8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

頭像
Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2161
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Rock »

Session One
Chimps Do Not Make Good Pets. But Bonobos?

http://www.theeoptimist.com/2014/09/chi ... -pets.html

If you were planning to buy the kids a pet chimp this holiday season, you better hold that thought.

A surprise announcement has come from the Jane Goodall Institute, the center named for the famed scientist who has spent decades of her life studying chimpanzees.

It seems the Institute takes a dim view of people who welcome chimps into their homes as pets.

"Want to raise a chimp? Think again!" their website harrumphs.

Who knew? Apparently chimpanzees, who share approximately 98% of their DNA with humans and are our closest cousins among the apes, are dangerous.

The website cautions that chimp babies appear cute and cuddly, and don't mind playing dress-up when young. But they grow up to become surly and unpleasant, and eventually refuse to wear the funny costumes that humans love to dress them in.

This is especially true of the males, who often become prone to outbursts of violence as adults. What's neat about this is adult chimps are four to five times stronger than human males, much faster, and have razor sharp teeth and claws.

So when they attack, they are damn near unstoppable without the use of firearms.

Indeed, according to recent studies, chimps are natural born killers, and in the wild often gang up to murder members of other chimp tribes, then steal their land, food, and females.

Chimps, as it turns out, are more like us than we ever realized. They live in a highly-complex, male-dominated society. Larger males routinely resort to violence and intimidation as ways to gain status among their peers.

Meanwhile, smaller males use complicated, Machiavellian political maneuvers and alliance-building for the same purpose. Just like among humans, alliances are fragile and can suddenly collapse when sneaky chimps sniff better opportunities elsewhere.

Is this a pet that you want in your house - untrustworthy, violent, immensely strong? Most homes already have one of these. They call it "Dad."

Bonobos - A Better Pet Option

There is a better way to keep a primate in your home. We have another close relative among the great apes, lesser known and rarely taken as pets. This one is called the bonobo.

Bonobos have not been studied as extensively as chimps. At first glance, however, I'd say they look pretty attractive.

Physically, they are very similar to chimps. The untrained eye can't tell them apart. But emotionally, they couldn't be more different.

Bonobos have a female-dominated society where very little violence happens. What violence that does take place tends to happen when a male becomes aggressive and the females gang up to put him in his place.

Instead of violence, bonobos run their society through the near-constant exchange of sexual favors. Bonobos are the only non-human animals to have been observed engaging in face-to-face sex, tongue kissing, and oral sex.

Rather than being immensely strong compared to their human counterparts, adolescent female bonobos have clitorises that are three to four times bigger than those of adolescent girls. So large, in fact, that they are easily visible, and waggle while they walk.

The bonobos need those big clitorises. Females frequently have sex with other females, usually every two to three hours.

When a group of bonobos finds a new food source, their excitement often results in a group orgy. When two separate tribes encounter each other, rather than fight it out like chimps do, the bonobos tend to mix it up with yet another orgy, swapping individuals between groups. That gets everybody relaxed and on the same page.

When you do the math on this, it becomes a little odd that people have been taking chimps as pets all this time. Chimps = violence. Bonobos = sex. In retrospect, it seems like a no-brainer.

Rather than worry about your chimp suddenly deciding to rip your face apart, or tear your arms off and beat you to death with them, with a bonobo, your main worry is that your favorite pet might become a little too fond of you.

And really, that would be kind of a good problem, wouldn't it?

Questions for Discussion
1. Check up the internet and collect the information of a primate of your pick. Share what you learned about it. What is its name and traits? Is it cute or not? We will put all the apes and monkeys on the board to see how many we can get.
2. What do you think of bonobos? Do their sexual traits make them different from other primates? What does the article intent to tell us?
3. Is it a good idea to have some bonobos in Taipei City Zoo? Is it a good idea to make them star animals like koalas and pandas, and teach people more about it? Any other ideas about exhibiting bonobos?
4. List all the sexual terms in the article. Are these words taboo in our general conversation? Mark them from 1 to 5 by their "taboo rate" and tell us why people should be more careful using these words? Share the euphemisms you would use to replace them, too.




