I would like to propose a study. While I was reading about Koko, the gorilla, today I became curious about her communication abilities. I haven't researched intently about the subject and my reading hasn't gone much farther than the wikipedia article, but I think I'll definitely be looking into this more later. Anyway, what I became interested in the ability for one gorilla to communicate with another through sign language. From what I've read Koko did this a little with another gorilla name Micheal, who didn't have as strong a grasp on sign language as Koko did. So there is one instance, but I'd be interested in seeing a group of gorillas communicating with each other through sign language. Another interesting concept that was brought up in the wikipedia article was that they were hoping that Micheal and Koko would mate and then teach their children sign language. That would truly be a novel thing to come about. The idea is incredibly interesting when you think about how that would effect the development of the gorilla pod in the long run. In five or six generations when you have the entire pod speaking in sign language it would be interesting to see how complex their communication would become.

This entire makes me ponder the first human language to come about. We truly take language for granted, and it is really quiet an amazing thing. Our ability to communicate with each other is what really sets us above animals evolutionary. Without our ability to think abstractly and communicate ideas rather than just facts we wouldn't be able to invent anything. Perhaps we would have a few simple tools, but nothing complex. It is interesting to think about and something we will probably never know. At some point we developed language and since then we have been able to do anything. Truly a turning point in our species development.


I used the word truly three times in this post... I should put my thesaurus back on my desk.

Existential Crisis

That probably isn't the best way to describe what I am going through right now, but it works. I think what doesn't work for me with that title is the word crisis. The word implies an urgency to the situation that I don't really feel. I have simply been thinking a lot about life recently. When I read up on existential crises, on Wikipedia, they had some suggestions on what brings on the crisis.

Existential crisis is often provoked by a significant event in the person's life — marriage, separation, major loss, the death of a loved one; a life-threatening experience; psycho-active drug use; adult children leaving home; reaching a personally-significant age (turning 30, turning 40, etc.), etc.

But none of that happened to me. I got to the place I am after going to a super market to purchase some Nyquil. That event in itself is rather unimportant, but it is where I feel the story should begin (although I suppose I could start at getting sick, or even who got me sick). That said, while I was checking out I was required to show ID for the purchase. I assumed it was because I was paying with a credit card and needed an ID for that, but it was actually for my single bottle of cherry flavored Nyquil. This of course was also insignificant, but led to a conversation about why I needed to be IDed (obviously cause I am going to make Meth or whatever you make with red Nyquil). I eventually posited that all transactions would be paperless and that we would have a combined currency and identification. I didn't think that this would happen in the next hundred years or even in my lifetime so it got me on the train of thought about life in general.
But that is just the story of how I got here. For me the important part is where I am now, although the story does come back into play, but I'll discuss that later. So where am I now? Well I have been trying to determine the indeterminable. Looking for meaning in life. This is difficult question for anyone, and is a matter of faith no matter how you look at it. Whether you believe in life after death or not you only go by whatever directs your faith. Be it scientific reason, or religious reason. But I want to write about this, and so this is going to be the topic of my next few posts (or more, who knows). It is late now and so I am done for now, but I will be back, eventually.