Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity

http://www.ted.com Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of "social technology" that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool: cooperation.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• TED
• TEDTalks
• TEDGlobal
• Mark Pagel
• language
• humanity
• transforming humanity
• complex system
• system of language
• social technology
• cooperation
• biology
• evolved
• evolving
• Communication
• Culture
• Evolution
• Science

[triforcelink]

My question to him is: How did the chimps come up with the tools that they DO use?

[Hallibutbouy]

The most pure example of a theory that uses the status quo to create an account of history.

[AppleSouffle]

Chimpanzees learn by trial and error. Chimps are just smart enough to figure out how to pick up a rock and crack a nut or to use a stick to get an apple on the other side of a fence. But adult chimps don't teach the young chimps. The young ones learn by watching the adults.

A young chimp will take as long as 4 years to learn how to crack a nut with a rock. With language, an adult human can teach a child how to crack a nut in mere seconds.

[Keytaster]

@appolity Not just some in my opinion. He really has some quirky ideas about culture, anthropology, and language

[appolity]

There are some points that I disagree with.

[OnceCabin2000]

he tells really lame jokes.

[Roq999]

Thumbs up for Mr. Swanlund!

[Janusha]

@metalmarious

they teach them stuff by SHOWING them how to hunt. And they only do that out of instinct and necessity. They dont evolve more efficient ways to hunt over time by discussing different methods or trying different tools.

[Michael89ir]

Yeah he is absolutely wrong that animals don't have social learning. The big difference is that they don't have language. Which gives us highly symbolic thinking where we can add things together hierarchically creating more complex things.