SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS by Carl Sagan

[Mrs. Darth Vader]

Sagan begins chapter nine with the question; why do people want to live? Despite all kinds of adversities, people still wish to live. Then Sagan gives the atheist reason why life is a gift that should be cherished. “Life is a gift that, of the immense number of possible but unrealized beings, only the tiniest fraction are privileged to experience”. When Sagan asked these questions and talked about how hard people cling to life it was before America noticed terrorism(before 9/11) and the Muslim willingness to die.

Sagan then compares the desire to live with the hap-hazard way sex is engaged in. People do not plan to pass their DNA like they balance their check book. It just happens. Sagan then says; “Passions for life and sex are built into us, hardwired, pre-programmed.” We act unconsciously. Natural selection is in the drivers seat. Then Sagan gives the example of how ticks reproduce. Sagan then tells what a tick’s brain would be like. A tick is blind, deaf and smells very little. It can sense light but not see it. It knows butyric acid, it knows about 2,6 dichlorophenol (tick pheromone). It can feel the warmth of a mammal’s skin. A tick does not think much. As a tick you do not get to experience the world as the mammals do. The tick has evolved to have all the abilities for it’s purpose. It has all the tools necessary for survival and to make more ticks.

Sagan then compares us to moths. He starts by telling how moths will fly into a window and even after hitting the glass the moth like other insects will do this same action again even if it is destructive to them. Moths do this repeatedly. There is nothing in the moth brain to tell them “If I hit object I should fly around it.” The moth has been around for hundreds of millions of years. Glass windows have only been around for thousands of years. Until recently, by evolutionary time scales, there was no penalty for moths that do not fly around glass windows. The moths are unprepared for a world with glass windows. If we could see into the mind of a moth we might not think it has much mind. Then Sagan reminds people that there are times when humans do the same action despite evidence that it is getting us into trouble. People also do repetitive actions that are destructive as well.

Sagan then switches from moths to honey bees. Honey bees upon death release a death pheromone which signals to the colony to take it out of the hive. This way it will not decompose in the hive making other bees sick. Insects do not have big brains. They are more like organic robots that just runs programs. So far to date there is no evidence to prove other wise. Evolution usually chooses the simpler form of life as long as it works. Life forms get more complex as need presses on it. Change or die. Of course this process takes millions of years. Yelling at an organism such as the moth who keeps hitting the glass window will not speed up his evolutionary process. If millions of years from now glass windows still exist than by then the “new” moth might have developed a mechanism to avoid glass windows. Sagan then talks about varying organisms to bring home this idea of simple is chosen until complex is needed.

Sagan describes how the bee scout does elaborate dances to tell the other bees where the food supply is. Sagan then tells us how robots of today can read and play sheet music. They can play chess and win most of the time. Sagan asks in this chapter about the animals. Are they biological robots? How much of human behavior is pre-programmed? How much control do we really have? Sagan then lists traits like falling in love, jealousy, hunger, thirst, horror, and suspicion of strangers to name a few of his list. This list is an example of traits that are considered pre-programmed in us. Sagan shows how a being could have these traits but not to be a thinking being but just running programs. This chapter is mostly filled with the question of how much of life is just running programs. This chapter definatly makes you think of “The Matrix” series because everything was portrayed as being a computer program.

Sagan then tells you in great detail how a spider catches it’s prey. Sagan introduces you to a man named Huxley who came up with the theory that animals as do we just run programs. Sagan ends this chapter by naming each person from the past and quotes them showing their position on whether animals are machines or having a soul/ spirit. Sagan starts with Descartes (1600’s) who believed animals to be biological machines. Voltaire (1700’s) defends animals, there feelings and their ability to learn. Huxley (1800’s) animals are biological machines. Huxley is different because he takes it a step further by saying that humans are also biological machines. Sagan then ends with James L. and Coral G. Gould (1900’s) humans are biological machines that just run programs.

[Empress Palpatine]

Ch. 10:

After reading this, I thought this was a very Sith chapter. It is all about the roots of conflict and ruthless competition.

What causes over population? It happens when every creature is good at surviving and reproducing and eventually use up available resources. This heightens the competition for the remaining resources such that even the slightest advantage one creature has over another can make a difference. Even among siblings this happens when there are more litter-mates than teats, and some poor runt gets elbowed out.

Scarce resources is not the only issue. Overcrowding has its other problems. They did an experiment some time ago that gave us the expression "trapped rat." They bred rats in a limited space. They were overcrowded but fed, making food not the issue. What happened? Infants were sometimes abandoned and even eaten despite there being plenty of food. Females in heat got gang-banged and had no place of refuge. Females had numerous gynecological problems. Mothers died often while giving birth. The rats lost the ability to build good nests. Certain males got very aggressive and dominant. Some rats went gay or bi (with females not in heat). The super aggressive rats attacked the gay rats. Other rats were very passive and acted a bit out of it, even a bit insane. Some rats were perverts (not struggling for status but hyper-sexual, hyperactive, bisexual and even cannibalistic. It was not a pretty picture. It was a Sodom and Gomorrah of rats. It isn't pretty with most animals. Disease follows and small adult stature.

Monkeys have a variety of reactions to the problem depending on the kind of monkey. Some breeds get violent and edgy, some ignore each other, and some peace-make.

Why the wickedness? Why the anti-social behavior, gays, illness, infant and maternal mortality, famine, and baby-killing? It thins out the ranks. Evolution uses it as a device to effectively do so. Does it always come to this? Only if there is no other place to go. Normally those who feel like the losers pack up and go somewhere else which releases the pressure of the overcrowding. It is natural for creatures to need a certain amount of space.

Living space is a fine art among the critters. They get good at letting the others know the boundaries of their territory. 80% of mammal types have scent glands. For some, it is marking territory and for some a form of "P-mail," involving different smells for different messages.

Violent confrontations only happen in extreme circumstances. Usually bluff will do it. Most fights are more ritual and gestures of submission. Nobody wants to really get hurt. Normally, those of the same species are not murdering each other every day.

Certain male creatures get sex and aggression mixed up even to the point of having trouble reproducing were it not for patient females. This is particularly true with male blue herons.

As to anger, some creatures will outlet their rage on some neutral object (like when humans kick something). Gestures of violence and sex can look similar. Animals do not think it over and aggress. It happens on the spur of the moment without thought. They have their "buttons."

Just what are these "buttons?" It is a part of the brain, if electrified (literally), dings off and causes a behavior. Normally it is set off by an incident, a sound, a smell, or some other cue that sets of the electrical stimulation in the brain. This is especially useful for a Sith to know because one can manipulate animals and even people by pushing these "buttons." Humans are not the only manipulators. Animals manipulate too by tricking other animals.

As to personality, whether easy-going or aggressive, heredity plays a part.

Most critters have a mating season and sex does not happen out of season. Continuous sex happens if a bond is needed between the couple because they need to stay together to raise young. Bonding and cooperation are helpful also on a general level. Hunting in packs works better than alone. Animal groups have group loyalty but only within the group, not to outsiders even of the same species. It is "us vs. them." Not all animals are like that, but many are. An enemy is a powerful unifier of any group. Carl Sagan says on p. 197:

"If we're confronted by some stranger who means harm to both of us, then we're motivated to put aside whatever differences lie between us and together deal with the common enemy. Our chance-as individuals and as a group-of surviving an attack is greatly improved if we make common cause with our fellows. The existence of common enemies can work as a powerful unifying force. Common enemies make the social machinery purr. Those groups that incline to xenophobic paranoia might gain a cohesive advantage over groups that are initially more realistic and carefree. If you've exaggerated the threat, at least you've reduced internal tensions in your group; and if the external threat is more serious than you've privately estimated, your preparedness is higher. As long as the social costs stay within reasonable bounds, it may become a successful survival strategy. So there's a kind of contagion about xenophobia."

Some animal babies grow up very fast like certain herd animals that walk within minutes after birth and only need to suckle. Other beings are born helpless, needing a lot of parental care and teaching. Why? Bigger brains need to be taught. Brains are not as inflexible as genetic programming. Those with brains need more. There is a time when the young brain is very impressionable. The first impressions and bonds are the potent ones (imprinting). A voice, a song, a color, a shape, a food preference will do. These things become associated with safety and nurturing. The DNA wants the imprinting so that the creature will follow the safest path. Youth trust and believe what they are told. They are told who to love and who to hate or mistrust.

It affects sexual obsessions too. If scientists swab lemon scent on the nipples and private parts of momma rats, baby rats will later look for mates that smell like lemons and pass up the normal female rat smells.

Why the programming of imprinting and youthful impressionism? It is so a species can adapt to changing environments more quickly. New software can be programmed quickly and up to date with current needs. This is the root of culture. This explains how members of a group of the same species can be very different in different places.

He ends the chapter by saying that we toggle back and forth between love and aggression because both serve a survival purpose. There is a balance between the two. You can't have all one or the other.

[Mrs. Darth Vader]

Chapter ten deals with over population. Sagan starts right at the beginning of this chapter telling about when an organism evolves so well the sex organs, it reproduces so much that it eats up all the food supply whether this supply be nutrients or prey, it will die. An organism can make too many of itself. This over population leads to dwindling resources. Sagan gives a cold hard truth about natural selection of an individual family of opossums. He tells the tale about how the opossum has 13 teats (nipples) but the opossum usually has more than 13 pups. So right from birth siblings have to compete for food access. At each feeding the stronger pups push away the less aggressive pups. With each feeding the weak pups or pup gets weaker until it dies. Natural selection ruthlessly weeds out the weak. This harsh process ensures survival of the species. Species that have more nipples than young waste effort because the weak are allowed to grow up and become adults which means reproduce.

