How Similar Are Humans And Chimps?
I know that humans and chimps share something like 98 percent of our DNA. But what does this really mean? At least on the surface, humans and chimps seem very different we live in houses, they live in trees. We use complex language, they use hoots and grunts.
So how similar are we?
Well, according to a slew of studies, humans and apes and monkeys are much more alike than they are different.
For example, one thing that seems to make us unique is our ability to think ahead and to be aware of what other people may be thinking. But chimps do this, too.
In zoos they’ve been seen collecting rocks to use as weapons, and hiding them under haystacks to fool their enemies. In one experiment, chimps that were able to see some hidden food could realize that other chimps were not aware of the food and used that information against them.
Another supposedly uniquely human trait is self awareness. But dolphins and elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror. And when it comes to memory, some apes are far better than humans at memorizing images and strings of numbers.
None of this means that monkeys and apes are the same as people. There are still important differences. While some apes can recognize that certain letter combinations form words, they still can’t read and understand what words mean. And the way apes and monkeys communicate is much simpler and more primitive than human language.
我知道人类和猩猩有许多共同之处，比如我们有98%相同的DNA。但是，这究竟意味着什么呢？至少从表面上看来，人类和猩猩大有不同，人类居住在房子里，而猩猩却居住在树上；人类使用复杂的语言交流，而猩猩却用尖叫声和咕噜声进行交流。究竟我们有多相似呢？
根据大量的研究显示，人类、类人猿以及猴子之间的相似之处远多于不同之处。
例如，一个使得我们看起来独一无二的能力是，人类有能力事先考虑和意识到其他人的想法。但是，猩猩也有这样的能力。
在动物园里，他们会收集石块作为武器，而且会藏身在干草垛里来愚弄敌人。一项实验发现猩猩能够看到一些隐藏的食物，并且能发觉其他猩猩没有发现这些食物，于是它会利用它所得到的信息来对付其它猩猩。
另一个被认为是人类独特特性的是——自我意识。但是海豚和大象也能够认出在镜中的自己。就记忆而言，一些猿类在记忆图片和一串数字的时候远比人类要强得多。
以上并不表明猴子、猿类跟人类是一样的。他们之间仍存在着许多重要的不同。虽然一些猩猩能够认出一些字母组成的单词，但是他们不会读也不能明白单词的意思。此外，猩猩和猴子交流的方式比人类语言更加简单和原始。
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