-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Hanson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Monday, August 03, 1998 1:41 PM
Subject: chimpanzeehood
Jay Hanson:
>We are not computers, we are animals. The genetic distance that separates
>us from pygmy or common chimps is only 1.6% (the two chimps are separated
>by 0.7%). In fact, we are the chimp's closest relative with the gorilla
>differing by 2.3%.
So? Can chimps build computers? Can they program them? That 1.6% makes a
hellova difference.
>The human mind is a billion-year accumulation of innovations through
>countless animals, and through countless environments for specific
reactions
>to specific situations. Genes for a panic response to threat are millions
>of times more likely to pass on to future generations than genes for
>contemplation -- the runner wasn't as likely to get eaten as the thinker.
>
>I can't think straight, but I can run like hell. <G>
Perhaps. But what we seem to have done in evolving is learn to control our
panic responses and to strategize instead of panic. What makes us unique
among animals is that we have developed enormous powers to act for both good
and evil. Among herd animals, we are unique in that we can fall upon
another herd and destroy it. Or we can consciously decide to leave it in
peace. I can think of no othe herd animal that has that capacity.
Ed Weick
