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Fairness matters … to both people and primates. Sharing priceless footage of capuchin monkeys responding to perceived injustice, primatologist Sarah Brosnan explores why humans and monkeys evolved to care about equality — and emphasizes the connection between a healthy, cooperative society and everyone getting their fair share.
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freesk8
December 22, 2020 at 2:59 am
It may not be about fairness. It may be about knowing something better (ie the grape) is possible as a trade. Seems to me that this is goes beyond the data..
freesk8
December 22, 2020 at 3:07 am
Now, what if one monkey worked really hard and got a grape, while the other monkeys did not do any work, but got cucumbers? Seems to me that if you deny the hard-working monkey a grape, you disincentivize hard work. And what if there is one monkey that is REALLY good at something. Much better at finding food or shelter or something than the others. What if THIS monkey gets more grapes, while the other who are not so good do not get grapes? Not rewarding skilled monkeys eliminates the incentive to develop rare and valuable (to the group) skills. Is this video promoting collectivism or socialism? Is force to be promoted to achieve such an order among humans? I hope not. Voluntary cooperation is definitely a good thing. But forcing people to “cooperate” is not.
Ginger in the Desert Creations
December 22, 2020 at 3:19 am
Calling it fairness when it mostly sounds like greed. Don’t you love spin?
David Sanchez
December 22, 2020 at 3:24 am
This goes even further: a system based on unequality (no matter if it is a social, economic or physical system) IS unbalanced and tend to crash… so if we are here is because we look (need) for balance. Let’s try to find it in every aspect of our lifes.
Gig Tee Vee
December 22, 2020 at 3:54 am
This is fascinating, but how does it explain right wing selfish values of them Vs us at all costs?
freesk8
December 22, 2020 at 4:37 am
I keep regretting watching TED videos. They are politically biased towards centrally planned economies and more government power.
Steve Parris
December 22, 2020 at 6:30 am
That’s pretty much the way it is. I only wish she had added a minute or two on any differences she may have observed between men and women.
Kendall
December 22, 2020 at 6:36 am
She’s just drawing conclusions to fit her political and social agenda which isn’t science. Just because the monkey is fine with a veggie before seeing the fruit given to the other monkey doesn’t mean he is concerned with fairness at all. He may just want the fruit more once he realizes it’s being given to another monkey since chemicals such as dopamine get released in the brain and trigger a craving for fruit when he sees it being eaten, since it’s more delicious than the veggie. The same thing happens when I see someone eating a funnel cake at the fair and now I have a craving for that cake because of the chemical release in my brain. But I don’t think to myself “it’s not fair they get that treat and I don’t!” This is how children think. If the monkeys were truly concerned with fairness then we should be able to observe that the monkey that received the fruit throws it back until it receives the same veggie as the other monkey. But that doesn’t happen since monkeys are concerned with eating the most delicious treat which is presently known.
Earth girl 地球女孩
December 22, 2020 at 6:48 am
How come I don’t give a damn on how much money others make compared to my very low income or if their salary is higher than mine for the same tasks? How come since I was a child the concept of ”fairness’ bored me to death; when all the kids at a birthday party were trying to get the biggest piece of cake and/or fighting over one, or trading candy, I was catching mosquitoes in the yard? Explain, please.
David Castro Bernardo
December 22, 2020 at 6:54 am
Explaining why communism didn’t work with monkeys
nave82
December 22, 2020 at 7:36 am
Where is fairness when it comes to how we treat other animals and the planet as well?
Kyle Norton
December 22, 2020 at 8:50 am
This video coming out the day Congress decides to pass their pathetic $600 “stimulus checks” seems wildly appropriate …
Sunil Kumar
December 22, 2020 at 9:50 am
Every creature is wired for fairness. It is just that we can think more profoundly.
Song Y. Lee
December 22, 2020 at 10:47 am
Perhaps when we try to find a reason from a nature, unless we assume there ‘is’ a moral value there, we are so naturally supposed to conclude that we make all those sacrificial decisions only because of economical benefits sooner or later. But I think excluding this assumption of existence of morality we easily lose many part of the truth. As for monkeys, I don’t know. But at least as for humans, I believe we give up short-term advantages not just because we pursue a long-term and bigger rewards but also because we love and care for others and their emotions too. It could have happened because we care for the relationship.