Session Two


Celia (2012)


Questions for Discussion
1. What would you do if you were the doctor? Would you call the girl's mom, who happened to be your best friend, and ask for her opinion? Or would you just pretend that the girl was never there and let it be? Anything else?
2. Would things be different if the girl was over 18? How about 20 or 30? Does age make it any different?
3. Screen writing: If you were a scriptwriter, how would you finish this "family movie" (from Kooper)? Share your work with us.
(Imagination and creativity are appreciated.)


Agenda:
6:45 ~ 7:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
7:00 ~ 7:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:10 ~ 7:50pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
7:50 ~ 8:10pm Summarization (20 mins)
8:10 ~ 8:25pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:25 ~ 9:05pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
9:05 ~ 9:25pm Summarization (20 mins)
9:25 ~ 9:30pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements ********************************************************************************************************************************************
聚會日期:列於該貼文主題內
聚會時間:當天請準時於 6:45 pm 到達 ~ 約 9:30 pm 左右結束
星期二聚會地點:丹堤濟南店
地址、電話:台北市濟南路三段25號 (02) 2740-2350
捷運站:板南線 忠孝新生站 3 號出口
走法:出忠孝新生站 3 號出口後,沿著巷子(忠孝東路三段10巷)走約 2 分鐘,到了濟南路口,左轉走約 2 分鐘即可看到。
最低消費: 80 元

注意事項:
1. 文章是否需要列印請自行斟酌,但與會者請務必自行列印 Questions for discussion。
2. 與會者請先閱讀過文章,並仔細想過所有的問題,謝謝合作!

給新朋友的話:
1. 請事先準備 2~3 分鐘的英語自我介紹;會議結束前可能會請你發表 1~2 分鐘的感想。
2. 請事先閱讀文章以及主持人所提的討論問題,並事先寫下自己所欲發表意見的英文。
3. 全程以英語進行,參加者應具備中等英語會話能力,對任一討論問題,能夠以 5 到 10 句英文表達個人見解。
4. 在正式加入之前,可以先來觀摩三次,觀摩者亦須參與討論。正式加入需繳交終身會費 NT$1,000。
最後由 Rock 於 週日 8月 21, 2016 8:33 pm 編輯,總共編輯了 1 次。
頭像
Sharon Lin
Member
文章: 14
註冊時間: 週四 6月 16, 2016 4:54 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Sharon Lin »

:shock: wow~ interesting topics
圖檔
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Kooper »

Rock always brings us topics that are either thought-provoking or not commonly selected. This one is no exception. :mrgreen:

Theme of the first session seems very academic and requires participants to do some research before coming. By contrast, the second session is more like chit-chats after watching a family movie, where everybody shall have something to say. What an unusual but "interesting" combination!
Luis Ko
YOYO member
文章: 970
註冊時間: 週三 6月 06, 2007 10:18 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Luis Ko »

Kooper 寫:Rock always brings us topics that are either thought-provoking or not commonly selected. This one is no exception. :mrgreen:

Theme of the first session seems very academic and requires participants to do some research before coming. By contrast, the second session is more like chit-chats after watching a family movie, where everybody shall have something to say. What an unusual but "interesting" combination!


+1

though i don't like role playing.. :drink:
i might be a cynic and, a sceptic as well but, i'm definitely not a bad person!!
頭像
Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2161
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Rock »

You don't like role playing? I take out role playing. :lol:
The mission has been revised.
頭像
Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2161
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Rock »

Kooper 寫:...
Theme of the first session seems very academic... By contrast, the second session is more like chit-chats...
Oh! No! It's totally NOT what I mean. What I intended to say is something about silly monkey love in the first session, and sad human girl abortion dilemma in the second session. The first one should be easy and the second one should be tough! Oh! No~~~ I screwed it up again! Now the meeting is dooooomed. :shock: Somebody help me, please?
Tina Sun
YOYO member
文章: 414
註冊時間: 週三 10月 02, 2013 3:23 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Tina Sun »

