Gorilla walks upright, becomes overnight sensation

Exactly. I don't think this kid really understands evolution at all.

 

Bonobos are our closest genetic relative and already walk upright between 1/4 to a 1/3 of the time. They're only about 3 feet tall though and spend most of their day either playing or fucking, so it's not exactly intimidating.

 

"Evolution (also known as biological or organic evolution) is the change over time in the proportion of individual organisms differing in one or more inherited traits. A trait is a particular characteristic—anatomical, biochemical or behavioural—that is the result of gene–environment interaction. Evolution may occur when there is variation of inherited traits within a population. The major sources of such variation are mutation, genetic recombination and gene flow."

-- Wikipedia

So you see; that's not evolution. That's a few individuals learning sign language. However, if it was to spread to a population and they taught their offspring sign language and then over time they adapted to better use sign language (via changes to their genome) that would be evolution.

 

lol, Sorry, kid, but I'm not taking a link from Wikipedia as a credible source. Try again.

 

A link from Wikipedia? It's the first paragraph from the article on evolution. I could take any quote from any source and you will claim that you won't believe it simply because it will prove you wrong.

YOU do not understand evolution and your ignorance is astounding.

 

One gorilla already changes within it's genetic structure from other gorillas. Just like you and I have changes in our genome.

If some gorillas learned sign language and used it to their benefit, their specific genes would survive and that would be microevolution because of natural selection favoring gorillas that could communicate in that manner.

No specifically a 'sign language gene'.

 

Well the link from wikipedia was correct...

 

a make my dog move her mouth when there's music on the television, she is one mutha - bitching singer :biggrin:

 

Well we still need 99 more to walk upright to create any permanent social change as theorized in the hundredth monkey phenomenon



Hotwater

 

Exactly, if a gorilla was good at sign language because of the structure of it's genome and then that caused it to reproduce, thus producing offspring who also had a knack for sign language then that would be evolution.

 

lol "hide yo wife, hide yo kids" lol

 

A learned behavior is not evolution unless it becomes a natural part of a species life cycle. For example, walking upright for humans is in fact evolution as it's an integral part of human behavior.

Now a human swimming for example would be a good simile to the gorilla, it's just a learned behavior. We don't naturally do it at least for now.