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posted by martyb on Wednesday September 29 2021, @11:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the oo-ee-oo-ah-ah-ting-tang-walla-walla-bing-bang dept.

Great ape's consonant and vowel-like sounds travel over distance without losing meaning:

Researchers from the University of Warwick's Department of Psychology set out to collect empirical data to investigate the model. They selected a range of sounds from previously collected audio recordings of orangutan communications. Specific consonant-like and vowel-like signals were played out and re-recorded across the rainforest at set distances of 25, 50, 75 and 100 meters. The quality and content of the signals received were analyzed.

[...] The team found that although the quality of the signal may have degraded, the content of the signal was still intact—even at long distance. In fact the informational characteristics of calls remained uncompromised until the signal became inaudible. This calls into question the existing and accepted theory of language development.

Dr. Adriano Lameira, an evolutionary psychologist from the University of Warwick, led the study. He said:

"We used our bank of audio data recordings from our studies of orangutan in Indonesia. We selected the clear vowel-like and consonant-like signals and played them out and re-recorded them over measured distances in a rainforest setting. The purpose of this study was to look at the signals themselves and understand how they behaved as a package of information. This study is neat because it is only across distance that you can hope to assess this error limit theory—it disregards other aspects of communication like gestures, postures, mannerisms and facial expressions.

"The results show that these signals seem to be impervious to distance when it comes to encoding information.

Journal Reference:
Adriano R. Lameira, António Alexandre, Marco Gamba, et al. Orangutan information broadcast via consonant-like and vowel-like calls breaches mathematical models of linguistic evolution, Biology Letters (DOI: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0302)


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday September 29 2021, @01:54PM (5 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 29 2021, @01:54PM (#1182731) Journal

    "The results show that these signals seem to be impervious to distance when it comes to encoding information.

    SETI could use this to send signals to other stars.

    Of course, a major drawback is that it would only travel at the speed of sound instead of the speed of light.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
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  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:17PM (4 children)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:17PM (#1182766)

    Of course, a major drawback is that it would only travel at the speed of sound instead of the speed of light.

    Kind of hoping this was supposed to be a joke...Poe's Law and all...

    Since sound obviously doesn't travel through space, and we'd be transmitting it as a stream of data, and radio waves/X-rays/whatever travel at the speed of light, since they're just another part of the light spectrum?

    --
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    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:26PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:26PM (#1182773) Journal

      sound obviously doesn't travel through space, and we'd be transmitting it as a stream of data

      In space, no one can hear you stream data.

      Next, you'll be discouraging my proposal to senators that NASA should follow the success of Ingenuity on Mars and proceed to build a lunar helicopter. You seem to be pessimistic. I am optimistic that senators will be receptive to my proposal.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by inertnet on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:27PM (2 children)

      by inertnet (4071) on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:27PM (#1182774) Journal

      It's about time we invent the 'gaseg' (Gravity Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Gravitons). Like a laser but with directed gravitons instead of radiation.

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:30PM (1 child)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 29 2021, @03:30PM (#1182777) Journal

        Definitely an idea that seems worthy of a research grant.

        Also, the difference in speed between light and sound cannot be all that great, considering the short delay between seeing lightning and hearing thunder. It's only a few seconds.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 29 2021, @11:42PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 29 2021, @11:42PM (#1182975)

          》 Also, the difference in speed between light and sound cannot be all that great, considering the short delay between seeing lightning and hearing thunder. It's only a few seconds.

          Pedophile logic at its best.