Alphachimp Studio > Pop!Tech > Human Nature > Frans de Waal

from Fast Company's Blog:

Emory professor and author of "Bonobo: the Forgotten Ape", shared the findings of his studies of primates, and noted how the behavior we're currently seeing in the presidential campaign is not dissimilar to that of two apes competing for primacy. For example, he said, chimps are prone to form strategic coalitions, even with enemies, as a way of challenging another chimp's power. Cut to a slide of the infamous McCain/Bush hug. In another experiment, he discussed how capuchin monkeys reject unequal pay. If one chimp gets a slice of cucumber (tasty, but not yummy) in exchange for a pebble, and his pal in the next cage gets a grape (tasty AND yummy), the cucumber-trading primate will eventually retire into the corner of his cage in a snit. Can a lawsuit be far behind?

Listen to a podcast of the presentation.