Nim: A Chimpanzee Who Learned Sign Language

by Herbert S. Terrace

A Chimpanzee Who Learned Sign Language, 1st Edition [Jan 01, 1979] Terrace, Herbert S …

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Language

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Jamey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the person who single handedly destroyed primate language research in the U.S. by writing a debunking book that caused all the funding to evaporate overnight. Unfortunately, the book is brick stupid. Terrace describes situation after situation in which he somehow tests the chimpanzee he calls Nim and finds him inadequate, but as you read these anecdotes you're struck by how pigheaded the author is, and how his own shallowness, rigidity, and lack of moral imagination cause him to misinterpret what's happening. This guy is deaf to ethology. Roger Fouts and Jane Goodall are the people to read on the subject of chimpanzees and their world, who they are, what they can do and so on. Not this guy.

[Ava F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herbert Terrace is a middle aged weirdo freak who dedicated this book to a literal 19 year old. Some good monkey antics tho