I left the conference with a tremendous appreciation for ape
research–particularly the complexities of their cognitive capabilities.
Having sponsored ape research in collaboration with the National Zoo, I
had thought I was fairly sophisticated in terms of understanding what is
going on in the field–I now know I'm not.
I think it is fair to say that ape research, both in the field and with
animals in captivity, is undergoing a similar revolution to what
happened in neuroscience over the past decade–the methodologies are
becoming ever more sophisticated which allow for asking more interesting
questions.
Our next Decade of the Mind symposium will be in January out at Sandia
National Laboratory. The focus will be robotics. Stay tuned.
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 