On Gorilla Sign Language

The objection that trained Gorillas merely imitate the gestures of their instructors has survived principally because its adherents refuse to observe Gorillas when the instructors are absent.

One female at the Ormond Institute learned signs for food, water, door, sleep, and several individuals by name. She later began combining the signs for “bad” and “doctor” whenever a particular physician entered the room. The physician argued that the combination had been accidentally reinforced, a theory which would be more persuasive had she not used it exclusively for him.