Monkeys can do math

[BurtWorm]

Where were they before the Mass. special election last Tuesday?


http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/YsBw/~3/OYTuRo6oA3U/single_cells_in_the_monkey_brain_encode_abstract_mathematical_concepts.php

OUR ability to use and manipulate numbers is integral to everyday life - we use them to label, rank, count and measure almost everything we encounter. It was long thought that numerical competence is dependent on language and, therefore, that numerosity is restricted to our species. Although the symbolic representation of numbers, using numerals and words, is indeed unique to humans, we now know that animals are also capable of manipulating numerical information.

One study published in 1998, for example, showed that rhesus monkeys can form spontaneous representations of small numbers and use them to choose containers with more pieces of fruit. More recently, it was found that monkeys can perform basic arithmetic on a par with college students. Now, German researchers report that not only do rhesus monkeys understand simple mathematical rules, but also that these rules are encoded by single neurons in the rhesus prefrontal.

...

[Dr. Strange]

1. Yeah, but they keep dividing by zero.

More recently, it was found that monkeys can perform basic arithmetic on a par with college students.

I've got doorknobs that can perform basic arithmetic on a par with (some) college students.

[BurtWorm]

2. When Bush was in office, America was divided by a zero.

Maybe the monkeys are onto something...

[rem3006]

3. Let the zoo start a temp agency

and send the monkeys over to H&R Block for tax season. Then over to IRS to check each others work.

[ChickMagic]

4. Funny that freepers can't

I imply that freepers evolved from a different
common ancestor than we did.

[izquierdista]

5. But do they know a majority?

Are there Republican monkeys who can get what they want with 41%?

[EFerrari]

6. If I can do math, any vertebrate should be able to do math.

lol