Sagan then goes back to the over population issue. He sights an experiment done to Norway Rats. John B. Calhoun let the rats breed in an enclosure of a fixed size and allowed the population density to get very high. He made sure all the rats were well fed thus removing scarcity from the equation. Usually in over population situations scarcity is in the mix but this experiment was to see what over population by itself would do. Sagan then sights the results and it was chilling. The rats increased in abnormal behaviors. Nursing mothers became easily distracted and abandoned their infants. As a result the infants would die. Rats passing by the dead infants would eat them even though they had a good food supply given by John Calhoun. Cannibalism obviously happened which usually does not. An adult female rat in heat would be chased by a pack of males. Usually the rat gets one. This gang rape behavior is not common to rats in normal conditions. Female rats died giving birth and other reproductive problems surfaced. The rats lost the ability to build nests like they normally do. The dominant aggressive males would periodically go berserk. Other rats went crazy by being hyperactive, hypersexual, bisexual and cannibalistic. They started to kill and eat each other. Usually rats in the wild if it gets crowded they move to another location to start a fresh where less rats live.

Sagan was nervous about the implications in this experiment because he tries to remind us that we are not rats but at the same time Sagan sights evidence of problems in human communities where over population is a factor. Interestingly enough we did not fare better than the rats. Sagan then states what is happening now, outbreaks of street and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, soaring infant mortality, parents leaving their infants in trash cans, maternal mortality, gang rape, psychosis, increased homosexuality and hyper sexuality, gay bashing, alienation, rootlessness and a decline in domestic skills. All these things are evident in our society today so like the rats we are not doing any better under over population. Added to this list is warring tribes or factions. Mass killing in Africa. Sagan was very uncomfortable with these findings Even though the rat experiment is so known. There is even a catch phrase that people use to express the results of this experiment in a nutshell. I am sure some of you who are old enough to remember the phrase “Trapped Rat” theory.

Sagan then tells us that from an evolutionary stand point this maladaptive behavior has a purpose and that is to bring to balance the population levels. These odd behaviors continue until population levels are brought back to the right level. Humans engage in wars and massacres to bring population levels down. The greater the population density the more challenges for dominance and killing of the young. High population density in Howler Monkeys mean dominance take over’s by alien males. They also do whole sale slaughter of resident infants. In the wild animals that asses that they can not win the fight for dominancy leave and look for more suitable areas where populations are low. This is natures escape valve. Sagan in the small print on the bottom of the page reminds us that males are not the only ones to kill infants on mass scales. In female dominated societies of animals the female is the aggressive one and the males raise the young. Here in female dominated societies it is the female who kills the infants due to over population. Here is an example where the female is the aggressor. Who is aggressive is who is boss. Over crowding means that even the strong and fit can die in lethal combat. Nature in normal times usually do antics and threatening gestures or postures. The stronger male lets the weaker male know he can not win by doing these gestures. Lethal combat rarely happens under normal conditions. Nature has a system built in that avoids lethal combat because this keeps the species going. The looser either becomes submissive or leaves seeking his luck else where.

Sagan then talks about how animals mark their turf. Leaving their scent around is an animals way of claiming their turf. After telling you all the ways an animal marks it’s property, including another of it’s kind that is it’s submissive, Sagan then tells you all the gestures that is done to keep the stranger out or let a rival male know it better not try to take over my dominant position. You could swoop down on him, bare your teeth and growl. The reason fights do not turn into mortal combat but rarely, is because the price tag is too high for both winner and looser. The reason is clear. If fighting is for jurisdictional disputes always ended mortally the species in question would extinguish itself. Instead bluff, deception and a vivid pantomime of what violence you will do to the intruder or challenger is good enough. After Sagan tells about the behaviors of the dominant males/ or females, he then switches to the other side of the perspective, the submissive and their gestures. The submissive gestures are as you would guess opposite of the aggressive gestures. Submissive gestures are avoiding eye contact with the dominant one, absolute motionlessness, bowing where front legs are bent so the rump sticks up. The head is lowered. Laying belly up or any other kind of gesture that exposes vital organs. Usually when the vital organs are exposed by the submissive, the dominant animal then does something magnanimous by gesture. Aggression between rivals of the same species is usually bluff; but aggression towards the prey is deadly and the intent is to kill..

Then Sagan describes the gestures of your average house cat in rival situations. This familiar scene is one we will have witnessed at least once. The cat arches it’s back, fur stands on end and the eyes dilate. Of course this scene is usually accompanied by that horrible yowling noise the cat makes and hissing. Sagan then states that your cat suddenly appears bigger and more dangerous. Sagan then contrasts the rival scene with it’s hunting posture. When your cat is hunting prey, it even looks different. The hair is close to the body as possible. The ears go back and lowered. The cat sneaks and stalks it’s prey being totally silent as opposed to the noisy encounter with a rival. The cat pounces suddenly coming out of no where at it’s prey. Then kills and eats it.

Sagan then switches to the Blue Heron and it’s mating practice. The species only continues because of the patients of the female. The male is far too aggressive and fickle. Here is an example where too much aggression works against your species. Here is where you are reminded about the balance between aggression and gentleness. The male is confused between it’s desire to mate and it’s aggressive behavior. The male will first try to court the female but as soon as she shows interest the male will turn and attack shooing her away. This can repeat itself several times before finally the male mates with the female. Sagan then gives you the idea that the male’s over aggression boarders on causing extinction of the blue heron species. Here it is the female that gets the credit for species continuance.

Sagan then gives the example of a “smart” bird that instinctually knows to choose another target instead of locking on with it’s rival. The Cockerel has pecks and spurs that are deadly but he will choose to peck at a pebble rather than continue to fight his rival. This idea of substituting a non-living object in the rivals place saves the species from deadly confrontations. This is like when two men start to slug it out, then one suddenly turns away from the fight and hit’s a punching bag. This releases the cockerel’s anger as it would the man. It also is a safety valve in nature to protect the species.

Sagan then talks about the “buttons” we all have that can trigger an angry aggressive response. The same is true for animals. These responses are triggered by an outside stimulus but are hardwired in. From here Sagan admits that aggression is hereditary. Passive and peaceful is also hereditary. Sagan gives the example of dogs. Some are breed for aggression like the pit bull. Others like the cocker spaniel are breed for peacefulness.

Sagan then talks about cooperative hunting by predators in order to get prey. In all social animals there is an in group and an out group. The in group is cooperative and they help each other. The out group they treat ruthlessly. Even if the out group is of the same species the in group will still treat the out group ruthlessly. We humans here have the exact same dynamic as the animals. With in America there are many “clicks” or groupings of people that are an in group and they ruthlessly persecute the out group. Sagan then explains how the in group out group thing works. By hating and focusing on the enemy it makes those in the in group over look all the faults and short comings in your group. This is a good distraction especially if you do not want to have to fix any problems in your group. Our politicians do this well by finding which group in our country is to be considered lazy or a bum. If we focus on the bum and treat him ruthlessly we are not looking at what really should be done. Here is where the politicians use our evolutionary encoding against us. The Christian right relies heavily on this in group out group hatred to keep their ranks closed and loyal. This way they never have to be bothered with consistency with the Bible and their ruthless actions. This tactic works every time because we all unite against a dreaded enemy.
Sagan then ends this chapter with a chilling lesson on imprinting. He gives the example of ducklings that when they are in the egg, whoever is incubating the eggs, that is the voice they will follow and consider mom. If the incubator is a human, than they will follow the human. Sagan then takes the natural leap and shows how humans are “brainwashed” if you start young enough. They are too young to discriminate what is taught. They are open to be told who to love and who to hate. This of course goes hand in glove with the in group out group thing. Sagan then closes with the notion that aggression is part of who we are. The trick is to keep it in check as to not cause extinction.

[Empress Palpatine]

Ch. 11 is about who is the boss and how such is determined. Snake (pit viper) wrestling is a lot like arm wrestling. There is no injury and there are rules to the game. The winner topples the loser, a matter of hierarchy. Dominance competitions can have gay overtones. The loser snake is demoralized and even weaker than before in competition with even the lesser snakes and too wimpy to approach a female. Girl snakes pick winners. Snakes are a lot like us: dominance, territoriality, and sexual jealousy.

Dominance hierarchies are most common. Democracies are not. The boss is called "alpha." The ranks follow in order with other Greek letters of the alphabet: Beta, gamma, delta, zeta...down to omega. Note: all Sith who like ranking systems need to read this chapter, especially former members of Sithism.

Privileges of rank, besides the joy of intimidating others, is to be the first to eat, the best morsels of food, and sex with all the females you want.

Sagan says on p. 205: "The most passionate enthusiasts of dominance hierarchies are almost always the males, although loosely parallel female dominance hierarchies occur in many species. Males generally dominate all females and all juveniles. Among the comparatively rare species in which females sometimes dominate males are the vervet monkeys, the very same who keep their cool when overcrowded."

The high rankers of the hierarchies usually father the most babies. The top bosses usually try to prevent the lower males from doing so. The dominant males pass the genes, favoring such qualities.

How does one gain rank? Combat within the group, often ritualized, sometimes lethal. Often it is to win a female. Tough guys get the girls (sexual selection). Want a promotion? Challenge the guy over you. This is not too different from corporate hierarchies. At the other end of the scale, the ones on the bottom get good at sucking up. They manipulate and try to slip in an affair with a female once in awhile when the boss isn't looking.

