Being intolerant and short-tempered could be a sign of evolutionary superiority.Researchers at Harvard gave chimpanzees and bonobos, two species of apes that are among the closest living relatives to humans, a variety of reward-based tasks. Chimpanzees, who can be quite grumpy, especially as they age, consistently outperformed the bonobos, who maintain a childlike playfulness throughout their lives.
Victoria Wobble, the project's leader, believes the chimps' ability to put aside their sociability is one of the reasons they are more intelligent and civilized than their genetically similar great ape cousins. She also thinks the evolutionary development of chimpanzees and bonobos could provide insight into our own species.
As for our buddy Oscar, we're pretty sure the well-known grouch is more intelligent than the average green Muppet, but he clearly loses evolutionary points for his squalid living conditions.


























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Comments:
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Tuesday 02 February
By Dan Daily
Sorry, don't mean to be so factual, but there is NO, I repeat NONE, NADA evidence that proves we come from apes are have any attribute from them. Everytime the new discovery comes and fails, science just adds a few hundred thousand years earlier. It's a joke, just like all evolutionary science.
People, this is the Internet, do your research! Just like global warming, they can't predict the weather a day out, let alone hundreds of years out. Good grief...
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Tuesday 02 February
By DGar
Just a thought but isn't predicting the future and research and discovery of the past two entirely different things? Can one really predict what already occurred? Or discover what has not yet happened? Oh wait... I forgot...Congress can!
Tuesday 02 February
By dingos8mybaby
Dan, this is the internet, DO NOT do your research here.
Tuesday 02 February
By Marie
The smarter you are, the more you resent living with stupidity - of course you're grumpy. It's also why studies show that the smarter you are the more likely your need for anti-depressants. That's not to say that *all* smart people are grumpy or on meds, just that they're less likely to be able to set their mids aside to have fun and enjoy life. Being grumpy doesn't make you highly evolved; being highly evolved makes you grumpy.
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Tuesday 02 February
By sunny
Well, I guess if that's true, it puts my husband at the top of the evolutionary chain.
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Tuesday 02 February
By Cranky Old Man
AT LONG LAST I have the recognition I deserve! See? See? You stoopid poopieheads - I AM more evolved than you. Nyaaaahhhh!
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Tuesday 02 February
By cc
I agree that stupid people can be irritating and make you grumpy, but an even smarter person can just take a deep breath and laugh about it without letting it ruin their day. I refuse to let the idiots of the world make me bitter and mean. LOL
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Tuesday 02 February
By dingos8mybaby
That's not being "smarter", it's possessing a more tolerant temperament.
Tuesday 02 February
By Cheryl Owens
Being grumpy means being irritated; as in being irritated with incompetence and aggravated with stupidity; a simple trip to the grocery store can trigger grumpiness. Sometimes it's something as simple as tolerating someone who "likes" stupid humor movies. They are a waste of time and NOT funny. Give me a serious movie which makes me think and I'm much happier to sit and watch. Most "comedy" movies, are not. I can understand this point of view.
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Tuesday 02 February
By David S.
By "evolved" you could also mean old. Plenty of old people out there are grumpy. I have an old man neighbor who everyone in the neighborhood doesn't go near. I think it was Katharine Hepburn who said growing old isn't for sissies. True enough, but that's no excuse to be mean and vicious towards everyone.
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Tuesday 02 February
By Pete Staff
Trying to compare the two. Humans and Apes is just going too far a in this case. The differences are just too great. If you a constantly Grumpy. See a shrink.
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Tuesday 02 February
By JJDavis401
I have a t-shirt that says "I'll try to be nicer, you try to be smarter"
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Tuesday 02 February
By dingos8mybaby
"v" just made MY grumpy come out. And one thing that makes me grumpy is when people post their opinions about articles after they clearly didn't understand the content. The article didn't say being grumpy caused an evolution. It's saying that being grumpy is a SIGN of evolution. The words weren't poorly chosen, the words were poorly READ. Gah!
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Tuesday 02 February
By velburrows
I would have to agree. The chimps were probably short-tempered because they didn't want to do the proverbial "dance" to some inane researcher's "tune."
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