Chimps Beat College Kids In Computer Game

Chimpanzees Aced Short-Term Memory Tests

(AP)  Never mind that TV show that asks if you're smarter than a fifth-grader. Is your memory better than a young chimp's?

Maybe not.

Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won.

That challenges the belief of many people, including many scientists, that "humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions," said researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University.

"No one can imagine that chimpanzees - young chimpanzees at the age of 5 - have a better performance in a memory task than humans," he said in a statement.

Matsuzawa, a pioneer in studying the mental abilities of chimps, said even he was surprised. He and colleague Sana Inoue report the results in Tuesday's issue of the journal Current Biology.

One memory test included three 5-year-old chimps who'd been taught the order of Arabic numerals 1 through 9, and a dozen human volunteers.

They saw nine numbers displayed on a computer screen. When they touched the first number, the other eight turned into white squares. The test was to touch all these squares in the order of the numbers that used to be there.

Results showed that the chimps, while no more accurate than the people, could do this faster.

One chimp, Ayumu, did the best. Researchers included him and nine college students in a second test.

This time, five numbers flashed on the screen only briefly before they were replaced by white squares. The challenge, again, was to touch these squares in the proper sequence.

When the numbers were displayed for about seven-tenths of a second, Ayumu and the college students were both able to do this correctly about 80 percent of the time.

But when the numbers were displayed for just four-tenths or two-tenths of a second, the chimp was the champ. The briefer of those times is too short to allow a look around the screen, and in those tests Ayumu still scored about 80 percent, while humans plunged to 40 percent.

That indicates Ayumu was better at taking in the whole pattern of numbers at a glance, the researchers wrote.

"It's amazing what this chimpanzee is able to do," said Elizabeth Lonsdorf, director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. The center studies the mental abilities of apes, but Lonsdorf didn't participate in the new study.

She admired Ayumu's performance when the numbers flashed only briefly on the screen.

"I just watched the video of that and I can tell you right now, there's no way I can do it," she said. "It's unbelievable. I can't even get the first two (squares)."

What's going on here? Even with six months of training, three students failed to catch up to the three young chimps, Matsuzawa said in an e-mail.

He thinks two factors gave his chimps the edge. For one thing, he believes human ancestors gave up much of this skill over evolutionary time to make room in the brain for gaining language abilities.

The other factor is the youth of Ayumu and his peers. The memory for images that's needed for the tests resembles a skill found in children, but which dissipates with age. In fact, the young chimps performed better than older chimps in the new study. (Ayumu's mom did even worse than the college students).

So the next logical step, Lonsdorf said, is to fix up Ayumu with some real competition on these tests: little kids.

For more information visit the Web site for Chimp research at Kyoto University.

[rational_1]

Theres singinrick at the computer screen.
Posted by fibonacci_ at 05:47 PM : Dec 03, 2007

LMAO!!!! Actually it would really have been singinrick if the chimp was on an Ark with a Tyrannosaur in the stall next to him with a calendar on the wall dated 4004 BC.

[rushman71]

"Man, y''all got your arses kicked by some chimps? Whahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

[badbadboy8]

ah-em ....maybe the *** fed them sushi.

[the_quietman]

The number of chimps in the experiment is too small to draw a conclusion. Some people have a "photographic memory" which is exactly what this chimp is displaying. It is uncommon in people. Is it common in chimps? A larger sample size is required.

[random_radar]

Jobs offers for chimps are averaging $2000/year more than similar offers to new college grads.

Also, executives are looking at keeping jobs in the U.S. instead of outsourcing if they can hire chimps for less than foreign workers.

Sounds like the economy will be improving for the chimps and the chumps who run the world.

[fibonacci_]

Theres singinrick at the computer screen.

[shanev137]

Not surprising.

[ivandrago]

Why would the big sky daddy give the primates any mental advantage over human beings? His most "perfect" creation beaten by smelly chimps. It''s because we as a society didn''t haven''t prayed enuf''. Sorry guys. It was me. I didn''t pray on a Thursday 15 years ago. This is why GOD has forsaken us. Maybe Satan aka. the Boogie Man guided the chimps hands to create doubt in our glorious dogmas. Get behind me Satan, but not that close!

[johnstossel]

That''s because they don''t spend all of their time chugging beer!!!

[smiley676]

trogdoar
Learn to spell genius.

[rational_1]

Also, can the chimp clean dishes and use the toilet properly?
Posted by hypnotoad72 at 01:22 PM : Dec 03, 2007

Well certainly no worse than your typical college student.

[oscarez]

"Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won."

Help, Help, singinrick where are you?

[usgeneral-2009]

.
The researchers need to pit these Chimps against the current crop of presidential candidates. That should drastically weed-out the heard.

.

[hypnotoad72]

Ah, but did the chimp do before the test what your average college-age kids does: Smoke crack and drink lots of nutritious booze?

Also, can the chimp clean dishes and use the toilet properly?

[namesnames]

koko98:

I believe they were Kyoto U. students trying to compete against the chimps. Or are you refering to how "advanced" the Japanese research is?

[trogdoar]

Ron Paul can count from one to eleven.

He is a *** genious.

ronpaul2008.com

[spiel1958]

Let''s put the chimps in school for 12 years, bombarding them with tidbits of information, and see then how pathetic their short term memories are. It''s ridiculous to make these comparisons. I''d like to see a chimp function like a regular working stiff, trying to support his family, getting in a car and driving to work twice a day, doing the myriad number of things humans do. Perhaps my short-term memory would improve if all I had to do was push buttons for a banana. What I find so amusing about all this amazing monkey and animal talent, is the tendency to look at humans as some sort of virus killing the planet, and the good old monkey or ape the ideal life form, almost human. We like to anthropomorphize animal life, giving them human-like qualities, because it''s easier. Animals require less attention, so we humanize their behavior. My wife heard a neo-natal nurse talking about how she and her husband would likely not keep their twins if they were handicapped. Yet, this woman says that they feed their dogs before they eat themselves, and they''re the dogs parents. If this isn''t an inversion of the natural order, I don''t know what. Humans all the way!!!

[runningralph]

Reactionaries who really have nothing to say, will often say "Bush is stupid". I guess that''s easier than coming up with a plausible comment.

[DaveGress]

Are you saying that Bush thinks there''s hope for him yet? All hope is lost on him.

[incog-nito]

President Bush is reportedly elated upon hearing this news. No word as to the reason why.