Well-defined unambiguous hierarchies are the safest. There is less actual bodily harm. Uncertain rank order or upheaval causes violence. People may attract to hierarchical organizations for that appeal of stability and predictability. Everybody knows their role and their place. The downside is worrying about not offending the higher ranks.

Outsiders to the group are attacked by all the group member males of all ranks.

How does a dominance hierarchy get established? When two are introduced, it is immediately determined who the boss is by fight or bluff. Aggressiveness, bravery, strength, and sometimes home court advantage determine the outcome. After a fight, one is boss and has the "right" to peck the inferior (loser), in the world of chickens, for example. Expressions like "playing chicken" and "being chicken" have roots in the dominance hierarchy world of chickens. "Top dog" and "underdog" are also expressions from the hierarchies of the animal world.

In some groups there is just one or a handful of dominant males, but the remaining are not in a pecking order.

The alpha spends a lot of time calming outraged underlings and settling disputes, dispensing justice with a growl. This keeps social stability. The hierarchy and the customs of ritualized combat and submission, etc. become as a moral code to them.

A group meets in a designated location for a tournament of contests between males with females attending. They do their strutting, showing off and their battle katas.

One gets to be an alpha by working their way up through the ranks. They make a challenge every so often; but in between times, they submit to those above (very Palpatine). The happenstancial course of events may provide opportunity to make certain moves, but the trick is to play your cards right when opportunity knocks.

Meanwhile, what are the females doing? An experiment was done with hamsters to see if females prefer dominants when they have a choice. Also, could females tell who was dominant if she saw no comparisons, just one male alone? In every case she threw herself at the dominant one. How did she know? It's a smell, a pheromone. Chicks dig the power. Also, dominants like attractive females. The females do a sexy strut to purposely get the males.

There is a certain amount of gay symbolism. A male mounts a male. The mounter is the dominant and the mountee the submissive. It is not the full sex deal but only the gesture.

A submissive posture can be to take on a non fighting position like lay on the ground.

As to sex, with critters it is usually "doggie style." She crouches down and he mounts. She is in a position of submission and not going anywhere ("helpless female"). Could this by why men like constraining clothes and shoes on women? Low ranking females tend not to have babies and not just because they are not chosen. They achieve pregnancy less often than dominant females. There are matriarchal animals but even where there is not, after mating season, the two groups go their separate ways. The females have their own hierarchy, not based on bluff, threat and fighting but on seniority. Oldest fertile females lead. The goal of a female group is protection. They fight too but more for defensive purposes only. The dominant females lead the fight.

It is assumed that the alphas are the best and strongest physically and behaviorally and therefore the best choice to breed.

Hierarchies require brains. It is not the auto pilot of pure instinct. You have to remember who is who and what is what and all the complex changes, soap opera and politics.

Is hierarchy good? It works for these creatures. As to whether it is good for humans, Carl Sagan has mixed feelings.

[Mrs. Darth Vader]

Chapter eleven is about Dominance and submission. Who gets to be on top to be the boss of the group. Who gets to mate and spread their seed. It is always the Alpha animal who gets the spoils. Sagan starts by describing a snake fight or wrestling match which is to determine who the dominant pit viper is. The winning pit viper takes one or more sexually receptive females and will protect them so he can spread his seed. He will guard his turf ensuring that the little pit vipers will get born and flourish so to have the next generation of pit vipers.

Dominance hierarchies is the form of governments that most birds and mammals live under. Only the solitary animals do not have dominance hierarchies. Sagan then describes the pecking order and how it works. The top bird rules over all the other birds. The “A” bird picks on the “B” bird. The “B” bird picks on the “C” bird. The “C” bird picks on the “D” bird and on down the line. Also the “B” bird gets to rule over “C” and downward. The “C” bird gets to rule over the “D” and downward.

Usually it is the male that enjoys the dominance hierarchy. Usually the males do the ruling. But there are some species that the females are the dominance hierarchy figures. In dominance hierarchy structure “governments” promotion comes from combat with in the group. The dominance hierarchy parallels the corporate hierarchies. It is closer to the way business are run. You compete for promotion by elbowing your competitor aside getting his nice big office and the higher pay that goes with it.

You have three choices as an animal in a dominance hierarchy, you can fight, take flight, or submit. Most of the underling males choose submit. They suck up to the top or alpha animal by bowing and scraping. In the animal kingdom a well- defined dominance hierarchy minimizes violence. Violence does occur when the rank order is uncertain or in a state of flux. When everyone knows their place all is peaceful. When a stranger comes the alphas lead the attack and mount on the enemy. The submissives never mount but attack from the sides. This is when all work together regardless of rank. This was a description of how rats function in their dominance hierarchies. In all animal dominance hierarchies the alphas always lead the charge. Only in insects and human societies does the lower ranks of the dominance hierarchy do the fighting. Insects and humans have their alphas hang in the back round and not do the fighting. To rule in the animal kingdom you earn it with your bravery and strength. The alphas in human and insect colonies get the luxury of ruling while being cowards.

In large populations the rank is not linier or directly top down. Ranks are more complicated, more like feudal clicks. Here there are more stresses and anxieties in these dominance hierarchies. Safety is not as guaranteed. You are constantly fighting for position. These are the least successful forms of dominance hierarchies. In nature. Surprisingly the most successful dominance hierarchies are the ones that have just one alpha male or only a few at the top. Just these few or the one, rules the entire group. This form of dominance hierarchy is the most successful because hardly any aggression occurs in the rest of the group. These societies are most stable and peaceful. Everyone feels safe in this group. They are most unified and act as one when the group needs to be defended against an outside invasion.

Sagan then explains why even as a higher ranking male in a dominance hierarchy you need to be able to both dominate and submit. Both skills are needed. Sagan then sighted an experiment done with hamsters to see if females would pick the dominant males or another male in the group. This experiment was done in a way that the hamsters were separated by partitions. Then the female was let loose to find the male of choice. This was done with many different females from the same group. Every time the females were loosed they choose the dominant male. Some how the females knew who was the dominant male. Sagan then asks; how did these females know how to pick the dominant male? It ended up being that dominant males give off a smell that submissive males do not. Humans attract to power just as much. Sagan then sights a human example. Here he uses Henry Kissinger because he is considered not handsome. A pretty actress attracted to Henry Kissinger because of his powerful position.

Sagan then returns to the Norway Rats and showed that they have a functioning dominance hierarchy under normal conditions. These rats only went berserk when they were trapped in an enclosed space with over population. A re-occurring theme is the fact that over population leads to mass holocausts in the animal kingdom. As an atheist Sagan like many scientists believe that animal behaviors can in many cases reflect human behavior under the same conditions. So shouldn’t we humans wonder when the mass killing will start in our world? Sagan ends by stating that humans lean dominance hierarchy and still seek it out. Here democracy is only skin deep. Our surfice political structure is democratic but take a closer look and you will see those that dominate and those that bow and scrape or submit.

[Empress Palpatine]

There has been a gap since my last posting. I decided to finish the book and leave the notes in my scrawl and slowly type them in. Please note that I brought up ideas I got from this book to discuss in the Sith area. After reading it all, I thought it leaned rather Sith. If any Jedi or Shadow has a view about any of it, please feel free to say.

Ch. 12: The chapter starts with a Greek myth about a woman who was changed into a man by a god. The man became arrogant and insisted all worship him. The god had made him a bit too male. This chapter is about what makes males male and explains macho men. The macho hormone coursing through a man's body is testosterone. From it flows sex, aggression, dominance, and territoriality. If a male critter gets fixed, they calm down (as every owner of a male cat knows.) This male hormone, as you probably can guess, is made in the male organ.

In newly formed groups of male monkeys, the boss monkey is the one with the most testosterone. After a group settles, and ranks are well established, the testosterone settles. The more testosterone, the more he will roam and challenge. The brain has buttons that testosterone pushes. Testosterone wakes up dormant DNA codes.

Testosterone makes fighting seem fun to these creatures. It makes sex desirable too. Evolution-wise, sex is supposed to be fun because the DNA wants to be passed on. (Animals may not consciously understand how sex leads to pregnancy and birth.) DNA wants us to also love other life-promoting activities like maternal love, love of exploration and discovery, courage, camaraderie, and altruism.

There are steroids similar to testosterone that affect other creatures. One of these is in pigs. Truffles, a French delicacy, have the male pig hormone in them that turns on female pigs. That is why they use these pigs to find truffles. The female pigs fall in love with them. Something similar is in the sweat and spit of human males.

A genetic male that is deprived of testosterone, etc. will look female-like (even the private parts). Conversely, a genetic female given high levels of testosterone will look male-like (including the private parts). They will also likely be gay. All human embryos would be born female if it were not for the infusion of male-type hormones early on. ( Isn't biology weird!?)

Females have estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen curbs aggressiveness. Progesterone causes one to protect and care for the young. These are made in the female organs.

For most creatures, sex happens during a special time and does not happen any time else. For humans and certain apes, it is different. Unlike most animals, humans try to avoid pregnancy a lot of the time.

Mammals suckle their young, and this is hormonally driven (milk for young).

Testosterone has disadvantages. It can lead to overaggressiveness and injury and also irresponsibility towards family.

The steroids used by athletes (often illegally) are similar in nature to testosterone.

They tend to not want too much testosterone in livestock as it is inconvenient. It is desired to have easy to handle submissive livestock. They keep just enough males with those organs in tact to keep the line going, but no more.

