Monkey Business

Last evening, two of our granddaughters (affectionately known as Big B and Little B) came over to the house.  The older one wanted help from my husband in putting new inner tubes in her bike tires.  She needed both his help and his tools.  The younger one, who is six years old, tagged along,  As we sat in the kitchen together listening to the sounds coming from the garage, we had this conversation:


Little B:  "Grandma, do monkeys make and use tools?"
Me:  "No."
Little B.  "That's what I said, but it was wrong!"
Me:  "How did your teacher explain this to you."
Little B:  "She didn't."
Me:  "Well, monkeys do use things like sticks to reach for food that is too far to reach with their hands, so I suppose that is considered a tool.  But, they don't make tools.  It's not like they sharpen a point on the stick, so they can stab the food with it. Was this question on a test?"
Little B:  "No, it was on the computer."
Me: "Did your teacher say anything about it?"
Little B:  "Yes, she said, 'Move on!'"


When I related this conversation to my husband, he said, "Why on earth would you even ask a child that age such a question?"


Why indeed?  


It is a perfectly logical question, if you have an agenda.


If you believe in evolution undirected by any intelligent being, then it is important that there isn't too big a gap between monkeys and men.  If you don't want to accept that man was created in God's image, then he can't be allowed to be too much of an improvement over his primate relatives.  So, you want to be sure to instill the idea early that monkeys are nearly human.  The notion that they make and use tools is one way to do that.


A young child does not have a sophisticated understanding of the word "tool."  I expect most of them think of a hammer or screwdriver or saw....none of which any monkey has ever made as far as I know.  Monkeys use items they find in nature such as sticks and rocks.  They do not significantly alter them or put them together with screws.  They may use a rock to break open something containing food, but they don't wire the rock on to a stick to increase leverage, and thus create a primitive hammer.


So, I think I helped my granddaughter to a correct perspective on the actual ability of monkeys.  I don't suppose, however, that the other 20-some children in the class had a conversation that clarified the concept.  


Knowledge is built little by little, piece on top of piece.  When misinformation is part of the foundation, the result is a perversion of truth.