Mary Allison
December 22, 2020 at 10:59 am
Sugars….
mike drop
DJ fade
December 22, 2020 at 11:04 am
(And humans) is already implied
Baharul Islam
December 22, 2020 at 11:46 am
I know her from “GREED: A FATAL DESIRE”
POT_LT
December 22, 2020 at 12:23 pm
Maybe those monkeys were getting same rewards all their life, so they got used to it? Maybe if they were givven different rewards all their life- they wouldnt be jelous?
Big Dee
December 22, 2020 at 1:30 pm
And the monkeys 🐵 r ruining our country since they arrived … that’s fair
João Ricchio
December 22, 2020 at 3:47 pm
Very nice video. Good communication. Thanks 👍
MostlyLoveOfMusic
December 22, 2020 at 4:48 pm
My conclusion: cucumbers are grossly under-rated, certainly not worth throwing away
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December 22, 2020 at 7:58 pm
Wow, just wow!
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Pretty awsome
Earthling-Z3R0
December 22, 2020 at 11:17 pm
Those are some tiny monkey boxes 🙁
Delight In Life
December 23, 2020 at 5:00 am
Merry Christmas Ted, Ted X, Ted Ed, Ted Countdown!!!🌏
💗💖🎄🎁❄☃️✨❤💙💚
From the 🇵🇭
privat privat
December 24, 2020 at 4:29 am
Best dreams and wishes for u aswell.
남현주
December 24, 2020 at 5:53 pm
You too❤ from South Korea
EighteenXVIII
December 23, 2020 at 5:14 am
Everything these monkeys do is ultimately self-serving. People in the comments rightly point out that if they truly were “hard-wired for fairness”, they would voluntarily trade their grapes for cucumbers. Even when they cooperate to achieve a goal, their mindset is not “let’s be nice to this other monkey” but more like “how can I exploit this other monkey to my maximum benefit”. Of course because they both think that way they have to settle on an agreement, an unwritten contract if you will. But the fact that they need to do that is more evidence of selfishness than a “healthy cooperative society where everyone gets their fair share”. In these contracts the individuals only get their share as far as they have bargaining power. Look at humans with disabilities for one proof of that.
Speaking of the disabled, I noticed you didn’t mention them while you were showing clips of protests. They’re left out very often by socialist politicians and media, even though their needs are objectively far greater than other disadvantaged groups. I suppose this is because in reality none of you give a damn, and you just talk about whatever gives you the most political clout. People don’t like it when they’re confronted with how they treat the disabled, so they’re not as useful to talk about for you. I’m really done with “scientists” shilling for political agendas by the way, it’s frankly shameless and disgusting. You ought to value the truth above all else, not power.
Al'set Barnabi
December 23, 2020 at 6:47 am
Great job! Very articulate and clear 🙂 brava – and I see this in humans all the time…I manage several people that do not report to me 😉
Kevin Wells
December 23, 2020 at 7:33 am
I loved this talk Sarah. But something snapped in me, maybe 8 months ago now. I had a minor stroke, and had to be bed ridden for awhile. I come from the corporate world. Now I work at a gas station.. I see a lot of this behavior that you are discussing among ‘team mates’ – even though we are a small store. It’s very small angst that they hold really, because it is too noticeable when someone really get’s worked up – but when I tell them I don’t care about the pay, I just want to be moving – they can’t understand that. There is a woman there that wants to ‘move up’… I supported her from the onset. I support anyone that wants to do that. But it is very hard for most of them to understand my support. Even the ‘bosses’ have a little difficulty with it, but they are o.k. now. Anyway, you touched me because I absolutely believe we have similar community behavior to our primate ‘brothers and sisters’, and most of our needs and desires are very basic. But for this primate (me to be clear), it is very liberating to have been close to a near death experience, and live through it.
