To a human with a good grasp of English, words may appear
simple. However, trying to understand their – or any other set
of words’ – meaning requires deciphering ambiguity and
implication. “A naïve person who looks at language thinks the
words are what they are,” says Dr. Ken Schweller dually
appointed professor of psychology and computer science at Buena
Vista University. “Let’s take another sentence – ‘I saw a red
ball’. Could it mean I cut a red-colored round object? Operated
on an inflamed testicle? Observed a Communist crying?”
Schweller’s graduate school experiments with how people
understand language led him to seek the answer through
computers, and through computers to help Des Moines’ Great Ape
Trust — the world’s foremost ape language research institution —
explore the boundaries of the animals’ ability to comprehend
human speech. He began working with the Trust as a programmer
and now serves as Chair of the Board of Directors. Schweller got
involved with the Trust when – during his seven-year run a