We are separated from our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees, by only one or two percent of our genes—but also by some six million years of going our different evolutionary ways. So we are aware that their minds are very different from our own. In this episode Alan Alda sets out to explore that difference, and finds that some scientists studying chimps and other non-human primates see the continuity between us, others emphasize the differences. Alan challenges the arguments of both sides in the debate. Yes, we have much in common with chimps, but what about that one or two percent difference in our DNA? Does this mask not a tiny difference but an evolutionary chasm? Distributed by PBS Distribution. Part of the series The Human Spark. (60 minutes)
|