Saturday - January 30, 2010

something to lighten the hearts of the Grumpys .. Grumpiness is a sign of advanced civilisation

Don’t know what BMEWS readers will make of this but be interesting to find out. At least I learned what a bonobo is. I think.  I had never run across that word before.  Have you?  As for the Ramsay fellow mentioned here, I never watched or read him but have heard enough not to want to. If he’s an example of advanced civilization I don’t think I wanna see where it ends.

Victor Meldrews was a grumpy old character in a sit-com called, “One Foot In The Grave.”

The Victor Meldrews of this world should take heart – their grumpiness could be down to being higher up the evolutionary ladder than people who are easy-going.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent

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.

It could also provide scientific weight to the writer George Bernhard Shaw’s famous saying that “all progress depends on the unreasonable man”.

Researchers looked at two different kinds of monkey – the familiar chimpanzee and the less evolved but much more easy going bonobo, two of the closest living relatives to human beings.

Chimpanzees are accepted as more evolved than bonobos in terms of physical appearance, behaviour and social structure.

But chimps are also much more aggressive, particularly as they get older, when they become less tolerant of each other, share less and show more signs of violence to others.

SOURCE

Posted by peiper     on 01/30/2010 at 06:08 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Miscellaneous • USA •  
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