So You’ve Decided to visit Earth.
Pamphlet with 10 simple rules to aid your survival on the world of this up and coming hostile species
Paid for by the Galactic Confederation.
Rule Number 1: Eavesdrop, Eavesdrop, Eavesdrop. The gateway to understanding human mind is spending time reviewing their transmissions. Remarkably un-shy and very gregarious, they have been broadcasting both their audio and visual entertainment for decades much to the annoyance of other neighboring, less chatty species, who grow annoyed by this constant racket. However, spending a little time watching their transmissions, which seems to focus on both their tendency towards violence and their obsession with mating, and soon you’ll be a complete expert on the psychologically of this rather eccentric, yet expressive primate. You may feel uneasy as you view the countless images of battles with alien species or find them bigoted as most every extraterrestrial is show as a human with a head deformity, but this is crucial to understanding what you may be in-store for if you visit their world. Despite a preponderance of evidence to the contrary, what is shown on their transmissions is what they believe is reality.
Rule number 2: Humans are aggressive. Since their humble begins this highly aggressive species of ape has a propensity for paranoid, warlike behavior and has a great deal of skill crafting deadly weapons to facilitate it. From their first tools of death made of wood and stone they have progressed to nuclear devices capable of destroying their entire civilization in a brief span of time. Their reasons for using these tools, which could easily lead to their extinction, vary greatly. However the most common themes of for this nearly const...
... middle of paper ...
...eas)
Things to avoid saying
1.) “Take me to your leader”(Who will take you to the dissection table)
2.) “I come in peace” (This is Human for, I going to exterminate you.)
3.) “Want some beads and trinkets?”(While a friendly gesture, they don’t respond to it well.)
4.) ““Mind if I put my flag here?” (A Flag in your hand is as good as a bulls-eye.)
5.) “Want to see my probe collection?” (Are you trying to die?)
6.) “I’m scouting a site of our new colony.” (Nice knowing you.)
Rule Number 10: Oh no! I've been caught! So you are sitting in a detention cell in area 51 awaiting the dissection table. You may even find a way to contact the Galactic confederation for help. Don’t worry, we’we've had many a being in this predicament and we know what works best. When your call for help is received, we will immediately feel very sad and mourn you for many years to come.
This article, titled Common Ground, written by Barbara Smuts, points out the main differences between humans and apes, such as our upright stance, large brains, and capacity for spoken language and abstract reasoning. However, the main point of this article is to emphasize the many similarities that apes share with us. Smuts goes into great detail about how human social and emotional tendencies are very reflective in the family of apes.
Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian” does a marvelous job of highlighting the violent nature of mankind. The underlying cause of this violent nature can be analyzed from three perspectives, the first being where the occurrence of violence takes place, the second man’s need to be led and the way their leader leads them, and lastly whether violence is truly an innate and inherent characteristic in man.
Humans are not the only species with the ability of making tools. Early on in her research, Jane Goodall observed an older male chimp, she called him David Greybeard. Through her observation of David, she witnessed two forms of the use of tools. The first was the use of grass as a tool to extract termites from their mounds. The second was the making of a tool by stripping the leaves off a twig, modifying it for the same purpose. When Louis Leakey heard this, he wrote her “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or except chimpanzees as humans” (Goodall, 2002). There is a definite correlation between man and chimps in this respect. Human culture involves learned behaviors through observation, imitation and practice, the use of tools with chimpanzees show the same ability for learned beh...
Weapons, explosions, death, killing, and a craving for power. Many wars have happened since the earth had been ruled by humans. Those wars costing hundreds of thousands of lives of innoce...
In this example, two primates were placed behind either a transparent or an opaque screen. Between these screens was a banana and I learned how a primate reacted when approached with the option if he should go for the banana when put against a dominant primate. I was impressed that they didn’t engage in a brawl over the banana, but instead used thought in regard to hierarchy. This to me, without doubt, proves once more that primates are able to produce complex behaviors that relate to humans. Thinking like this insinuates that primates as well as creatures other than humans have the ability of using
Grundberg, Andy. "A Dangerous Weapon." The American Scholar:. American Scholar, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 8 May 2014. .