In nature the loser in a combat situation (even a ritual non-lethal combat) experiences a drop in testosterone and other similar hormones which makes him submissive and calmer. It seems a male loses the hormone somewhat over all if he keeps losing.

So when does testosterone rise? If there is a disruption of the balance of power, say, a chief is removed from his territory, this will invite conflict among the others who would try to claim the position. Testosterone rises. Testosterone is both cause and effect. Conflict raises it, but raising it causes conflict. This is true for lots of species. Mating season is a time when testosterone is high.

Aggression and territoriality is balanced by other factors. Something has to be worth protecting to make the expended energy of protection worth it. If there is plenty, there is no need to guard. If there is nothing there, what is the point in guarding? If there is limited amounts, then, it is worth it.

Fear can be smelled. It is a pheromone. Your friends smell it and they split. The predator is encouraged to get you because he smells your fear. Fear can be encoded in the DNA. Certain threatening shapes of predators and childhood fears of "monsters" may stem from this. A long time ago, human children could wander off and be dinner to certain large animals. The DNA may have encoded a fear of "monsters," so that a kid will stick near to mommy. Fear of "monsters" is a button that can be manipulated.

Sagan goes into even more detail about how various bodily chemicals, as they raise or lower, affect behavior.

Violence is contagious. Those that witness it are more likely to do it.

A rat experiment showed how testosterone affects learning. It showed that testosterone makes you stupid. Those with less amounts of it learned better and figured out things more easily.

Many creatures, including we, are hormone driven. That has a lot of societal and political implications.

I think it also says something about the dynamics of Sith and Sith manipulation and power plays. But it says something about Jedi as well (in the movie in particular) since they were very hierarchical.

[Mrs. Darth Vader]

Sagan starts chapter 12 by telling one of the Greek myths. He used this particular myth to illustrate that the Greeks understood that substance that makes one male needs to be the “right” or “correct” amount. Too much causes trouble with arrogance. Too little causes weakness. Sagan then gets into the hard science. An experiment done on sparrows showed that it is the testosterone that gives the males their aggressiveness, their territoriality, dominance and sex drive. When they were castrated the same sparrows that were aggressive became submissive. They lost there desire to guard their territory from strangers and had no interest in sex. Interesting note too much testosterone can also lead to low sex drive for procreative purposes but only used for aggression and dominance but that is discussed later in this book. When injected with a certain steroid molecule (testosterone) suddenly all their traditional male traits returned.

Sagan then describes how testosterone effects the brain. In the brain there are receptor sites which chemically bind with testosterone. In the brain the testosterone centers are responsible for such behaviors as strutting, bullying, fighting, copulating, defending territory and fitting into a dominance hierarchy and or running it. If an animal has a high testosterone level he will want to dominate a large territory. He will dominate the whole territory including the other species who live in that territory. Animals such as mice do not see the connection between conception and the birth of the next generation of mice. Here the DNA is in control. The DNA gives the mice it’s sex drive so more mice can be made. Sagan describes what lengths mice will go just to have sex and just how much power the DNA have in controlling a species and continuing that species.

Sagan then goes from testosterone to estrogen. Estrogen is the opposite of testosterone because it curbs aggressiveness in females. Estrogen is calming. Progesterone increases the desire to protect and care for the young. These hormones are responsible for the feminine temperament. Here it should be noted that females have testosterone but just in small amounts. Occasionally a female can have too much testosterone and be aggressive and dominating like their male counter parts. Sagan then describes experiments where estrogen is given to both males and females. In both cases dominance and aggression is lowered. When testosterone is added to both males and females both become dominating and aggressive. Then Sagan sights an instance where there is a point when too much testosterone causes sterility. There is a hidden limit in nature where too much testosterone causes atrophy of the testicles. Nature has a turn off valve.

Sagan tells a story about an experiment on sparrows. Here this experiment shows how tension, anxiety and aggression creates the production of testosterone. Sagan sights the example of how sparrows normally establish their territories. Things are calm when a territory is well established but remove one of the sparrows from it’s territory and the tension automatically shoots up in neighboring areas because someone now has to fill the void or vacancy. Sparrows that had once lost in fights rise up to the challenge. Neighboring victors get more aggressive to protect their turf. The bloodstream of the sparrows are now filled with testosterone. Now all the sparrows are more aggressive. The same is true for most animals including humans. From here one could easily ask the question; Is American testosterone in both males and females higher than in a country like the former Soviet Union where anxiety is kept to a minimum and the struggle for existence is removed by their socialistic system?

The subject then switched to male ritual combat where the looser has a marked drop in testosterone. This seems to be true in animals ranging from pit vipers to primates. Sagan then talks about why even some plant eating animals guard their territory. He gives the example of birds that take nectar from flowers. In the morning when the nectar supply is plentiful it seems the birds do not guard their territory and allow stranger birds to partake. But by noon when the supply is dwindling they chase the strangers away. Scarcity makes one vicious and aggressively guard your territory. Fear has a smell. So if you are a mouse that is suddenly caused to fear all the other mice will run away from you. The predator will go for you because you are afraid.

Sagan then gets into how animals sound the alarm when a predator is near. The noise for a ground predator is different than the noise for a predator in the air. In lab tests on cockerels the female sounds the alarm only 13% of the time. Castrated cockerels were the least likely to sound the alarm. Regular cockerel males sounded the alarm most of the time. So it looks like testosterone also plays a role in a cockerel’s willingness to sound the alarm. If the bird were alone it just freezes and makes no sound. Warnings are only given if others of it’s species are present.

There is another molecule responsible for a peaceful demeanor. This molecule in the brain lessons aggression. More aggressive rats have less of this chemical in the brain. If a group of rats are very aggressive and killing one another is seen as common place, the other rats respond by becoming more aggressive and also kill. The threat spreads through out the community.

Sagan describes another experiment where there were pairs of rats that had to do a cooperative action in order to get the food. There were female pairs, normal male pairs, castrated male pairs, and male rats who lived alone until the experiment, female rat pairs that lived alone until the experiment and high testosterone males. The results were as fallows. Female and male castrates learned fairly quickly. Normal males and male castrates that got testosterone administered learned far more slowly. Normal male solitaries learned the slowest. The solitary males that were jolted with extra testosterone and males with high testosterone levels never learned at all. Females who lived alone, until the experiment, learned to do the experiment as well. The high testosterone males never learned because they could not cooperate and preferred violent combat instead of cooperating. The scientists concluded that “testosterone makes you stupid.” Page 237 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan. There are many experiments done with rats where the male chose a jolt of testosterone over food or fighting another rat which also gives a jolt in testosterone. Here we are reminded to wonder about humans both males and females. There are people that seem to enjoy and purposely cause fights. Could it be they are craving a testosterone jolt? It seems that testosterone has the quality of a drug because when you fill your bloodstream with testosterone you feel stronger, invincible and more brave. These facts in the lab on rats does make one naturally think of the human in your life that plays the role of the dominator even if the person is female. This desire to dominate and control is clearly the result of too much testosterone.

Sagan ends this chapter in an interesting way. He talks about how these tiny molecules in the bloodstream can control many of our behaviors and the behaviors in animals.
“The fact that complex behavioral patterns can be triggered by a tiny concentration of molecules coursing through the bloodstream, and that different amounts of these hormones, is something worth thinking about when it’s time to judge such matters as free will, individual responsibility, and law and order.” Page 238 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan.

[Empress Palpatine]

Mrs. Vader's computer is at the shop being fixed. I will be waiting for her before posting any more.

[Empress Palpatine]

Mrs. Vader's computer has returned so I continue:

Ch. 13: Darwinian selection has no foresight. It is only for today. Tomorrow is not in its sights. If a certain species is well adapted and flourishing within the current environment, the status quo is kept, and any unruly mutation selected out.

What if a big change happened? The lake dried up; the rain ceased, or a flood or a ice age or some calamity. Even a subtle happening could change your world.

The rules of the game have changed. The rejected mutation now is the one that works. If one is not so lucky and no mutation comes along in time, extinction proceeds. If the mutation is fortunately available, adaptation may not be convenient, especially at first. For an ability gained, some other ability may be lost.

At one extreme is a Jack of all trades that does everything. It is very handy, but nothing is done well. Then, there is the specialist. Nature prefers somewhere in between these two. Overspecialization means if the environment changes, you are doomed. Such is best in the short term only. A jack of all trades may do better for the long run but lousy in the present. The trick is the balance of the two (long and short term).

If some new mutation proved to work better, it would take 1000 generations for it to be in everybody alive. Having a good mutation come in the tossup is rare. Most are not good and are weeded out.

Sometimes if population groups are spread out, a new gene may appear in one group but not in another.

Change is a fact of life. Environments do change. Foresight helps, but monkeys and other animals are not known for prophecy. Are we hopelessly short term thinkers? Will evolution bring about changes in time for us to adapt?

Evolution needs time to make change. One has to hope that adaptation can happen in time to meet the new demands.

Incest in any creature yields very bad results, often death. Cross-culturally, it is taboo.

If a certain odd genetic trait emerges, it would spread quickly in a few generations in a small town. In a big city, this would take much longer. In order to have an adaptation available for a change that should suddenly occur, one needs varied groups of people, each group a little different because one of them might might be the people/creatures of the future. This works out well as long as the groups don't become inbred (incest). Variety of types is good insurance. Usually organisms don't sit down and plan to do this as a strategy, but often life works that way anyway. Groups get separated by circumstance.

Such groups would have people in them that have a tight bond with each other and distrust of outsiders. But to avoid incest, once in awhile, someone would mate outside the tribe. For the most part, the group would emphasize how different they are form other groups and exaggerate that difference.

