are doing without a clue as to why...or running off some &quot;program&quot;...or a little of both. Of course, once successful they might get better at doing this, remembering where nuts are hidden, etc.

 But I&#039;ve heard that lots of squirrel caches get &quot;lost&quot; and these end up growing into seedlings.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I think that squirrels pretty much must do things without &#8220;thinking ahead&#8221; on this. After all, many squirrels have never been successfully through a winter, so they must either be copying what other squirrels are doing without a clue as to why&#8230;or running off some &#8220;program&#8221;&#8230;or a little of both. Of course, once successful they might get better at doing this, remembering where nuts are hidden, etc.</p>
<p> But I&#8217;ve heard that lots of squirrel caches get &#8220;lost&#8221; and these end up growing into seedlings.</p>
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