Book contents
- The Ape that Understood the Universe
- Praise for The Ape that Understood the Universe
- The Ape that Understood the Universe
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Alien’s Challenge
- 2 Darwin Comes to Mind
- 3 The SeXX/XY Animal
- 4 The Dating, Mating, Baby-Making Animal
- 5 The Altruistic Animal
- 6 The Cultural Animal
- Book part
- Permissions
- Notes
- References
- Index
5 - The Altruistic Animal
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 September 2019
- The Ape that Understood the Universe
- Praise for The Ape that Understood the Universe
- The Ape that Understood the Universe
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Alien’s Challenge
- 2 Darwin Comes to Mind
- 3 The SeXX/XY Animal
- 4 The Dating, Mating, Baby-Making Animal
- 5 The Altruistic Animal
- 6 The Cultural Animal
- Book part
- Permissions
- Notes
- References
- Index
Summary
In 2011, the Australian state of Queensland suffered extreme flooding. As with any disaster, this one left many tales of heroism in its wake. Among the most poignant is the story of thirteen-year-old Jordan Rice. Jordan had been out shopping with his mum, Donna, and his younger brother, Blake. They were in the car heading home when, out of the blue, they found themselves caught in the middle of a flash flood. Unable to drive any further, and unable to get to dry land, the three scrambled onto the roof of the car and then sat there, stranded in the middle of a violent torrent of water. Fortunately, some bystanders saw what had happened. One man – Warren McErlean – tied one end of a rope to a post, and the other around his waist, and then pushed his way through the rapidly rising waters to the car. He reached for Jordan, but Jordan pulled away, begging him to save his little brother first. McErlean complied: He picked Blake up and carried him quickly to safety. Before he had time to rescue the others, however, a sudden surge of water flipped the car. Jordan and his mum were swept away and killed.
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- Information
- The Ape that Understood the UniverseHow the Mind and Culture Evolve, pp. 174 - 218Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019