Note: This is the first scientific explanation that I have read that explains the necessity for the breakup of the Tower of Babel and other Bible stories about tight knit tribes avoiding "strange gods."

[Mrs. Darth Vader]

Chapter thirteen starts out describing a successful evolution of a species. Sagan uses the example of “what if” you are part of this particular species that evolved so well that you are “fat and sassy”. Any mutations here would be considered detrimental but natural selection continues to weed out mutations because these ones die or are eaten. Sagan paints this picture of this organism that is well suited in it’s stable environment but suddenly a catastrophe happens like asteroids hits this planet and the rising particles cools this planet freezing the lake you swim in or volcanoes spew up so much gas that it causes extreme green house effect so the planet warms and a pool of water is now where your nice desert environment used to be. May be some biological change has suddenly happened, like the food you eat has learned to camouflage itself so it is harder for you to find them or those that eat you have adapted to eat more of you. A germ comes and wipes many of you out. Here Sagan is giving examples of how a stable environment can suddenly change. The sudden change would change who is now better suited to the new environment. A once successful gene could suddenly be phased out by natural selection and a sequence that used to be considered a failure could be the new successful gene allowing you to survive. Natural selection would then favor the new mutation. Here nature plays the role of revolutionary because the once favored gene is replaced by the one that was the out caste during the stable times.

Sagan then talks about how every adaptation has a trade-off. Sagan then gives examples of different animals whose adaptive abilities has helped to solve one problem but got a new problem. Just that the new problem was less of a threat than the one solved.
“The ptarmigan’s white feathers provide superb camouflage in the Artic snows; but in consequence it absorbs less sunlight and greater demands are placed on its thermoregulatory system. The peacock’s gorgeous tail makes him nearly irresistible to the opposite sex, but also provides a conspicuous luncheon advertisement for foxes. The sickle-cell trait confers immunity to malaria, but condemns many to debilitating anemia. Every adaptation is a trade-off.” Page 242 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan.

From here Sagan explains why organisms specialize. Animals like penguins are excellent swimmers but they can not fly. Those that run well like the ostrich also can not fly. It seems that choices have to be made. The engineering for flying seem to conflict with those for swimming or running. It seems that natural selection forces a species in one direction or the other. Species never have the ability to do it all, like run fast, swim well and fly. Here real life is not like the movies when James Bond has Q make a car that does it all, swim (Submarine), drive, be a tank and fly. Over generalization of a species leads to extinction because usually the organism can only do each thing a little. On the other extreme of the spectrum, which is over specialization, is also just as bad, this too leads to extinction. When an organism is too narrowly specialized surviving in a restrictive environmental niche, they become extinct. They flourish for a short time but when things change they are unable to adapt and die. Sagan compares these organisms to a buggy-whip tycoon when the automobile came out.

Sagan then talks about how nature strikes a balance between the short term and the long term good of a species. So a species has to be generalized enough to allow for change and adaptation to take place. At the same time a species must be specialized enough to be good at specific tasks. The genes need to mutate often enough so that when the “right” mutation can come along that will improve the species. Since most mutations are harmful, the dice needs to be rolled enough times to get the “right” mutation to come up. This balance is a safeguard against extinction for the most part. If changes are of a more minor degree these mutations are enough to spare the species. The fact that we do sexual reproduction rolls the dice enough to keep up with most changes. No species can escape extinction of major catastrophes like many asteroids and comets hitting the earth at once. This kind of catastrophe is too fast and wide spread for any evolutionary process to survive.

Sagan then fallows the testosterone gene in a group of monkeys to illustrate why this gene must be in balance. Sagan then gives the example of these monkeys. If there is too little of the testosterone gene in the population, the monkeys might not be vigilant enough about defending themselves against predators. The monkeys might be too peaceful and passive to survive. On the other hand, Sagan gives the example if there is too much of the testosterone gene in the population of monkeys, they kill themselves off in dominance combat. Interestingly enough this balance issue comes often when talking about all facets of nature. The testosterone seems to be the most volatile and ticklish because of the severe consequences.

Nature tries to balance. If you have much testosterone to chase away strangers and predators, you need a lot of peace loving genes for keeping the peace and unity with in the group. Aggression is best used out ward. In ward it is destructive. These examples makes me think of current recent human history and today’s America. Why, because Africa has in recent history been riddled with warring factions so much that they are loosing and have lost populations so fast that one can ask; are they extinguishing themselves. I remember Bangladesh as a child and those very sad pictures of Africans with distendation. Now modern pictures of Bangladesh show a totally different group of people living there Indians from India. Where did the Africans go? Sadly the answer is they died. Was there too much testosterone among their problems? America is another country where people do not see themselves as a country or group. We see our selves as isolated individuals. Each American is very aggressive and see the other American as a competitor. Do we have too much testosterone? Will we extinguish our selves when there is no police to stop our aggression? Sagan reminds us of the balance in nature between the genes need to mutate to keep up with changes in the environment and too much mutation is lethal. So slow mutation is favored but not too slow.

Sagan then changes the subject to in breeding and incest. He goes into detail why it does not work. Even our protective knee jerk in society to hate it and call it sin and why this knee jerk genetically works in our best interest. The infant death rate skyrockets when siblings mate. John Paul Scott and John L. Fuller performed breeding experiments on pure breed dogs. Their findings proved that the pure breeds have more deformities and crippling defects than mixed breeds. The deformities were more severe when it was in the purebreds than the mixed breeds. This is based on rates and percentages. Obviously mixed breeds can suffer maladies to. It is just that the pure breeds have it happen more often. Charles Darwin said the same thing, that inbreeding leads to more defects. Here the lab results proves that it is better to have genes from different parents. This proves that the racists are wrong with evolutionary evidence from the lab. Sagan here like Darwin answers the racists claim of superiority of breeding with in the same race. This chapter shows that here people who are not racists are correct to not be. Evolution prefers many gene in puts from many choices. Sagan here does an excellent job of dispelling old myths about perfect pure breeds and master races. The lab is objective proof favoring neither side emotionally but it answers factually and dispassionately.

Sagan in this section deals with small group populations. Here Sagan explains why a female will cross into a strangers zone and mate overcoming the usual adversity to stranger tribes. Here the DNA in charge gives the urge to cross breed to prevent inbreeding with in a small group. This is how nature attempts to reconcile the tendency to inbreed when groupings are small. For any non-racist this is an excellent read so you are not silenced by Nazi breeding logic. Sagan is the scientist to come to your aid. Darwin does as well but Sagan speaks to the lay person.

[Empress Palpatine]

Ch. 14 is written in short story style. It is impossible in a summary to fully convey it. It is a gangland story. Imagine a day in the life of a group of bikers or some other street gang.

Ch. 15: Accounts of the first human encounters with apes sound like old myths. Apes were thought of as some form of very hairy humans in a particular 5th century B.C. document. The ancient Mayans thought apes were the gods attempt to make us, a rough draft of a sort. They were a botch-up before the gods finally got it right and made us. Many ancient peoples thought of monkeys as forms of humans, either aspiring humans or cursed humans. Greeks and Romans saw a similarity to humans but did not actually relate the two. India and Egypt had monkey-headed gods. Meanwhile, the Judeo-Christian/Muslim monotheisms forbade worship of animals or any idol. Europeans did not see monkeys much anyway since monkeys did not come from Europe. When Darwin came around, the idea that monkeys and us being that close felt disturbing.

An early scientific observation of chimps caused the observer to think of them as vile. One reason is that chimps are promiscuous. The uncomfortable thought was what does it say about us if monkeys are our close relatives?

The 18th century biologist Carl Linnaeus classified all creatures, which is more or less the same way we do it today. Humans are members of the animal kingdom, vertebrate phylum, mammal class, primate order, hominida family, genus homo, species homo sapiens. Linnaeus would have put humans and chimps in the same genus, but he didn't because it would get the church on his case. For reasons of politics, we got our own separate genus. Aliens from some other planet would have thought as Linnaeus did initially. The idea that apes and we shared a common ape-like ancestor flipped out Victorian England. Would knowing this unravel the social fabric?

So just how close are we? (Now we can compare DNA.) Of all primates, chimps are the closest to us DNA-wise. Gorillas come second. Our DNA sequence differs by only 1.7% from chimps; gorillas 1.8% (in our betaglobin of our blood). In our DNA in general, we have 99.6% in common with chimps, a .4% difference. Actually chimps are closer to us than they are to gorillas or other apes. The difference between you and some other human is .1% or less.

There are two ways people have thought of animals. Some turn them into people with thoughts and feelings just like us. Others think of them as machines with no real thoughts or feelings (like the behaviorists). Sagan thinks that, yes, animals, especially apes, can think and feel. One could guess how a chimp thinks.

Sagan reveals that the gangland story told in ch. 14 comes from observations of a chimp group. As the gangland story shows, certain aspects of human social organization is similar to theirs, especially the underbelly of the human world like prisons, street gangs, crime syndicates, or various tyrannies. Sagan thinks Machiavelli would have felt at home in chimp society.

