Animals that count: How numeracy evolved

[dogbishop]

With all due respect, the video is titled "How numeracy evolved". It highlights animal experiments that show that animals have variable capacities to identify differences in magnitudes, but this is ultimately descriptive research, not explanatory of HOW numeracy evolved. Bees make honeycombs with hexagonal chambers, does this mean they know how to count to 6 or what 6 "is"? And what is the biochemical mechanism of the evolution of greater numeracy. This title is a non sequitur to the video.

[MITHWORLD1]

I´m really impressed,I don´t feel different from other animals anymore...it´s just great.

[jkjkjij22]

i dont get the monkey thing... the thing beeped 5 times and the options were 8 and 2

the second time tehre were 5 beeps again and the options were 3 and 8....

???

[MITHWORLD1]

because the monkey is aware that the beeps sound the biggest number of times of all

[chakazul]

We always think that humans are the smartest and greatest ones on the Earth, all other animals are dumb and mindless. But this human-centered mind has to be changed.

Now scientists are doing experiments to explore animal intelligence. Even some animals (e.g. dolphins) might be smarter then us.

[DSBrekus]

I thought it was decided a while ago that dolphins are actuality totally stupid.

In any case if they were "smarter then us" we would definitely know by now.

[chakazul]

Who "decided" dolphins are stupid?

They have very high brain-to-body mass ratio, and are behavourially smart and humourous. Any marine biologist will agree with that.

[outled]

How ironic that scientists try and understand there own innate abilities, whilst the rest of us in the animal kingdom accepts ouselves. If  scientists dont explain the world does that mean the world is inexplicable? If the tree falls and no-one is there to hear it doesnt matter. Do scientists see there parents as one amorphous globule when they are babies, is that the trouble because i saw two people, that informs my understanding of life. It must be lonely being a scientist.

[Beefcakes155]

lol you must be some dumbass christian who believes the world was made in 7 days and that we're all inbred offspring

[outled]

haha Must i indeed Mr Breadhead er i mean beefcakes, well your clearly an idiot then. I dont live in your binary linear sequential world of nonthought. I dont believe in god and never have , so stick that in your computer brain and try and compute. You dickhead, do you think there science and religion and nothing else?????? You need to live a little Mr Beef Farts and realise there is entire universes of thought you have never even noticed. I do think though you prove christianity lol

[Beefcakes155]

I like you. You dont believe in God.

[Shalek]

I am sure there are scientists who think that way although I haven't heard of many of them. I love science and each new thing that I have learned about nature has only left me that much more enthralled by the wonderful world around us.

[doktathunda]

lol wow... sure the monkeys were hitting it fast but half the time they were wrong... the last clip shows the monkey hitting the pad with around 8 squares when there were clearly 3 sounds

[gixxer989]

oooh dam...now us humansì arent the smartest living creatures on the earth aneymore :(

[ShallowThoughts]

Apparently not, given your language skills

[gixxer989]

maby because i am not english,canadian,american,aust­ralian...so you take you skills and plant them in rou anus

[mate2000]

The strangest thing for me is not only that the monkeys can count, but also how fast (instantly) they react to the tests they were shown on screen. We would at least hesitate for a few seconds and count the number of shapes.

[master1140]

Woh..that's quite suprising and interesting:O

[JasonJJasonJ]

conclusion... chicks like balls.

[jmm00702]

xDDDD

[WorldOfBloodcraft]

They were correct more than half of the time.. there is only 2 choices...

[JonB83]

duh?

[juliesgang]

well I don't think any brain could live without counting something, but thats just my opinion I'm constantly counting in my head i couldn't survive without it

[HotWingDelft]

it does prove someone is dumber than monkeys

[dude12nothin]

datzfast really? Maybe they should do a test on you to see how a fucktard was able to use a computer...not funny and if you were not joking...just sad...

[datzfast]

they cant fire the speaker, she is black

[grampaj0e]

Actually, she's the producer, and you're a dick.

[LPGfan]

I'm not sure that the chick is counting as opposed to recognizing that there is a "bigger pile" of food on one side. Maybe the lemurs and monkeys are doing something like counting.

[code933k]

You didn't understand. The chick is going towards the pile where the ball was hidden "the most" of the times.

[lolgoodies]

At 1:41 the monkey got it wrong, lol, it was supposed to be only 3 but it picked 6 red squares.

[organdva]

I told you I'm smart!

[konikula]

I guess this "prooves" do not proove something about math, or its basics. If so, then being able to compare two buildings by size would be basics of ability to measure. (result of such operation is not necessarily result of abstract mind ... in fact result is seen)

[CapitanoGUC]

amazing - but me too - i did see once an nagro counting until 10 ..... - pretty impresive .........:-)

[jag305]

What is a nagro?

[CapitanoGUC]

don´t you speak english ????

[jag305]

Indeed I do. I even looked that word up.

No definitions were found for "nagro".

Perhaps you were trying to spell something else?

[CapitanoGUC]

hehehe - i´m just bitching arround .....:-)

[Br1an37]

Amazing !

[demented669]

math is a universal language why do we think we are the only masters of this.. human ego is amazing.

[justforwatchingcraps]

ok...we are still the only "masters" of it...it isn't about ego, its about facts...we are capable of much more than just counting. its still interesting to see the intelligence of other species, it has nothing to do with our egos.

[DeagleBeagle]

wow they actually participate

[websnarf]

Ok, much better this time around. You showed the tests and didn't claim them them to be able to do anything more than count small numbers.

From what I understand, untrained human adults (a somewhat rare thing by modern standards) can recognize up to 5 dots purely visually as well. So there is probably something innate going on there.

[in5secs]

This is nothing more than Pavlovianism.

Animals don't count.

[camilonino84]

Choosing an option based on the number of symbols is not a basic response from the body. Whether there is a reward that motivates the animal or not, he still have to count to get it. Thats the point. Pavlov or not, they proved they were counting.

[in5secs]

Were they? Or they just memorized the pattern and gave the response to get the reward? Pff.

[camilonino84]

Im sure if you are a researcher you will take that into account and used different patterns to prevent that. Pff And not all the experiments were using patterns

[holsson85]

Wow, this is awesome!

[awesomeSimon]

Chicks looking at balls. Nice.

[pippodeltrappeto]

Man this is AWESOME!!

[misssxcgirl1995]

Amazing!

[WeskJago]

this honestly does not come as an amazing surprise to me. numbers are the universal language. every living being should have the knowledge to determine how many of an object there is. how do you think wolves keep track of their packs? i'm sure squirrels keep track of their acorns and if some go missing, they wonder where they went..and so on

[Mastikator]

But you gotta admit, monkeys having an abstract understanding of numbers is pretty amazing. It means they are capable of abstract though.

[Farksisten]

Awesome!

[xcusemeprincess]

this is intriguing