I laughed several times when reading this article. Hahaha... :lol: :lol: (although I will never figure out why the chiimps or bonobos can be the pet at home... :shock: :shock: :shock: )
Iris Wu
YOYO member
文章: 894
註冊時間: 週二 5月 20, 2014 4:33 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Iris Wu »

I like baby orangutans, but keep them as pets? I am not out of my mind! :)

What I learned from this article:
1) "Dad" is, if not worse than, then, as bad as, the apes:
  • "Is this a pet that you want in your house - untrustworthy, violent, immensely strong? Most homes already have one of these. They call it "Dad.""
    What an insult to all the "Dads" in the world!
2) Female leaders are better for the world. It is proved in bonobo's society, too!
  • "Bonobos have a female-dominated society where very little violence happens."

This is a good precursor for my next week's topic, "When Women are in Charge".
Thank you, Rock! :)
Tina Sun
YOYO member
文章: 414
註冊時間: 週三 10月 02, 2013 3:23 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Tina Sun »

What I learned from this article:
1) "Dad" is, if not worse than, then, as bad as, the apes:
"Is this a pet that you want in your house - untrustworthy, violent, immensely strong? Most homes already have one of these. They call it "Dad.""
What an insult to all the "Dads" in the world!
Iris, but I laughed. XDDD Ha.... (somehow it fits my origin family. :lol: :lol: )
頭像
Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2161
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Rock »

Iris Wu 寫: 2) Female leaders are better for the world. It is proved in bonobo's society, too!
  • "Bonobos have a female-dominated society where very little violence happens."

This is a good precursor for my next week's topic, "When Women are in Charge".
Hey, Iris, you're good. You see what the author wants to tell us in this monkey story. It's really nothing about keeping a chimp or bonobo, or even "dad" as a pet.
As an endangered species, bonobos have this interesting society which is dominated by females, though their rule is built on sex, the forbidden fruit of human society.
I'd like to encourage our people to discuss this topic in an more open-minded way. They are just monkeys, anyway. 8)
頭像
Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2161
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Rock »

Tina Sun 寫:
What I learned from this article:
1) "Dad" is, if not worse than, then, as bad as, the apes:
"Is this a pet that you want in your house - untrustworthy, violent, immensely strong? Most homes already have one of these. They call it "Dad.""
What an insult to all the "Dads" in the world!
Iris, but I laughed. XDDD Ha.... (somehow it fits my origin family. :lol: :lol: )
Sadly, this is so true in some families. To the dads of those families, it's not an insult. But, of course it's not fair to take all dads as cruel creatures. Sometimes moms are even more terrible. :shock:
tashi
Member
文章: 148
註冊時間: 週二 11月 03, 2015 11:07 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 tashi »

I like lemur.

They looks so funny.
http://www.van698.com/thread-154815-1-1.html
tashi
Member
文章: 148
註冊時間: 週二 11月 03, 2015 11:07 pm

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 tashi »

Attendees:

Tashi
Tina
Sherry
Rock
Iris
Shirley
Sabrina
Ryan Hsu
Ken
Julian
Mark
Kooper
頭像
Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2161
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Rock »

Hi, Sherry, "外交官" is diplomat, no problem. But "文科" is more confusing. Some people use "liberal arts" or "arts". However, according to wiki, they kind of cover much more than the "文科" we know in Chinese.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_a ... dern_usage

I would translate it into "literature and social science". How about you?
頭像
Kat C
Member
文章: 377
註冊時間: 週三 9月 08, 2010 10:31 am

Re: 8/23 (Tue.) 1. Bonobos 2. Celia (Host: Rock)

文章 Kat C »

In the States Liberal Arts can sometimes be interchangeable with "Humanities."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanities
http://study.com/directory/category/Lib ... ities.html
回覆文章