JoshuaZ comments on Nature: Red, in Truth and Qualia - Less Wrong

35 Post author: orthonormal 29 May 2011 11:50PM

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Comment author: JoshuaZ 01 June 2011 04:53:37PM 2 points [-]

The primary cognitive attribute that we have but chimps mostly don't is cultural inheritance.

This seems wrong. Different chimp populations have different behavioral sets that seem learned from each other rather than genetic. See e.g. this summary. Humans have more effective methods of transmitting culture (especially through language), but chimps have quite a bit.

Comment author: timtyler 01 June 2011 05:18:56PM *  1 point [-]

Well, I did say "mostly". Human cultural inheritance and human language are leaps and bounds ahead of chimpanzee abilities in these areas.

In terms of culture, chimpanzees haven't made it as far as their "stone age" yet - and it wasn't until that point was reached that the human brain started inflating.