In 1971, Penny Patterson began teaching sign language to a gorilla named Koko, unaware that this relationship would define both their lives. More than 40 years later, the now-famous Koko continues to redraw the line between people and animals.
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Discover the ingenious inventor behind the beautiful face as the Hollywood star tells her own story in a newly discovered interview. Learn how Hedy Lamarr’s pioneering work is the basis for secure WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth technology.
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Will you be employable? Will your children?
Conversations about the future and the kind of world our children and their children will inherit from us include familiar concerns and well-defined subjects: The National Debt. Environmental Destruction. Climate Change. Sustainability. But there’s another conversation that needs to happen. Although the workplace has changed throughout the decades, none of us can fully grasp the kind of transformational change that lies ahead. How we work. Where we work. And the skills we need for work will change work – as we know it today – forever.
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The FUTURE OF WORK is the topic for the next live KĀKOU – Hawai‘i’s Town Hall – Thursday, October 25 from 8:00 – 10:00 pm. Representatives from government, labor and the education and business communities will be joined by workers, parents and students for a community conversation about what is referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the impact it is creating on local economies and employment landscapes – including Hawai‘i’s. Are we preparing our children for a future where disruptive technology will transform the workplace and much of the way we live?
What will life in Hawai‘i be like 10, 20 and 30 years from now when technology is firmly embedded and in most cases dominating the workplace? Could this be a positive opportunity to diversify Hawai‘i’s economy and job landscape? How do we prepare future generations for WORK 4.0?
<< Return to the KĀKOU home page.
Learn the value of teamwork among animal partners, even ones as odd as hippo and fish. Sea and land animals collaborate using brainpower to solve complex problems and stay alive.
Retrace Einstein’s thought experiments as NOVA reveals the simple but powerful ideas that reshaped our understanding of gravity, illuminating the theory of general relativity – and Einstein’s brilliance – as never before.
Decode the latest advances in artificial intelligence. AI can interpret emotions, play games and even act as personal companions. How does it actually work, and is it truly intelligent? And are we handing over too much power to machines?
Join astronomers and engineers on a hunt for life on worlds near and far. Discover the next generation of telescopes, probes and robots that are getting us one step closer to answering one of humanity’s biggest questions: Are we alone?
Long mocked as empty-headed, birds hide surprisingly acute intelligence. But just how smart are they? As scientists test avian aptitude with brainteasers, discover how the genius of birds is leading us to rethink basic notions of intelligence.
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A Front Row Seat to Myth-Busting
Ornithologist Auguste von Bayern, with a jackdaw, from the NOVA episode Bird Brain
“What a bird brain!” “You’re a Neanderthal!” Not so long ago, these were taunts. But, thanks to recent research by scientists and the fine documentaries on PBS, we know better.
And I’m just the person to be thrilled by these discoveries. When I was a kid, my no-nonsense grandmother called me a bird brain every time I forgot my rubber slippers on our neighbors’ porch, which was often. And just last month, a 23andme.com ancestry test turned up Neanderthal DNA in my family.
When you sit back and view Nature or NOVA on Wednesday nights on PBS Hawai‘i, you sometimes have a front row seat to myth-busting. In vibrant video, you see that some of the ideas and conclusions printed in our old textbooks have been blown away.
As depicted in the recent NOVA episode Bird Brain, birds are far from empty-headed. They make great use of their small neuron-packed brains. They turn pebbles and sticks into tools; they plan multiple steps to solve problems; and some even “read” human faces. Put birds to the test with puzzles – and they can figure out when to defer a reward in order to snag a bigger one later.
In NOVA’s Decoding Neanderthals, we learned that these hominoids were not the brutish, knuckle-dragging simpletons we’d conjured. They were powerfully built, yes, but they also had large brains. They were adept at tool-making, and in fact, may have developed the first synthetic product, a type of glue. It was a very tough life in the Ice Age, and it’s unlikely that most Neanderthals lived past age 30.
Within the last decade, it’s been confirmed that Neanderthals interbred with their close cousins, homo sapiens. Many of us of European or Asian ancestry carry snippets of Neanderthal DNA. That’s just what my brother’s genetic test showed. In fact, he has more than the average amount.
A prevailing theory holds that our homo sapiens ancestors vanquished the Neanderthals. With the recent genetic evidence, another theory merits consideration: Through mating, the Neanderthals – with their smaller populations – were simply absorbed into homo sapiens life. Look for a brand-new PBS program about Neanderthals this month, Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors on Wednesday, February 28 at 9:00 pm. [Note: Since publication, PBS has announced that the program has been postponed until further notice.] I suspect there’ll be further re-branding of my ancient forebears.
We want to thank Dr. Belinda A. Aquino for generously sponsoring the broadcasts of both Nature and NOVA on PBS Hawai‘i. A retired University of Hawai‘i political science professor, Dr. Aquino is an internationally recognized authority on contemporary Philippine affairs. She tells me that she savors these programs about natural phenomena because they inspire new ways to think about humanity and the world around us.
And I’d like to thank you, too, for your support of PBS Hawai‘i’s role of adding new perspectives and context to our collective understanding of history and current affairs. Myth-busting is a byproduct!
Aloha nui,
Ironically, every dead elephant with its ivory intact is a reason to celebrate. It means an elephant died of natural causes, not bullets, snares or poison, and a soul was allowed to be celebrated and mourned by its herd. Award-winning filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert start with the remains of two bull elephants and through a series of key flashbacks, look at the lives they would have led, the dramas they may have seen, their great migrations for water with their families, and their encounters with lions and hyenas. This film, shot over two years, is an intimate look at elephants through the lens of two great storytellers of natural history.