Origins of Intelligence: The Evolution of Cognitive Development in Monkeys, Apes, and Humans

Book Description

Since Darwin's time, comparative psychologists have searched for a good way to compare cognition in humans and nonhuman primates. In Origins of Intelligence, Sue Parker and Michael McKinney offer such a framework and make a strong case for using human development theory (both Piagetian and neo-Piagetian) to study the evolution of intelligence across primate species. Their approach is comprehensive, covering a broad range of social, symbolic, physical, and logical domains, which fall under the all-encompassing and much-debated term intelligence.

A widely held theory among developmental psychologists and social and biological anthropologists is that cognitive evolution in humans has occurred through juvenilization -- the gradual accentuation and lengthening of childhood in the evolutionary process. In this work, however, Parker and McKinney argue instead that new stages were added at the end of cognitive development in our hominid ancestors, coining the term adultification by terminal extension to explain this process.

Drawing evidence from scores of studies on monkeys, great apes, and human children, this book provides unique insights into ontogenetic constraints that have interacted with selective forces to shape the evolution of cognitive development in our lineage.

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An excellent book.......2000-01-11

This is really two excellent books in one. The first book is a comprehensive comparison of how the cognitive abilities of humans, apes, and monkeys develop. Like others of Professor Parker's books, it will be a reference for years to come. A particular strong point is the numerous easily-understood tables that present a large mass of important information in a readily-understood manner. These compare not just the development of the species, but the different theories that have been proposed about how development occurs. The second book proposes a theory about how the differences among primates evolved, then applies it from monkeys through apes and Homo erectus to ourselves. The theory is the opposite of that proposed by Stephen Jay Gould. Instead of being laid to neoteny, or progressive juvenilzation, the authors argue that the cause is progressive adultification. A very worthwhile book for anyone interested in the intelligence of humans, apes, or monkeys.

Old Developments.(Review): An article from: American Scientist

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Old Developments.(Review): An article from: American Scientist
Clive D. L. Wynne
Manufacturer: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This book contains the edited proceedings of papers presented at the Tenth International Conference on Boundary Element Technology (BETECH 95), which was held in Liege, Belgium, September 13-15, 1995.

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Boundary Elements X

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0387500952

Boundary Elements, X: Geomechanics, Wave Propagation and Vibration

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Boundary Elements, X: Geomechanics, Wave Propagation and Vibration

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Boundary Elements, X: Mathematical and Computational Aspects

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Boundary Elements, X: Mathematical and Computational Aspects

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Boundary Elements, X: Stress Analysis

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

This beautifully packaged series of classic novellas includes the works of Anton Chekhov, Colette, Henry James, Herman Melville, and Leo Tolstoy. These collectible editions are the first single-volume publications of these classic tales, offering a closer look at this underappreciated literary form and providing a fresh take on the world's most celebrated authors.

The rat race of Wall Street is turned on its head when Bartleby the copier decides that he simply "would prefer not to" in this absorbing early modernist tale.

Customer Reviews:

Bartleby.......2007-01-18

In my opinion, Bartleby gets a bit boring sometimes, but maybe that's because I was sleepy when I read it. In general, the storyline is somewhat unique. Turkey and Nippers are copyists or scriveners while Ginger Nut, a boy of twelve, does odd jobs. The narrator notes these eccentricities, but excuses them. The narrator, torn between pity and exasperation, also discovers that Bartleby apparently has no home or friends, and lives in the office. Bartleby, however, only repeats his mantra, and the narrator eventually fires him. Bartleby, however, continues to haunt the premises, causing the lawyer considerable embarrassment.
I would give Bartleby three out of five stars, because I really didn't think it was that amazing, because I got lost in it.

I would prefer not to.......2005-08-17

The strange behaviour of the main character 'Bartleby' in this short story can be described as 'perfectly harmless passivity': 'I would prefer not to.'
The reason for this behaviour lays in the fact that Bartleby was suddenly removed out of the 'Dead Letter' office in Washington after a reorganization.
'Dead letters! does that not sound like dead men? ... Sometimes from out the folded paper the pale clerk takes a ring ... a banknote ... he whom it would relieve nor eats nor hungers anymore ... on errands of life, these letters speed to death.'

Bartleby had hope. He had a job, albeit a rather 'catastrophic' one. But, he himself became the victim of a catastrophe: he lost his job, his hope. He became a stoic.

Bartleby is the personification of humanity's lost hopes: 'Ah , Bartleby! Ah, humanity!'

This is a profoundly modern and magisterial tale.

The immortal ' I prefer not to ' .......2004-10-31

Bartleby is the story of one of the great ' naysayers' of Literature. But unlike Dostoevsky's ' Underground Man' he does not scream out his 'nay' in curses. His 'nay 'is quiet. " I prefer not to" . A much more romantic American adolescent naysayer Holden Caulfield will captivate readers also by saying to society, the world, the system of conventions that all are subject to, nay and nay again.
The outcast, the loner, the naysayer is of course one great archetypal figure of world and most especially American Literature.
Bartleby belongs among them.
And the fact that neither he nor the narrator nor the author fully articulate the ' root of his nay' adds in a way to the mystery and mystique of the character.
There is it seems to many of us something admirable in those who can turn away from the demands of ordinary society, and listen to the sound of their own drummer.
But what is maddening and absurd in Bartleby is that he does not seem to do this for anything special. He gives no hint that this ' nay ' gives him personal satisfaction. His withdrawal seems impersonal .And it seems a reflection of his own feeling about himself which is ' nay' Or on another interpretation it might be said that his saying ' I prefer not to' is the only way in which he preserves a vestige in his own identity.
Clearly there are many ways of reading this. But this is an exemplary tale, of course enriched by Melville's descriptions of the office world of the time, by his masterful language and humor.
One of the great long - short stories, or if you will, short novels. A masterwork without question.

