Monkeys and Mathematics

2002/09/06 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biologia

Those who believed that mathematical intelligence was a private realm of the human being have a party. A group of MIT researchers have been able to demonstrate that monkeys are also able to make arithmetic calculations and, at least, count up to five. It is not the first time that monkeys are taught to count, but this time they have also known how calculations do.

In the first part of the essay the monkeys had to learn to recognize the round points that appeared on the screens of two computers, always between 1 and 5. For example, if two points appeared on a screen and in the next three, the monkeys had to release a palanquilla, but when the number of circles was the same they were not to let go. Every time the accounts were done well, they received the prize. After acting and acting, the monkeys invented most of the time.

What if they know is the form instead of the quantity? It occurred to the researchers of the MIT. They were tested with different shapes and sizes of points and the results did not vary.

After checking their mathematical ability, they mounted electrodes in the brain. Thus, the functioning of the neurons of the monkeys was analyzed and it was observed that when spikes appeared, the neurons of a certain part of the brain began to work, some of them reacted to small amounts and others to the big ones.

All this means that mathematical intelligence is not only a gift of the human being, but also other species, although it has not been developed throughout evolution.