On Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:31:08 -0400, Allen Esterton wrote: >> Mike Palij wrote, quoting me first: >> >On Tue, 26 Oct 2010 23:50:01 -0700, Allen Esterson wrote: >> >>On 26 October Michael Sylvester wrote: >> >>I saw a program on Jane Goodall where she saw chimps use >> >>sticks to fetch ants from an ant hill. She was fascinated by their >> >>tool utilization and alerted the scientific community who initially >> >>remained skeptical. >> >> >I'm sure there's probably a psychoanalytic explanation for >> >people's fixation on chimpanzees eating ants but the fact >> >of the matter is that Goddall observed the chimpanzees eating >> >TERMITES. >> >Don't take my word for it, consider the "Jane Goodall Institute of >> >Canada" as a source, eh? >> >> Yep, I got it wrong. But given my interest in Jane Goodall's work, >> Mike, you might have realised I didn't need a reference to appreciate >> that fact. It was just a slip, no doubt arising from the fact that I >> was responding directly to (and quoting from) Michael Sylvester's post >> in which he referred to ants.
Indeed, I did infer that you were simply following Michael Sylvester's example but wanted to clear up the matter before it turned into one of those situations where a reader might create a false memory about Goodall's observation and think that she watched chimpanzees eating ants instead of termites. Since no took the bait on a psychoanalytic interpretation, let me give it a try though I actually have no idea how one would actually go about formulating one. Consider that male scientists might feel some insecurity and anxiety when confronted with female scientists, especially successful ones. For purposes of appearing egalitarian, this uncomfortable feeling is suppressed but affects other cognitive process such as what is remembered about the female scientist. The "ant-termite" confusion might arises because in U.S. popular culture having an erection can be referred to "having a woody" or "sporting wood" (in the porn industry, males who can maintain erections for a long period of time are called "woodmen"). But, since a male's self-esteem and confidence is already under attack but by a successful female scientist, there may be an unconscious fear that termites might eat up and tear apart his "woody" (i.e., castration anxiety) which could be a quite intense experience. In order to reduce this fear and anxiety, the male substitutes ants for termites, reducing the overall and specific anxieties. I have no idea how this would apply to women referring to the termites as ants but since the only woman in the thread did not refer to ants as termites, so I feel I am off the hook on this issue. ;-) >> So no psychoanalytic explanation (which I'm sure you mentioned >> jokingly), not even for a slip for want of attention. :-) Of course I was joking. But what do you think explains your slip of attention? ;-) -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=6057 or send a blank email to leave-6057-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