Chimps are shorter, hairier, and more sexually active than people. They live into their 40's and 50's. They can walk on two feet as well as four. They make tools. They have short tempers, hold grudges, and seek revenge. They can plan future actions. They have strong family ties. They grieve at the loss of loved ones. They can catch all our diseases. They age as we do. They can get drunk. They can learn our language. They are self-aware and know themselves as they look in a mirror. They form friendships and share food with friends and relatives. If raised with humans, they will think of themselves as human. They can keep secrets and lie. They can oppress but also protect the weak. Some are more ambitious and some not (just like people). They even like music and will drum on logs that give off a neat sound. They recognize each other by individual voice. They do have some sophisticated means of communication. They eat a variety of foods and know what is safe to eat. They can share. They play. Males will risk their life to protect "women and children." On the other hand, they can be murderous and horrid. They can be good and bad. They eat meat, sometimes cannibalistic, eating the other groups babies because they are soft targets.

Chimps, as a group, can plan military strategy. They can coordinate a plan to catch large prey.

Chimp group territory can be the size of a city or county in terms of land size. Their patrol groups can cover their territory pretty efficiently. They listen and sniff. They walk silently and don't utter a peep. They look for evidence of other chimp intruders. They have military skills. If they run into one or two intruders, they will try to kill them. If they run into a group, they assess whether to confront or run. Sometimes they invade another territory and make out with the females. They have victory celebrations when the patrol comes home.

The tribe size is usually 10 to 100 individuals. If a problem like a food shortage happens in one area, it may be fine in the other areas.

They tend not to fight line battle when two groups are at war. They use guerrilla tactics and pick one or two off at a time. Each territory would like to annex new territory. No doubt, natural selection selected not only strength but military and hunting skills as well.

Note: The goings-on in the chimp world remind me of stories of the Old Testament.

[Mrs. Darth Vader]

This chapter is unique of all the chapters in this book. It is written in literary form. It is called “Gangland”. It is written from the perspective of the female who is paired with the Alpha male or Gang leader. It is written in dialog form like the female is talking to the reader of the book. The female is an adult female who has a child or kid. When you read this chapter it is like reading something from the top female of the “Crips” or the “Bloods”. Any one who has lived in the tough side of town or the wrong side of the tracks should find this chapter has a familiar ring to it. It reminded me of a place I lived called the “mini-combat zone” named after the “combat zone” in Boston Massachusetts. For you older folks, the closest memory you will have is the musical called “West Side Story” of course that is over romanticized. This chapter is priceless and I could never give you the flavor portrayed here with out just copying it word for word. Here is where you must really read the book for your self. Chapter fourteen is also the shortest chapter in the book with only six pages but the six pages are priceless

Chapter fifteen starts with the earliest written accounts of the meeting between apes and humans. The account was written in the fifth century B.C. by Hanno of Cathage. They described the men as being hairy and the women as being hairy. There were more women than men. The men were considered wild men. The men escaped by throwing stones and climbing up steep cliffs. The women were not that lucky and Hanno and his humans captured three women. The women fought with all their might to get away including biting and scratching. So Hanno and his people killed the women in a brutal manner and skinned them. These wild “men” and “women” today would be called chimpanzees.

Sagan then tells about a Mayan myth about their gods. This myth is interesting.
“The ancient Mayan authors of the Popol Vuh considered monkeys to be the product of the last botched experiment conducted by the gods before they finally got it right and managed to create us. The gods meant well but they were fallible, imperfect artisans.” Page 268 Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan.
The interesting thing about this myth is the gods are not perfect. They make mistakes. It took the gods time to get to us. Creation is a slow process. The reason Sagan tells us this myth is it almost hints at a connection between man and monkey and the slow process of evolution. Sagan then reminds us how we have a history of being uncomfortable with our cousins the monkeys. We do not like to admit the connection. They have faces much like us but we pretend not to notice. Before Darwin our discomfort with monkeys and apes was at an unconscious level. Darwin made it a conscious discomfort by bringing it out in the open. From here Sagan brings out terms in the English language like to “go ape” is to revert back to a wild state, be untamed. These comments show in our very speech our discomfort with our cousins the monkeys and apes. Sagan then goes on for pages sighting how people are uncomfortable with monkeys, apes and chimps. They look too much like us. They seem preoccupied with sex. In many ways they act too much like us. Sagan then tells about all the people in history and how they tried to distance themselves from our primate cousins.

Sagan then introduces you to a man who invented the way scientists classify all life on earth. Carl Linnaeus invented classifications where each life form fits like; species, genus, family, order, class, phylum and kingdom. “So we humans, for example, are of the animal kingdom, the vertebrate phylum, the class of mammals, the genus Homo, and the species Homo Sapiens. In other words we’re animals not plants or fungi or bacteria; we have backbones, so we’re not invertebrates such as worms or clams; we have breasts to supply milk to the young, so we’re not reptiles or birds; we’re primates, not rats or gazelles or raccoons; and we’re Hominidae, not orangutans or vervet monkeys or lemurs. We are of the genus Homo, in which taxon there is but one species ( although once there were others-maybe many others). This is how we classify ourselves today. And it’s almost the same as what Linnaeus proposed.” Page 273 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan.
Linnaeus by his own criteria would have put humans and chimps in the same genus but he backed off because of the pressure from the Christian churches of his day. In the small print on the bottom of page 273 Sagan names a man who went a step further Jean-Jacques Rousseau,1753, put humans and chimps as the same species. Years later Linnaeus had regretted his decision to back down to church pressure and expressed it.

Huxley then asked the question of if you came from outer space and landed on earth would chimps, apes and man seem the same or different? Another words Huxley is wondering if someone dispassionate and detached observed humans and apes would we be considered in the same order as them? Huxley believed apes to be our closest relatives. He compared skeletal and brain anatomies of apes and humans. The apes that Huxley looked at were chimps, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons and the gibbon like siamangs. Humans have the same number of teeth as these apes. We all have hands with thumbs and none of us have a tail. The skeletal anatomy of chimps and humans are very similar. The difference between a chimp’s brain and ours is practically insignificant. The conclusion was that apes and humans share a common ancestor. This conclusion flipped out Victorian England. Back then we could only look at bones, teeth, hands and so on but today we can look at the DNA molecule, natures Holy of Holies. We now have even stronger evidence than Darwin and Huxley. All this is thanks to molecular biology. According to DNA evidence our closest relatives are the chimps. The apes come in close second.

Sagan then gives astonishing DNA evidence of just how close we are to chimps, apes and other primates. If you look at the DNA evidence nucleotide by nucleotide which includes the “nonsense” sequences we are very close to the fallowing primates: Chimpanzees to humans are 1.7%. Gorillas and humans 1.8%. Humans and orangutans 3.3%. Humans and gibbons 4.3%. These are the closest. Anything under 5% is a real close match. The last two named we are more distantly related. Humans and rhesus monkeys is 7% difference in DNA sequences. Finally last on the list is humans to lemurs 22% different. The more the DNA sequences differ the further back in time you have to go before we have a common ancestor. All these percentages are DNA sequences including the inactive genes of nonsense. If you only look at the active, working genes we share 99.6% of our genes in common with the chimp. Another words only .4% of our working genes differ from a chimp. Now that is pretty close.

Sagan describes in detail the two methods of DNA testing to see how closely related two animals are to one another. It shows just how accurate molecular biology is. The interesting thing is that after all this genetic testing humans and chimps end up being more related to one another than chimps to orangutans. This fact I found compelling and interesting. Here one can easily make the joke about how God made man but God made chimp to keep us humble because chimps wear their faults as well as their good qualities right on their “sleeves” so to speak. Chimps hide nothing except fear. You might say they expose us and our true nature. Gorillas are in second place as to close relations to both chimps and humans. “By these standards (DNA sequences genetics), humans and chimps are about as closely related as horses and donkeys, and we are closer relatives than rats and mice, or turkeys and chickens or camels and llamas.” Page 277 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan.

Sagan reminds us not to get so offended at the thought of being so closely related to chimps that we close our eyes to the lessons this could teach us. By observing chimp, especially in the wild, we learn about ourselves. Sagan here tries to get the reader to look squarely at him/ her self and our humble origins. From here Sagan tells us we must be balanced and objective when studying animals. He warns against over anthropomorphizing animals. Sagan more sternly warns about the other extreme, which is to claim that animals are incapable of feeling pain or emotions. Animals as just running programs and you can do any ruthless thing you like to an animal. Sagan clearly warns against this behavior. Sagan did not like the Behaviorist view of just manipulating animals and people to make them behave the way you want them to with out regard to their feelings or harm you cause on these living beings. In the last analysis, Sagan admits it is better to lean towards giving animals credit of similar feelings to us rather than the cold hearted view of total contempt for life as expressed by the behaviorists. Sagan was no lover of B.F. Skinner. In a later book written by Carl Sagan, Sagan gave credit to American Indian Shamans for their attempt to try to understand nature and the animals. Sagan said that in his book called “The Demon Haunted World” Science As A Candlelight In The Dark.

Sagan then begins a subsection in this chapter with the shocker for the reader of his book. Here those of you miss the value of this by only reading my summery or in this case (spoiler). Sagan now informs you about the secret about Gangland (the chapter just before this one). Gangland was a dialog about chimp life. Here Sagan gave a voice to the chimps. This is why one could only read chapter 14 for themselves because here the summery could never portray the feel the way it was written. The information that Sagan used to write Gangland was provided by Jane Goodall who studied chimps at the Gombe Reservation in Tanzania. She is most famous for living among chimps and gorillas in the wild. The dramatized accounts were events that actually happened and were documented by scientists working with Jane Goodall. Sagan then notes how interesting it is that chimp society resembles many human societies especially the tough guy societies. The chimps were similar to street gangs, prisons, some cities, motorcycle gangs, crime syndicates and absolute monarchies.