A profound and wise examination.......2004-07-20

Bartleby is a man who simply prefers not to do anything. He is employed as a scrivener, but prefers not to do his job - indeed, he would rather stand in his office and look out the window than emerge from his quarters. Why he prefers to do nothing is as much a question to his employer as it is to the reader. But however much laziness aggravates the average person, one will quite instantly fall in love with Bartleby's character - or perhaps love him and hate him simultaneously. I found myself imagining reasons for his passiveness and creating events in his life in order to figure out why Bartleby prefers to do nothing. His character would be considered a flat character by the way Melville presents him, and yet I view him as a round character because I feel as though there was a conflict in his past which shaped him considerably. I am left to ponder over the one reason given by the narrator about Bartleby's demeanor, and I find that mystery most intriguing.

I enjoyed this story immensely. I fell in love with the character of Bartleby, and though the tale has a depressed, sad sort of aura about it, I walked away from it with a tranquil, serene sort of feeling. I can't really explain it, but I can say this: I would recommend that you take an hour out of your day and read this story in its entirety, reading it mean so that you get the most out of it. Even if you prefer not to.

A great book about hope as well as despair.......2004-01-22

I had to read this story in high school, and wasn't immediately struck by it except to conclude that it was better than Moby Dick. A few years later, however, I ran across this edition at a book warehouse and decided to buy it mainly for its photographs and very low price. Upon rereading it I decided that I liked it much better than I had initially thought.
The other reviews explain the story: Bartleby is employed by a lawyer in nineteenth-century Manhattan to do the work of a scrivener; that is, to copy legal documents. He begins well but eventually refuses to do any work at all. Bartleby will also not leave his office, even after the building is bought by someone else, and so is thrown in jail for vagrancy, where he dies.
Bartleby says very little except his famous line "I prefer not to" when asked by his employer to do any form of work. Much more interesting is the voice of the narrator, Bartleby's employer, who is genuinely concerned about Bartleby's plight and does everything he can to figure out what is wrong. When Bartleby passes away, the narrator's reaction is very sad to read, but the reader is led to believe that the narrator is a changed person.
I would definitely recommend this novella; it can be read in under an hour and is well worth your time.

Bartleby the Scrivener ; Benito Cereno ; Billy Budd, Foretopman

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Bartleby the Scrivener ; Benito Cereno ; Billy Budd, Foretopman
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: Quality Paperback Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bartleby The Scrivener A Story of Wall-street. [EasyRead Super Large 18pt Edition]

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Bartleby The Scrivener A Story of Wall-street. [EasyRead Super Large 18pt Edition]
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: ReadHowYouWant.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1425002099
Release Date: 2007-08-21

Bartleby The Scrivener A Story of Wall-street. [EasyRead Super Large 20pt Edition]

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Bartleby The Scrivener A Story of Wall-street. [EasyRead Super Large 20pt Edition]
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: ReadHowYouWant.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1425016693
Release Date: 2007-08-21

Bartleby The Scrivener A Story of Wall-street. [EasyRead Super Large 24pt Edition]

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Bartleby The Scrivener A Story of Wall-street. [EasyRead Super Large 24pt Edition]
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: ReadHowYouWant.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1425032583
Release Date: 2007-08-21

Book Description

You are assembled at a period of profound interest to the American patriot. The unexampled growth and prosperity of our country having given us a rank in the scale of nations which removes all apprehension of danger to our integrity and independence from external foes, the career of freedom is before us, with an earnest from the past that if true to ourselves there can be no formidable obstacle in the future to its peaceful and uninterrupted pursuit. Yet, in proportion to the disappearance of those apprehensions which attended our weakness, as once contrasted with the power of some of the States of the Old World, should we now be solicitous as to those which belong to the conviction that it is to our own conduct we must look for the preservation of those causes on which depend the excellence and the duration of our happy system of government.

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Bartleby, The Scrivener (A Story of Wall-Street)

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Bartleby, The Scrivener (A Story of Wall-Street)
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: IndyPublish
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Bartleby, the Scrivener A Story of Wall-Street
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: Hard Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street": A Study Guide from Gale's "Short Stories for Students" (Volume 03, Chapter 3)

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Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street": A Study Guide from Gale's "Short Stories for Students" (Volume 03, Chapter 3)

Manufacturer: The Gale Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B00006G3PH
Release Date: 2002-07-23

Book Description

Term paper due tomorrow? Need to cram for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Short Stories for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by Thomson Gale--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: plot summary; character analysis; author biography; an overview of the story's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Short Stories for Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: Thomson Gale--and "Short Stories for Students."

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Term paper due tomorrow? Need to bone up for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Short Stories for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by the Gale Group--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: plot summary; character analysis; author biography; an overview of the story's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Short Stories for Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: The Gale Group--and "Short Stories for Students."

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Bartleby the Scrivener A Story of Wall Street
Melville Herman
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UEH2HK

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Bartleby The Scrivener. A Story of Wall Street. in PUTNAM'S MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Volume II [July - Dec 1853].
Herman]. [Melville
Manufacturer: G. P. Putnam,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B000MZ7PW4

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