Check out some of the search engine results. Deaf. Hard of hearing. Hearing impaired. Gallaudet. You can even check out my blogsite Kokonut Pundits results. Or what about stem cells that may cure deafness someday? Or even UbiDuo that can help shrink that communication gap between deaf and hearing people? And how abouot the funniest one I found via ASL deaf search? It was in the James Randi Educational Foundation forum site under a topic called "Science Hoax: Simian Sign-Language - Greatest Science Hoax Ever?"
I'm continually surprised to discover how many educated and informed people believe that gorillas and chimps have been taught sign language. Yes, some primates have been taught to make gestures, and to get what they want by using them, but this is a trivial trick that can be done with all sorts of animals.
And here's another really funny one in that same forum.
One of the most damning critiques of the claims of the early primate sign language researchers, which is reported in Pinker, comes from a deaf signer on the team that worked with Washoe -- the only person on that team who was a native speaker of the ASL that they were supposed to be teaching the chimp:
"Every time the chimp made a sign, we were supposed to write it down in the log ... they were always complaining because my log didn't show enough signs. All the hearing people turned in logs with long lists of signs. They always saw more signs than I did ... I watched really carefully. This chimp's hands were moving constantly. Maybe I missed something, but I don't think so. I just wasn't seeing any signs. The hearing people were logging every movement the chimp made as a sign. Every time the chimp put his finger in his mouth, they'd say "Oh, he's making the sign for drink," and they'd give him some milk ... When the chimp scratched itself, they'd record it as the sign for scratch ... When [the chimps] want something, they reach. Sometimes [the trainers would] say, "Oh, amazing, look at that, it's exactly like the ASL sign for give!" It wasn't."
Maybe those chimps actually use SEE instead?
Be sure to look around. Check on the upper right hand side where it says "Top Feeds." One blog came up was a science subject, a favorite one of mine, about how to control the speed of a photon light by slowing it down from speed of light to a crawl...and, now, move it backward. Huh? You'd have to scroll it down to find the link but read it here. It's interesting. And guess where the experiment took place? University of Rochester.
Doh!
No comments:
Post a Comment