THE VIDEO SHELF · animal language claims
Why Koko (Probably) Couldn't Talk (Sorry) | The Deep Dive
A long video essay arguing that Koko the gorilla probably could not actually use sign language. It examines the cherry-picked data and the lack of transparency behind the claims, drawing on published critiques.
Why HN readers recommended it
Recommended as a thorough debunking of Koko's supposed language ability in threads about animal communication.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- Soup Emporium
- Topic
- animal language claims
- Format
- commentary
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 4
- HN mentions in dataset
- 5
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2021–2026
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
The article casually mentions Koko, and it's a bit sad that the story of Koko's "language" is still alive... I can not remember book exceprt, but recently there was a great video about Koko [VIDEO]
galkk on Hacker News · 2021-10
In Toki Pona: A Language with a Hundred Words (2015)I’m skeptical of this. This sounds similar to the way Koko “learned” sign language. While this video is long, it explains the controversy very well: [VIDEO]
expensive_news on Hacker News · 2022-04
In What happens in your dog’s brain when you speakHere's a great video about the extreme cherry picking and lack of transparency it takes to argue that Koko had any better of an understanding of language than a well trained dog: [VIDEO]
dlcarrier on Hacker News · 2025-02
In Why Teach American Sign Language (ASL) to a Gorilla?
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.