“Researchers now believe that being aggressive, intolerant and short-tempered could be a sign of a more advanced nature.
A more childlike attitude to behaviour such as tolerance and sharing, could, in contrast, be an indication of not being as developed, the new study suggests.
The news will be welcomed by those who are known to operate on a short fuse, such as talented but foul-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay and businessman Sir Alan Sugar.”
Read more at The Telegraph (thanks, Kirsty)
Although here is an update from BioBlog disputing the Telegraph article (Thanks Michael)
That’s alright then. I’m just of advanced nature every morning.
… I’m going to call my old man and tell him this; he might react satisfied for once.
Of course anyone who follows Ben Goldacre knows even before they click through to the article that it will essentially be a fairy tale that amused the journalists and might at best contain some of the same words as the actual research…
It looks like the Telegraph are telling only half the story, based on skim-reading the NS and ignoring half of it[Newspaper, lie? Surely not!].
Here’s a little more: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18443-peter-pan-ways-make-bonobos-the-most-amiable-of-apes.html
Grumpiness -according to the cited article- is only a positive thing in times of limited food. In an environment where food is readily available, more social creatures are ‘more advanced’ and more developed.
One would also argue that a society which is less social and more violent isn’t more advanced anyway…
I knew it, i knew it, suits me just fine motherfckrs.
They might have more of an advanced nature but I bet they have less friends…..
LC x
wow, am i way civilized or what!
The Telegraph piece is a preposterous misinterpretation of the paper in question, “Bonobos Exhibit Delayed Development of Social Behavior and Cognition Relative to Chimpanzees“, in press at Current Biology. All the paper shows, essentially, is both bonobos and chimps are cooperative when they’re young, but then chimps become progressively less cooperative (and more competitive) with age, whereas bonobos don’t. The authors hypothesize that this may be due to pedomorphism (retaining juvenile characteristics into adulthood). Civilization does not come into it.
A comment of mine appears to have been lost… Short version: the study did not conclude anything close to what the “journalists” at the Telegraph say it did. Never, ever, ever, read the Telegraph for science news. C.f. Ben Goldacre.
- sorry about that – happens from time to time. – Phillis
=O Where did you find that picture of me?
Ah, bonobos .. they are known for their copulating culture, more than any other species (which is pretty advanced civilization according to most men). I find a comparison is not correct here with other species, simply too different.
I myself dont think that Grumpiness is “A Sign Of Advanced Civilisation” nor the exact opposite. Simply social behaviour. It depends on way too many things, that’s my opinion. And if you start checking a few of those things in human culture .. then you will see that it is not that simple. Unless you only check extremes., but even then ..
Acting like a bastard can also be a sign of a lack of development in a person – emotional development that is (think of Gordon Ramsay here).
Just like the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are signs of an advanced civilization in one sense (i.e. technological advancement), these signs dont necessarily mean we should be aspiring to them.
There are a number of positive and negative by-products to any level evolution, but they are just ‘signs’ at the end of the day, but as guideposts of something to aim for are quite useless (i.e. Gordon Ramsay is a very crude sign of evolution as such).
I agree, depends on which direction you want to be ‘advancing’ to!