Chimp society resembles human societies that are very stressful. Chimp males have short fuses. Chimps will openly display their sexual parts. They use and make tools. Surprisingly they hold grudges and resentments. They have thoughts of revenge just like us. And like us they get revenge when an opening presents itself. They even plan future courses of actions. Chimps have learned more human words than humans have learned chimp language. When chimps see their own reflection in a mirror they recognize themselves. They have self awareness like us. Chimps keep secrets. They lie. They oppress the weak like we do. They can also help the weak at times like us. They strive for social advancement as we do and career opportunities just like us to name a few things we share with the world of the chimp. Chimps can also communicate with one another as we do to each other. We just do not know their language. Here it is good to note that other animals communicate with one another as well. It is just that humans never bothered to learn animal languages so to us the animals just make sounds but for that matter a human foreign language sounds just like sounds to one who has no familiarity with the language spoken. Animals such as chimp, dog, cat, hawk and so on all can talk to each other. We are the ones who miss out since no one has taken the time to really communicate with the animals save the ancient American Indian Shamans.

Sagan then describes an experiment on chimps which proved that they do in fact communicate with one another. One chimp was chosen to be showed where food would be hidden or a fake snake or fake alligator. If it was food the chimps would all leave their cage acting calm and go right to the food. Some times the food would be secretly removed by the scientists, after the chosen chimp had been put back with the other chimps. When released the chimps would still look for the food based on what the “chosen” chimp told them. If it was the snake or alligator, the chimps would all get close to each other picking up sticks and rocks and together go to where the snake or alligator is. The chimps also showed agitation before getting to the sight where the snake or alligator was. They were agitated as soon as the chimps were put in the enclosure where the snake or alligator was hidden. Again showing that the “chosen” chimp had informed the others. These items would be hidden on the grounds and only the “chosen” chimp was shown where the items were. The other chimps were put some where they could not see where the “chosen” chimp was shown. Only through communication could the chimps know where to go.

Sagan shows how chimps are very similar to us by showing their good traits as well as their bad traits. He starts by showing how chimps can love each other and care for each other. Both adults and children play. They play more if food supplies are plentiful. Male chimps will protect both female and children from attacks. But this sweetness can turn on a dime. The male will suddenly get violent if competition for dominance arises. The same male who was playing and being kind to chimp children would suddenly grab an innocent by standing child chimp and slam it to the ground in rage. Chimps pick on the runt of the litter. They will pick on the weak just like humans do. Females are picked on as well. There is no women’s liberation in chimp society. There are still human societies where the female is clearly lesser as much as any chimp society. The male is not the only vicious one. Female some times will steal another chimp’s child kill it and eat it. Chimps will eat their own. Sagan gives an example of a chimp child who is playing with a colubus monkey when an adult chimp just comes by and kills the colubus monkey and everyone starts eating it including the chimp child who moments ago was playing with it. The next statement says it all.

“Those who are moved to mercy eat less and leave fewer off spring. Clearly chimps do not recognize monkeys, or chimps of other groups, or even members of their own group as deserving mercy or other moral considerations” Page 287 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan.
Where I live I know people who do not recognize their own children or fellow American. Here chimps are portrayed as “Orks” on “Lord Of The Rings”. In Episode II called “Two Towers” of the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy the orks want fresh meat so they decide that the hobbits might taste good but the Urhukie leader does not let them. One ork got extra aggressive to get meat that the leader killed him. The leader then tells the others that “It looks like meet is back on the menu.”. The orks then all dive in and begin eating a fellow ork who was just killed. When reading about chimps I was surprised to find out just how violent and heartless they were.

Sagan ends the chapter with how chimps go on patrols to guard their turf. This Sagan got from Jane Goodall’s notes. The chimps showed amazing ability to keep silent the whole time unlike their usual behavior. They also showed tracking skills, like looking at disguarded food wedges, feces, dropped termite tools and whether a sleeping nest is fresh or not. Chimps also know how to walk through forests with out rustling the bushes. Chimps do not do frontal or line combat. Chimps do guerilla tactics. They pick off one or two at a time from the neighboring territory. They continue this tactic until the neighboring chimp group no longer has enough of a force to defend that territory. The males from the other tribe are killed. The females are captured and must serve the winning chimps. Ancient human kings did this practice as well. They had Concubines. Sagan then tells us that being a male chimp is like being in the army. This means that gene selection in chimp societies include military skills. So strength is not the only thing necessary for chimp survival. This chapter ended on an interesting note. Military skills can be inherited.

[Empress Palpatine]

Ch. 16: This chapter has more detailed descriptions of chimp life. The rule of the alpha male resembles that of an ancient king. His subjects bow. He then reassuringly touches the subordinates. He also prevents conflict between young hot-headed males or protects the young from it. They want their king to lead and protect. They need this.

Gestures of submission to the alpha have gay overtones, even though symbolic. This is true of all the monkey sorts and even a few other mammals.

Alphas are known for their fearsome tempers. Subordinates are always trying to appease, like Edith did to Archie Bunker in that old sit com "All In The Family." To keep the threat of his anger alive, sometimes a real fight does happen even if not often. An alpha can lose once in awhile, but not often; or he may lose his rank.

Chimps have their Sun Tzu down. Sagan actually mentions that book.

Power, law and order are maintained through threat. The alpha is hero, protector and judge. It is all very Mein Kampf, but it serves stability and the purposes of evolution.

All males want to work their way up the ladder. There can be plots by sub-groups of underlings to overthrow the alpha. Challenges are not philosophical but purely a lust for power. Outright assassination is rare.

Chimp babies require a lot of physical contact with their mothers. If they don't get this, they grow up estranged and anti-social. Grooming is mama's job at first, and later it is a shared task with others. Grooming is a calming thing. It settles the nerves as well as gets rid of parasites. Getting groomed by the alpha is like the laying on of hands by a minister or priest.

Friendships and alliances exist on all levels. Such bondings are an advantage, but loyalties can shift, and betrayals happen. It is all about balance of power, not any ideological commitment to equality. Chimps have their politicians and manipulators.

Under crowded conditions (like a zoo), chimps are different than rats. They show restraint and a more democratic spirit. The females become more involved and are peacemakers and calm the males down.

Females are not allowed to refuse males who want to mate with them. Is it rape? Yes and no. It seems the females want to submit to this, especially to the high rankers. For chimps, life is a never-ending orgy that could outdo Austin Powers. Each coupling, however, is brief. Among chimps there is sexual jealousy and possessiveness of various forms. The closest thing to marriage is when a male takes one particular female off with him a few days or weeks alone. Do females ever band together to say "no"? In captivity and in more crowded quarters, it can happen.

It has been speculated that female monkeys give into male desires as a bribe to get males to be helpful or at least not harmful to their kids. Do males threaten the kids to control the females? How much is coerced and how much is willing? Some questions as to the motives of chimps still remain.

There is much more detail given about the sex life of chimps in this book but too explicit to post here.

Chimp family ties are strong; mother to young, sibling to sibling. Children have to learn how to be parents and how to get along by example. They also copy the examples of their gender as to dominance and such.

Chimp society has its set of rules that all understand, and yet they have no lawgivers or sacred books.

"From a human perspective chimpanzee social life has many nightmarish flourishes. And, yet, despite its excesses, it's hauntingly familiar. Many spontaneous groupings of men are oriented around hierarchy, combat, blood sports, and loveless sex. The combination of dominant males, submissive females, differential but scheming subordinates, a driving hunger for 'respect' up and down the hierarchy, the exchange of current favors for future loyalty, barely submerged violence, protection rackets, and the systematic sexual exploitation of all available adult females, has some marked points of similarity with the lifestyles and ambiance of absolute monarchs, dictators, big-city bosses, bureaucrats of all nations, gangs, organized crime, and the actual lives of many of the figures in history adjudged 'great.'

The horrors of everyday life among the chimpanzees recall similar events in our history. We find humans behaving like chimps at their worst in endless succession in the daily press, in modern popular fiction, in the chronicles of the most ancient civilizations, in the sacred books of many religions, and in the tragedies of Euripides and Shakespeare." P. 312, 313.

[Mrs. Darth Vader]

Chapter sixteen deals with the lives of apes. We did chimps so now it is apes turn since they were close second as to being related to us. Sagan does jump back and forward between apes and chimps in general. Sagan starts this chapter by describing the demeanor of the alpha ape and the subordinate ape. Here Sagan directly compares the alpha ape to a Chinese or Ottoman Emperor or a Catholic Priest before the Bishop of Rome or a Pharaoh of ancient Egypt. The subordinate is clearly showing deference in an extreme bow and scrape manner. The subordinate really grovels. The subordinate clearly makes you think of the above mentioned leaders and the way subordinates in human societies act towards such high ranking officials. The alpha ape then touches the subordinate on the head giving reassurance. The alpha then goes his way touching other apes as he goes. Here the alpha is compared to American Presidents who shake hands with the masses. Sagan compares this action of the alpha to the reassurance that statesmen give to the people. Here Sagan clearly draws a straight line between human and ape society. Part of the alpha’s duty is to reassure the others and calm anxieties in the group. The alpha ape is the king and government of ape society. He, like any king in human society, gets the best food and fed first, women and deference and respect from the entire group. In return, like any king, the alpha mites justice. He is expected to settle disputes between hotheaded young males. The alpha prevents conflicts from flaring up. Sagan describes the demeanor of how alpha ape separates two hotheaded young males itching for a fight. Sagan compares this to the rudiments of government. The alpha has to do symbolic gestures and real actual practical stuff and render services to the group. Here the alpha is compared to good kings who rule well. Here there is a give/ take relationship. It is not all one way where the alpha is serviced and everyone else is out of luck. The alpha does his part as well.

