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Darwin, Magic and Evolution
I believe that Darwin would have enjoyed this video of a chimp being dazzled by a magician; it reveals much about our place in the natural universe.
Posted by Alex Tabarrok on August 29, 2009 at 07:33 AM | Permalink
Comments
The little boxes showing the "contestants" or audience members (I'm never quite sure) allow us to be captivated by by Japanese girls being fascinated by chimps being dazzled by magicians.
Posted by: Andrew at Aug 29, 2009 10:58:02 AM
Japanese TV is so ... weird.
Not at all like sophisticated American TV.
Posted by: anon at Aug 29, 2009 11:15:10 AM
American TV is so ... weird.
Nat at all like sophisticated Japanese TV...
http://www.uncommonsportsman.com/2009/6/3/897665/silent-library-comes-to-mtv
oh wait.
Posted by: Nate at Aug 29, 2009 11:52:38 AM
Yes, not at all like sophisticated American TV.
See the YouTube video of irrational exuberance in this CR post:
Misc: Cerberus, Flippers and Market
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/08/misc-cerberus-flippers-and-market.html
Posted by: anon at Aug 29, 2009 11:55:15 AM
The chimp handler is part of the act, and the chimp is a trained chimp ... in other words the chimp is a trained part of the act
It is impossible to know what are "natural" reactions here and which are trained responses.
Posted by: Greg Ransom at Aug 29, 2009 12:11:41 PM
Terrific.
When perplexed, the chimp regularly seeks comfort in a reassuring embrace.
Troubling, those things we don't understand.
Posted by: Daniel Klein at Aug 29, 2009 12:24:56 PM
The chimp handler is part of the act, and the chimp is a trained chimp ... in other words the chimp is a trained part of the act.
That's not so obvious to me. I think if the chimp had seen the act before, he would have been checking out the potted plants for hidden grapes much earlier, or (if trained not to) he wouldn't have spent so much time doing so after he was directed to the first one. That is, he would have known from past experience that there were no more grapes in the tree.
Also, if I had trained the chimp as part of the act, I think I would have trained him to show more concern for his handler during the last trick. I think that one was over his head.
Posted by: MattJ at Aug 29, 2009 1:24:44 PM
poor chimp.
Posted by: jj at Aug 29, 2009 3:51:15 PM
I found the reactions of the chimp to be almost identical to those I would expect a three or four year old child to have.
Posted by: Tom West at Aug 29, 2009 7:50:30 PM
It looks like he actually figured out one of the tricks--the one where the magician tries to put a handkerchief in one ear and pull it out the other. When the magician put the handkerchief in his ear with one hand, the chimp looked at the other hand, and the magician had to resist, because that was where he was holding the handkerchief. Interesting (assuming the chimp wasn't trained, of course).
Posted by: blabla at Aug 30, 2009 10:15:58 AM
It is so cute and touching when the chimp rushed to hug her friend right after the sword was off his throat.
Posted by: Yan at Aug 30, 2009 1:13:48 PM
I do not know why I find this more disturbing than a magician dazzling a 4 year old human. Perhaps because they 4 year old human will one day know the truth. Or s/he will know that there is something called "magic" which is supposed to be mysterious. But every time this chimp was fooled, I thought "How cruel, they are distorting --perhaps permanently-- all his models of how the world works".
Posted by: londenio at Aug 31, 2009 5:02:08 AM
Sadistic.
Posted by: damon katz at Aug 31, 2009 10:15:05 AM
Just wait until you wake up as the 'chimp' in a alien magic act at the Tralfamadorean zoo.
Posted by: Robin J G at Sep 5, 2009 6:47:49 AM
Yes it is. Also, why is that man dressed like the chimp? Are they BFFs?
This reminds me of the magic I used to tease my dog with. Well, I say ‘magic’ - it was mainly swapping tasty biscuits...
Posted by: jeu at Sep 21, 2009 5:51:47 AM
