Discussion about scientific issues as they relate to God and Christianity including archaeology, origins of life, the universe, intelligent design, evolution, etc.
"The big message [from this study] is that there is another species out there that is meaningful in its communication, so that's not unique to humans," said Dr Hobaiter.
But also
Dr Susanne Shultz, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Manchester, said the study was commendable in seeking to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the evolution of human language. But, she added, the results were "a little disappointing".
"The vagueness of the gesture meanings suggest either that the chimps have little to communicate, or we are still missing a lot of the information contained in their gestures and actions," she said.
"Moreover, the meanings seem to not go beyond what other less sophisticated animals convey with non-verbal communication.
"So, it seems the gulf remains."
Thoughts?
But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:21
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
-- Philippians 1:6
Thanks for posting. I read or heard about this somewhere a few days ago. I was dissappointed that Dr. Hobaiter would jump to such a conclusion. It seems his worldview is pushing him to "fill a gap" in our understanding. Of course, from my perspective there is no gap to fill. Symbolism separates humans from animals. Language is unique to us. Gesters among animals are merely instictual in a sense. They don't convey any meaning other than "I want this right now". A chimp never says to another, "how are you doing, you look sad today". Even if they feel sadness. Perhaps I'm wrong?
This is a bit of a problem for the atheist, as our ability to communicate deeply has no link to the recent past. Human evolution seems to me a sinking ship, much like the origin of life. That's not me saying God didn't use evolution (I don't believe he did though). Just that if God used evolution, he did something special with Adam that the naturalist can't explain. Just like the origin of life.
I hope science like this isn't to greatly influenced by the atheistic worldview. I've seen how bad science can be when influenced by the Christian worldview and it aint pretty
