RIP Koko

[Mokum]

I am not at all convinced that koko was not capable of cognitive thinking. We really don't know what is going on in the mind of such a creature. You can have a bunch of degrees, but you really don't know. I don't think we give animals enough credit or respect.

 

[k9fanatic]

Why Haven’t the Obituaries for Koko the Ape Talked About Her Purported Nipple Fetish?


Yet it’s not at all clear that she really meant “nipple” when she used the sign, in which she gestured to her own nipple. Koko’s signings tended to be incredibly malleable. According to Patterson and her colleagues, “nice” could be interpreted as meaning “rice.” “Foot” could be interpreted as “man.” “Lip” as “woman.” “Bean” as “cookies.” Or “shoes.” Or “artichokes.” Or a “toy tiger.” Or “Jell-O.” When all else fails, an out-of-context word could be interpreted as an insult. (“Bird,” “nut,” “toilet,” and “devil” were supposedly favorites.) Or interpreted as boredom. Or as bizarre gorilla humor. Even when transcribed by a sympathetic stenographer, Koko’s signing seemed to be littered with non sequiturs, even gibberish. Instead of seeing Koko’s inconsistencies as a sign that the gorilla hadn’t truly acquired language, advocates had to go through more and more intricate—and bizarre—intellectual backflips to try to project a meaning upon them.

So you're saying she would have been right at home on the Cesspool?

 

[Rocktheworld]

Yeah, I remember hearing of all people a comedian talking about how Koko wasn't really as advanced as her trainer made it seem and it blew my mind. Some people are just really set on a lie they've been fed for decades and think anyone who wants to be real about the skills of a trained gorilla are sad sad people

Not too many steps above that horse learning to count

I am not at all convinced that koko was not capable of cognitive thinking. We really don't know what is going on in the mind of such a creature. You can have a bunch of degrees, but you really don't know. I don't think we give animals enough credit or respect.

Well nobody should be convinced of too many outright negatives. You can’t really be compelled to believe in a negative through evidence.

I’m not saying that absence of evidence is evidence of absence as someone recently said here; not trying to prove a negative. I’m not making any comment on her “cognitive thinking” (not sure what you actually mean by that). I’m just saying that she did not demonstrate that she acquired language as we humans view, understand, and conceptualize it

 

[August_West]

Not too many steps above that horse learning to count

@Carl Spackler?

 

[intlzncster]

Seemed caring and gentle. A very good gorilla.