Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




ABOUT US
Monkey study explores evolution of mathematic reasoning
by Brooks Hays
Cambridge, Mass. (UPI) Apr 22, 2013


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Scientists have known that monkeys and other mammals are capable of basic arithmetic. But how far can mathematical reasoning skills can be traced back in human evolution?

Scientists recently attempted to find out by successfully teaching rhesus macaques to identify symbols -- the 10 Arabic numerals and 16 letters -- representing the numbers zero to 25.

Each symbol was associated with varying levels of rewards for the test monkeys. The larger the symbol or number, the bigger and better the reward -- drops of water, juice or orange soda. The macaques were able to use their newly-acquired knowledge to distinguish which of two symbols represented the larger quantity, and earn the superior reward. The monkeys chose the larger symbol with 90 percent accuracy.

"The monkeys want the most of whatever is out there, and this is just one of many ways to figure out the best way to get the most," explained lead researcher and neurobiologist Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University Medical School.

Livingstone's work was published this week in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Understanding mathematical symbols are an important indicator of advanced mathematical reasoning, as humans can much more efficiently distinguish between the symbolic numbers of 21 and 20 than they can differentiate a group 20 dots and 21 dots, or a pile 20 pebbles and 21 pebbles.

"They turned out to be like us -- more accurate when values were represented by symbols than by the number of dots," Livingstone said. "It tells us what good symbols are."

Scientists have previously shown chimpanzees, human's closest monkey relative, to possess math skills. Chimps and humans diverged on the evolutionary timeline about 6 million years ago. Human genetics split from rhesus monkeys roughly 25 million years ago, making them a more ancient ancestor -- and now, verifiably, one of the most primitive possessors of mathematic reasoning.

.


Related Links
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





ABOUT US
Researchers say Neanderthals were no strangers to good parenting
York NY (SPX) Apr 15, 2014
Archaeologists at the University of York are challenging the traditional view that Neanderthal childhood was difficult, short and dangerous. A research team from PALAEO (Centre for Human Palaeoecology and Evolutionary Origins) and the Department of Archaeology at York offer a new and distinctive perspective which suggests that Neanderthal children experienced strong emotional attachments w ... read more


ABOUT US
Death toll in US landslide rises to 41

President says ferry crew's actions 'tantamount to murder'

Researchers use Twitter to predict crime

Guides, climbers cancel Everest expeditions after tragedy

ABOUT US
Chiral breathing: Electrically controlled polymer changes its optical properties

Information storage for the next generation of plastic computers

Global scientific team 'visualizes' a new crystallization process

Repeated Self-Healing Now Possible in Composite Materials

ABOUT US
Changes in processing, handling could reduce commercial fishing injuries

Researchers question emergency water treatment guidelines

Two-thirds of underwater search done, no sign of MH370

Declining catch rates in Caribbean green turtle fishery

ABOUT US
Preglacial landscape found deep under Greenland ice

Canada boycotts Arctic Council meeting in Moscow

Growth of Antarctic ice sheet triggered warming in the Southern Ocean during Miocene

New technology helps paleontologists see Ice-Age bee in intricate detail

ABOUT US
New study reveals more about our relationship to food

Food shortages could be most critical world issue by mid-century

Genetic study tackles mystery of slow plant domestications

Significant baseline levels of arsenic found in soil throughout Ohio are due to natural processes

ABOUT US
Fresh tremor rattles Papua New Guinea after 7.5 quake

Preparing for the next Sandy

4,000 Peruvians evacuated from homes surrounding erupting volcano

Magnitude 7.5 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea: USGS

ABOUT US
South Sudan on brink of collapse as war rages

Shot DR Congo park director evacuated to Nairobi

Rival Somali forces face off over flashpoint Sool zone

Campaigning conservationist shot in DR Congo

ABOUT US
Researchers say Neanderthals were no strangers to good parenting

Evolution explains facial hair trends

New method confirms humans and Neandertals interbred

Indigenous societies' 'first contact' typically brings collapse, but rebounds are possible




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.