Sagan then switches to how the alpha keeps his power and the intimidation tactics alpha uses to keep the other apes in their place. Here violence is sparingly used to prove that it will be done if necessary. The violence is dispensed with wisely so that when gestures and bluffs are made they are believed. In human society money has replaced the violent combat and bluffs of the alpha ape. The further back you go in human history combat and bluffs were just as done. Pistols at dawn. Swords and duels of the middle ages where no different than the violence and gestures of the alpha ape. Even though money has replaced this the dynamic is the same underneath. The alphas in our society are the ones who owns the houses and has the money. Here the threat is life of banishment and the streets if you cross these petty alphas. In our society these alphas can be male or female and are many, with the apes it is only the male because strength is necessary. In ape society there are a few alphas more like that of a vanguardist dictatorship. American society has many more petty alphas than does the apes. Money makes it so even a weakling can rule which would be unheard of in ape society. Here is how the apes do it (rule and intimidate).

“The anger of a high-ranking male is fearsome. His arousal is obvious to any bystander, because all the hair on his body is standing on end. He may charge, intimidate, and tear branches from trees. If you’re not prepared to meet him in single combat, you might want to appease him, to keep him happy. You closely monitor the slightest raising of a single one of his hairs. Not only are you perpetually compliant (“I’m yours whenever you want me”), but just for your own comfort you need frequent reassurance that he’s not angry with you. When he is angry, he exaggerates his size and ferocity and displays the weapons that he will bring to bear if the adversary does not submit.” Page 297 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan.

There are many American house holds that run in this manner. Some with the literal violence (cases of domestic violence), others more subtle gesture intimidation. People do not make their hairs stand on end but they too have their intimidation gestures. Humans can swell and look bigger on demand as well. It is just more subtle than our ape cousins. The weapons we threaten with is the power of society and our position in it. The sub-group we belong to with in that society is also used as a threat. “Obey me or I will sic my gang on you”. In ape society to become alpha you must over throw the reigning alpha. Defeating the reigning alpha once in combat is not enough. You must defeat him many times. Then you become alpha. The ex-alpha usually still lives in the group. It is just now that someone else is in charge.
“Political assassination-that is, dominance combat in which the looser dies-is rare.” Page 298.

Physical contact among apes, chimps and monkeys is important to their psychological well being. When chimps are born they constantly cling to their mothers. Mothers groom and touch their infants and chimp children a lot. Touching continues through out the life of chimps, monkeys and apes. If chimps, monkeys and apes are well fed but not hugged and groomed they grow up to be socially, emotionally and sexually incompetent. They become misfits. They will not fit into their society if they are brought up to be estranged from it by too much distance and no physical interaction. Here Sagan makes you think about how our children are brought up and how adults are very distant from one another. Children are not toughed or hugged much in our society. It is not considered macho. Adults do not touch at all except in rare cases of two lovers and they keep a distance most pf the time. Of course our society is dysfunctional. People have no common group bonding with one another. We all are isolated individuals and the next guy is a competitor as if from another species like the prey.

Male chimps are quicker to reconcile to each other because they go on patrol often to guard their territory. If too much mistrust is brewing it will lessen the effectiveness of the patrols. Males are more aggressive than the females but they forgive and make up faster as well. Again this is rooted in survival. You need to trust each other on patrols. This the same reason that military buddies are closer bonded than their civilian counter parts. In the military everyone is needed to protect each other. Survival here has no room for grudges. Civilians cut the ground from each other’s feet. This behavior is rewarded by the business community so it continues. In the chimp world it is the females that hold the grudges. They do not go on patrols so they can afford to keep their grudges.

Sagan then brings up the rats that were over crowded in an enclosure and their reaction to that over crowding.
“When Calhoun crowded his rats together he found a wholesale change in their behavior, almost as if their collective strategy was now to kill off enough of themselves and to lower the birth rate enough that the population in the next generation would be reduced to manageable numbers…(and in fact, described in the next chapter, that baboons can go into a murderous, annihilating group frenzy when packed together.)” Page 301 Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors”. by Carl Sagan.
Here humans act more like rats and baboons when our over crowding occurs. Chimps, on the other hand try to lesson tensions. The males suddenly show measured restraint. When conflict does arise between males, it is the female that does the peace making.

Sagan then goes back to describing chimp life in the wild. When a male chimp “courts” a female it is much briefer than humans, more like the offensive one night stand kind of approach. We all know the type “Hello, baby. Want to get it on?” He is usually pushy besides. Many of the male chimp gestures for wanting a female is very similar to the gestures used in intimidating other males. The female usually always complies with only a 3% rejection rate. Sagan then describes the sexual behaviors of chimps. Here is where they make humans feel awkward and embarrassed. You will have to read the book for yourself to read this part. The high ranking males are the ones to get the females. Females comply to male advances all the time because the male is more likely to protect her child if she does not reject him. Sagan compares this side of the sex lives of chimps to the protection racket done by the Mafia or “Mob”.

Sagan explains the molecular level how sperm cells compete with each other to try to get to the egg. In one human ejaculation there are some 200 million sperm cells. So there are many competitors for the one egg. The strongest sperm cells make their way towards the egg. When the sperm is near enough to the egg, the egg sends out a tether and hooks the chosen sperm cell, of those that made it close enough, and reels it in. Then the egg creates a protective barrier so no other sperm cells get in. This is a surprising new discovery because before scientists learned that the egg is more aggressive than at first thought it was believed that the egg lay their totally passive and the sperm did it all. Now the egg is a more active participant.

Chimps, apes and monkeys have children that have to be taught how to fit into their perspective societies. Here they are very much like us. Dysfunctional parents make dysfunctional children which grow up to be dysfunctional parents. Mothers are essential in chimp society. Sagan here reminds us why we hate to acknowledge our relationship to chimps. Their society is oppressive and unpleasant to look at. Sexual exploitation is considered normal in chimp society. The female is expected to comply to every male advance unless the male is related. If a male chimp young is attacked by an adult male it will leave it’s mother and chase after the attacker begging for approval. It is wanting acceptance from the one who attacked it. In human society if a person were to respond in this manner it is called “Stockholm Syndrome”. Then Sagan reminds us how hauntingly similar to chimps we are. Our similarities to chimps really shows up in times of small government and when social rules are too relaxed. When society looses it’s ability to keep the perfume of civilization on, the more aggressive elements of our society revert back to chimp, ape or monkey behavior. Here I am reminded of a movie called “The Patriot” starring Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin. In a scene where men are gathered to decide to go to war against England Benjamin Martin says why he is hesitant to fight. Benjamin Martin says he prefers one dictator three thousand miles away over three thousand dictators one mile away. Here our small government allows us to act like chimps fighting for small petty dominance hierarchies in our homes. Big powerful governments prevent this because like in ape society the state keeps the little petty dictators from rising. This chapter ended in a chilling note since it reminds me how thin a veil civilized society is from becoming uncivilized chimp society. Here Sagan, quite by accident, proves an open shut case for the “Vanguardist” point of view. Tyranny comes with relaxed order and small government. Sagan when asked about politics always promotes democracy. This is why I say that he proved the Vanguardist view by accident. Sagan was not a supporter of vanguardism.

[Empress Palpatine]

Ch. 17: The word "ape" covers those who are bigger, smarter, and lack tails. "Primate" comes from a Latin word for "first." Humans feel they are first of the first, meaning the rulers of the world.

There are about 200 kinds of primates on earth. One is baboons. Male baboons never share meat unlike chimps. They have a dominance hierarchy, and males have harems of females who are not allowed to look at another male. The males rule them absolutely. The slightest disobedience can mean death at the hands of the male. (Note: it reminds one of certain middle eastern human sorts doesn't it?) They are even more male-dominating than chimps. The males are super huge compared to the females. Typically, in the animal kingdom, the bigger the males are compared to the females, the more they dominate them and treat them as private property. Baboons are similar to chimps in many ways but not all.

In the 1920's they did not understand baboons that well. At a zoo in a certain area, they put a bunch of them together, both males and females. They killed each other. Why? These were not a previously established group, but individuals thrown together. Not having a pre-established hierarchy, it was Armageddon. The hierarchy may have been bad, but the anarchy was much worse. "For a society to be successful, it must be consonant with the nature and character of the individuals who must live in it. If those contriving social structures overlook who these individuals are, or sentimentalize their nature, or are incompetent social engineers, disaster can result." p. 328. Perhaps they should have read this book before invading Iraq and deposing Saddam Hussein.

There are the other kinds of monkeys that are not so violent or sexist, some even where females dominate. Gibbons are monogamous. They marry for life. They also sing. They are territorial, and their songs keep intruders away. (They seem to do a certain form of rune magic.) Males and females have equal status.

Bonobos are a sub-species of chimp. They are just a little smaller. They can walk upright without slouching like regular chimps. Unlike regular chimps, they make love face to face. They gaze intently into one another's eyes. Male and female are more equal to each other. They do even more sex than regular chimps. There is also gay sexual stuff (not for dominance and aggressive purposes but for a form of bonding.) There is still a male dominance hierarchy, but less extreme. They are not as violent.

Apes and monkeys can like our vices like drinking and smoking; however, after a hangover, they do not want to drink again.

With brown capuchin monkeys, it is the females that chase the males to mate.

Colobine monkey females raise each other's infants, freely swapping them.

Certain small monkeys are very good fathers and actually spend time taking care of infants.

This proves that not all monkeys are the same.