Jennie by Douglas Preston

Author:Douglas Preston [Preston, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2010-05-04T23:00:00+00:00

From an interview with Dr. Pamela Prentiss.

Every time we tested Jennie, we discovered something new. Every single experiment opened up more avenues for research. It was such a heady time. The chimpanzee mind is so complex. The only thing was, we could never seem to limit the variables and create a "pure" experimental environment. We were always testing five things at once.

Our psychologist, Sonnenblick, was interested in "intentional theory." You must know all about that from Generative Grammar and Deep Structure. You did read that book, didn't you? I know, it's a little big. But how are you supposed to write about this stuff if you're too goddamn lazy to . . . Excuse me, but this is important. At least read this. "Intentional Analysis, Prevarication, Abstractional-ization, and Generalization in the Mind of an Ape." It's a short paper. You'll find everything in there.

The question Sonnenblick wanted to know was: Do chimpanzees know that we have intentions? Let me explain. Let's say I accidentally hurt you. You will be less upset than if I deliberately hurt you. Right? Because you know my intentions. Now this is not like dogs. When you step on a dog's tail, he'll bite you whether you meant it or not. He doesn't know your intentions. And he can't know your intentions; he hasn't got the brains. Up until then, we thought only human beings could interpret the intentions of another. So the question was: Can chimps know we have intentions? If so, can they figure out those intentions?

We did this experiment to see if chimps could lie. Oh, Dr. Epstein told you about that? Good. Now listen. The experiment didn't only show that chimps could lie. Jennie knew which person would share the banana and which person wouldn't. That is, Jennie knew the intention of the person. Okay?

Sonnenblick wanted to explore this idea further. This is complicated, so pay attention. Can chimps attribute intentions to a third party? He designed a very ingenious test. The test didn't ask Jennie to solve a problem for herself. It asked her how a third person would solve a problem.

Here's what we did. We created a series of videotapes. Jennie had watched so much TV at the Archibald house that it was second nature for her to view a monitor. That was at least one good thing from all that television she watched. Mrs. Archibald would just park her in front of the TV It was such a bother to her, having Jennie around. It was television that ruined her son, Sandy, too. Let me tell you—

I'm off the subject. These videotapes showed people confronting a problem. Then we'd ask Jennie to solve the problem for them. For example, one tape showed a man trying to reach a bunch of bananas hanging from the ceiling. Shown nearby was a chair. When the tape was over we showed Jennie photographs illustrating two possible solutions to the problem. In one, the man was lying on the floor with the chair on its side.

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