John sent me this heavenly video from a Public Broadcasting show called “The Human Spark.” Do watch it. It isn’t long.
It highlights research with both chimps and toddlers, showing what is apparently an innate impulse to help others. Interestingly, whereas the chimp will pass you something you are reaching for and stop at that, a toddler will go above and beyond — and seem to enjoy it.
All of which suggests to me that if you want to be around people who are truly human, hang out with the ones who like to help others.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Hear, hear.
If you watch the evening news, you might think no one cares about anyone outside their own group. But early morning public radio often shows a whole different side. Innovation Hub on WGBH this a.m. was quite inspiring on the subject of social enterprise, for ex.
That’s lovely!
Looking at the faces of the kids, I noticed that they seem interested and not concerned but amused. The researcher broadly acts out his difficulty to make it clear what the problem is. And, he never seems upset or overly troubled by his predicament, just bewildered–even the guy miming how heavy it is to move the magazines. So I wonder if the impulse here is in part an impulse to join in to what they see as a rather fun game. In other words, I’m quibbling a little with the term altruism, which–to my layman’s mind–involves concern or care for the trouble of others. The instinct is clearly still a sister instinct, or maybe even the same one, but I think there’s a difference between reaching out to someone who’s clearly in distress and reaching out to someone who’s doing something entertaining that, however, is giving them a bit of a problem. People in distress are distressing, and it’s harder to reach out to them. But I was still charmed by the children’s (and the chimps’) involvement.
In both the children’s case and the chimps’ case, you can definitely see how their action is integrative: it brings them into association with another. So yeah, definitely a great trait for creatures like us (and chimps) who are social beings who need to be able to get along with one another and support one another.
I had not thought about the idea that the children may have regarded it as a game. Still the relational aspect seems important. The wish to connect to or play with others may even be the basis for subsequent altruism.
Oh yes, definitely.