: But I wasn't talking about individuals. Our *species* is
: the owner of a complex language, while our
: experimented-on lab cousins are merely borrowing it
: from us. ;)
Aye, but because our "lab-cousins" are capable of grasping complex languages we teach them, then it is only chance that they have not yet stumbled onto the invention of their own complex languages. Sure, they are not AS advanced as us, and thus couldn't develop the same level of complexity, but given time and chance they could develop some complexity comparable (though likely not equal) to humans.
: This is a good analogy, and might I add that technology
: and culture (in the human sociological sense) are
: interdependent?
I would agree with that, yes.
: I would argue that language has been sufficiently complex
: for humans well before the species experienced its
: present technological boom. I'd also argue that since
: our ape cousins can only learn our language to a
: "limited degree", they must lack the
: intellectual capacity to master the terms and concepts
: a typical human can.
Of course, on both points. Language was an early invention, relative to most technologies we have now. However, that does not mean that humans have changed in any particular way since we invented chatting to when we invented chat rooms, other than our "cultural mind", the collective knowledge of the species passed from generation to generation. Biologically we are (more or less) the same. Likewise, apes which do not now possess complex cultures could develop more complex ones, though likely not as complex as humans, if given time and chance.
: By "long time" do you mean 5 million years? If
: so, and we can wipe humans out of the picture, I agree
: with you whole-heartedly. ;) Hopefully it won't take
: our species 5 million years to figure out how to reach
: Alpha Centauri in a lifetime. ;)
See Moore's Law. It took a long time from the birth of man to the birth of fire. From fire, fire-pits weren't far off. Once you've got a fire pit, making a forge is eventually obvious. And when you have a forge, you can make all kinds of tools which get smaller and more detailed until nowadays we can laser-etch nude pictures of Marylin Monroe on silicon wafers smaller than a thumbnail.
: Neurons actually communicate via neurotransmitters,
: though waves of voltage help. :)
Well, electrons are involved in neurotransmitters, so nyah! :-)
: That said, while we may love randomness, we shouldn't go
: overboard invoking it as a reason for everything.
: After all, we are still such children in this
: Universe. Fetuses, even. Maybe there are certain
: non-random process guiding us we don't yet
: understand...
JJARO WERE AT TAU CETI!
