Non-human computer wizards
Published Fri, Apr 13 2007 9:05 AM
Technorati Tags: Cool Stuff
Humans arent the only primates to get sucked in by video games. Are we going to have to worry about lazy, backtalking orangutans next? CNN is reporting about orangutan computer wizards:
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Four-year-old Bernas isn't the computer wizard his mom is, but he's learning. Just the other day he used his lips and feet to play a game on the touch-screen monitor as his mom, Madu, swung from vines and climbed trees.
The two Sumatran orangutans at Zoo Atlanta are playing computer games while researchers study the cognitive skills of the orange and brown primates.
The best part? Zoo visitors get to watch their every move.
The orangutans use a touch screen built into a tree-like structure that blends in with their zoo habitat. Visitors watch from a video monitor in front of the exhibit.
"That's so cool," Jeri McCarthy told her three daughters as Bernas drew a red, blue and yellow picture on the screen. "He can't get enough!"
Zoo officials hope the exhibit will raise awareness of the rapidly diminishing wild orangutan population, which is on track to completely disappear in the next decade, and potentially provide keys to their survival.
"The more we understand about orangutan's cognitive processes, the more we'll understand about what they need to survive in the wild," said Tara Stoinski, manager of conservation partnerships for the zoo. "It enables us to show the public how smart they are."
I'm all in favor of this actually. Orangutans are probably the smartest primates next to man. If video games can help them survive, that's cool.
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Stanford Matthews responded with:
 | It's all lies. That's the geek squad at Best Buy. |
Perri Nelson responded with:
 | Great comment. My wife and I were laughing at that for several minutes. |
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