| | The hypothesis for Project Nim was that identity (or "nature") either doesn't exist, or doesn't weigh heavily into the equation for the life outcomes of living beings -- i.e., that "nurture" overridingly determines outcomes, regardless of the nature of the living being in question.
This hypothesis was proved wrong by the project when "Nim" (the chimpanzee) grabbed his original, surrogate (human) "mother" by the ankle and, in a rage, swung her body around like a rag doll. This was the woman who had literally breast-fed him as a baby. Nim -- who had been treated with human love for all of his life -- also partially bit the face off of one of his female caretakers.
So much for the idea that a thing can act in contradiction to its nature.
Ed
(Edited by Ed Thompson on 7/21, 5:54pm)
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