(Update) I was nodding off after typing that… (age related) – but restarted and finished your video. The idea of the current protests being led from the bottom, not stymied from the top is somewhat liberating also. It seems logical, but the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ has been around throughout our history. The politicians will not give up their lucrative posts very quickly. Term limits has not been discussed in years, at least not brought to a vote. I think you have wishful thinking there. But anyway, I should have quit when I was (possibly) ahead.
Great discussion though Sarah, and thank you for it. Happy Holidays.
Paola E
December 23, 2020 at 2:41 pm
I will never forget the snow monkeys that won’t allow the whole group into the hot springs. Ubuntu is something we all need to learn.
Don't mind me, I'm here for the comments.
December 23, 2020 at 5:07 pm
Came here to get more educated on monkeys, got out with a life lesson instead
MrZacchery
December 24, 2020 at 3:46 am
This gives me a warm feeling.
Laird Dougal
December 24, 2020 at 7:09 am
Then why is Trump President? Chimps wouldn’t have picked him.
surality
December 24, 2020 at 9:24 am
A group of dominant chimpanzees will steal, tear, eat a baby chimp, to strike fear, power and leadership over the others.
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
Karl
December 24, 2020 at 10:08 am
This is the reason right wing, conservative economic policy always fails to enrich the well-being of populations
privat privat
December 25, 2020 at 3:26 am
Btw (i also believe, my theory is) our ancient monkey DNA we evolved from (coming from different species) determens the kind of human being and skills u are born with….rational/emotional religious/scientific mindset and thinking (ofcors u can evolve) but those are the core fundementals to me…we have dna from different species in us,but the next genaration(when a women based on mind or apearance…) chooses a man, to evolve the human species.. THEN our DNA decided what is the best human being possible to create….and what is the best possible human being to create from those 2 human beings….so lady’s choose WELL! Anyone can follow my theory? Maybe add to it? Or think it is completely wrong? Or does it allready exist? i just came up with it.😊 (i also think that over time.. 100s of years the diffrent monkey dna’s we have in us…comes on the forefront when its time for our next lvl sort of speak…)
Sad Sad
December 25, 2020 at 6:46 am
神の教えはヘロインは禁止です。
immanuel godson
December 25, 2020 at 11:40 am
We need more monkeys in the work place to make things fair
Howard Koor
December 25, 2020 at 12:37 pm
Negotiation 101
Howard Koor
December 25, 2020 at 12:45 pm
Its all Relative
Gogetters
December 25, 2020 at 5:29 pm
You’ve clearly never seen humans, or moneys for that matter, interact if you think they’re “wired for fairness”.
Joshua G
December 25, 2020 at 8:29 pm
Have any of these studies been verified by other sources? Can you post links to the material?
It sounds like you are trying to post un verified opinions to justify communism.
connor jeter
December 25, 2020 at 9:12 pm
Liked the talk but I noticed that she didn’t mention the Mathew principle or the Prato distribution which are natural laws, not a concepts. I think our feeling of fairness is an act to combat the law. But it’s a ying to a yang
Ronald Caliva
December 26, 2020 at 4:15 am
We people must not assume that we’re like monkeys,animals havent got conscience which humans do.
David Nadin
December 26, 2020 at 10:40 am
Good study proves a lot about behavior in all species
armanazi
December 27, 2020 at 9:21 am
The current system doesn’t allow for fairness. It’s based on competition where one thrives at the expense of another….and it’s anything but fair. The truth speaks for itself. If humans are fair naturally, we won’t have that gap between the the rich and the poor.
Humans are broken down in a hierarchy based on their financial and social status…and what’s considered fair only applies if it’s in the same level of the hierarchy.
xxx xxx
December 27, 2020 at 10:57 pm
Meh, she is stretching it. Monkeys are not chimps, too far away from us, havee too small a brain to make such bald comparisons. Not a word has been said about behavior of chimps.
BuFufilms
December 28, 2020 at 2:17 pm
I think that has less to do with fairness and more to do with happiness being based on comparison.
Gundam Magic
December 29, 2020 at 1:49 pm
11:10 which dumbass chose these protests to show? Just because human perceive inequality does not mean they are real inequalities.