All primates have the same sensation and are capable of receiving excessive amounts of information. All senses, sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch are essential to the development, survival, and overall well-being of living primates. It is fascinating how non-human primates, without language, can communicate in the same ways as human primates, with language. Non-human primates and human primates are highly developed mammals that possess many of the same communicative characteristics, but still differ greatly. Non-human primates fit into the category of not having language, but being able to communicate.
Connell, Richard. "The Most Dangerous Game." Structure, Sound and Sense . Eds. Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp. 4th ed. New York: Harcourt, 1983.
Throughout situations and research conducted by not only Robert Sapolsky or Jane Goodman, but from many other credited sources, we can blatantly see the, if not identical, similarities between the two species of humans and baboons. The most apparent likewise characteristics of this can be read and documented in Professor Sapolsky’s book, A Primate’s Memoirs. Sapolsky, who spent hundreds if not thousands, of hours studying these Savanna Baboons, sheds a vast insight into ideas of social dominance, mating strategies, instinctual prowess, community settings, hygiene, and reform of an entire generation; many of which can be unknowingly seen directly in the common occurrence of a humans daily life.
Zolyshka, Emily. "The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell." StudyMode. Studymode.com, May 2013. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
Chimpanzees portray their emotions through a number of facial expressions and mannerisms. Just like humans, they undergo mood swings, jealous rages, and laughter. For instance, Goodall observed during her research that a male gorilla “would threaten [me] with an upward and backward movement jerk of his head…” Some of their emotions are easy to read, while at other times we have to look at multiple places on their faces to understand their feelings. A chimpanzee also uses its facial expressions and sounds to communicate with each other, such as hoots and yells.
Chimpanzees (Figure 1) are the closest living relatives to us, and they share 99 percent of our DNA (1). Chimpanzees have distinct group territoriality. Male chimpanzees “patrol” near the boundary between the two ranges, at that time they move very carefully and quietly, and they can cease to listen and observe the range of their neighbors. Patrolling individuals are likely to face cruel and violent attacks, injuries, and even deaths. Intense excitement and aggressive display can occur if the two parties of two communities encounter each other. Usually, the larger group holds its ground, and interaction between different chimpanzees communities may also lead to gang attack. Expanding the community range is necessary to their social organizations, the males cooperation can defend the territory and increase the reproductive rates of the resident females by excluding female and male competitors. Body contact is common in their social life such as grooming (1). Usually, chimpanzees groom each other as a way to show harmony and solidarity in their society (Figure 2). Grooming each other demonstrates the deep bonds and close relationship between them. In addition, they can even hug, hold hands, touch, kiss each other as a way of emotional expression (2).
Reaching into Thought: The Minds of the Great Apes, ed. A. E. Russon, K. A. Bard & S. T. Parker, pp. 257–77. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Primates are considered to be one of the most interesting mammals on earth to study due to their numerous similarities with humans and their complexities in life. Today we look at primates as our closest relatives, meaning that observations and research will not only give us information about non-human primates, but human primates as well. There were many primates to choose from, though I decided to observe two types of primates, the Western Lowland Gorilla, and the Tufted Capuchin Monkey. Both species of primates were observed at the San Diego Zoo. With my research, I will collect data from my observations, give background information from credible sources, and explain the interactions I encountered while observing the two different primates. Before attempting to understand ourselves and other species as primates, it is important to understand that scientific research is the basis for determining our origins as primates, understanding certain species of primates, and why we consider primates to be our closest ancestor.
The regulation or elimination of chemical and biological weapons has huge societal impacts going into the future. Both sides of this argument greatly understand the severity of these weapons. There usage not only impacts certain regions, but the whole world. The usage of chemical and biological weapons will continue to be a controversial topic because there will be technological advances that make the chemicals and organisms much more deadly. Now is the time to understand and make decisions on the use of chemical and biological weapons before it gets out of hand. However, human civilization has had these “moral’’ arguments from the beginning of time and solving them will be one of our greatest challenges.