Are you smarter than a chimp?

Posted on January 3, 2008

Ayumu,computer-monkey-210.jpg a 7-year old chimp living in a lab at Kyoto University, was in the news the last month for his remarkable cognitive performance. In a test of working memory, Ayumu and 5 other chimpanzees were able to outclass college students. Watch him go at it here.

Have you got what it takes to outsmart a chimp? Pit your wits against Ayumu in the Chimp Game.

21 Responses to “Are you smarter than a chimp?”

  1. Tarzan!
    Jan 03, 2008
    Reply

    This monkey is tough! I’m gonna get you monkey.


  2. Atheyst
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    I got 5 correct the second go and 1 on the first, it noticeable gets easier the more times you do it.


  3. dbcn
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    since when can mokneys recognize numerical orders?


  4. kiki
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    I win! 9 beats 8!…For some reason I don’t feel that accomplished…


  5. Kevin
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    Ayumu’s test was a little different. The numbers stayed on the screen until she touched the first square. She does very quickly, but still has at least twice as long to process the information. Giving us a handicap on purpose?


  6. Anonymous Post
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    “since when can mokneys recognize numerical orders?”

    Many primates have the ability to recognize order, as well as quantify, and are (I’m sure you already know) able to communicate via sign language.

    Now, if’n only you knowd how to spel “munkyz.”

    Koko < Helen Keller


  7. meneame.net
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    ¿Eres más listo que un chimpancé? [ENG]

    Este juego te permite poner a prueba tu memoria contra la de los chimpancés. ¡Es difícil! Visto en digg.


  8. Ryan
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    I Don’t feel to bad since the monkey can see beter than me. Make the monkey legally blind then will see who is the big chimp.


  9. Post On Fire
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    it is very humiliating to find out that a Chimp is smarter than a human being, but if this is the case i think we have to work on our IQ from now on.


  10. Kevin,
    Here’s a video of the chimp doing the same task as in the game:

    http://www.nature.com/nature/newsvideo/news.2007.317.3.mpg

    5 numerals, presented for 210ms. It is on this test that Ayumu gets 80% correct.


  11. Philip Zofkie
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    This doesn’t entirely show that chimps are smarter than man, even people with mental disabilites are capable of being so superior at a single task than any other normal person. This is an impressive show that chimps are capable of quickly memorizing and processing information but just remember there is more to intelligence than simply memorizing and processing numbers quickly.


  12. Lawrence
    Jan 04, 2008
    Reply

    I got 9 on first try. The first couple were difficult, but then my brain/eyes figured out how to look at and record the pattern. I got the second one wrong, then all after that fell into place.


  13. lipripr
    Jan 05, 2008
    Reply

    People… wake up…how many times has the monkey done the same patterns… even a rat can memorize!


  14. SOURCE
    Jan 08, 2008
    Reply

    i got 9 on the first try and 10 on the 2nd. i think its doing that Bird watching thing so much. it seems to really help. Either that or video games but who knows. :o


  15. Jan
    Jan 11, 2008
    Reply

    After some practising I got 9 out of 10, but only with concentrating hard. The chimp even picks his nose while doing it. And the chimp also got it correct after being distracted for 10 sec. I couldn’t do that. And by the way, to Lawrence, there are an infinite numbers of combination of numbers that appear on the screen. It is impossible to remember all.


  16. Michael Scanlon
    Jan 13, 2008
    Reply

    MindTweaks provides a good discussion of the chimp experiment: http://www.mindtweaks.com/wordpress/?p=551


  17. bettie
    Jan 17, 2008
    Reply

    this test would be better if there was a seperate version for dyslexics. all my incorrect answers were either 6 or 9. I tied the monkey.


  18. murtibing
    Jan 22, 2008
    Reply

    I’ve done this test several times now. Beating the monkey is not difficult. But I take issue with people saying this is primarily a memory task. I find there is not time to consciously read each numeral and remember it. The picture is flashed so quickly I mostly form a subjective “feeling” of what is where. My conscious memory only covers the lower digits, and although I get the order of higher digits correct I often couldn’t tell you what the digits actually are! Moreover I often mistake 8 and 3 and also 9 and 4. This is probably due to the fact that the “shape” is similar and can get mistaken when processing at speed. As for the number 10, I don’t recall ever seeing it, but I always have a good idea which square contains the biggest number. For me this monkey memory task raises far more questions than it answers! Very interesting.


  19. Anonymous
    Jan 29, 2008
    Reply

    I have to say I find this far too easy, anyone know a more difficult one with less time or more numbers? 37 in a row was the best i got..


  20. John Doe
    Feb 24, 2008
    Reply

    I found this pretty easy. First try, I got at least 3. The second, I got 5. The third, I got 8 and tied the chimp. :D I wonder if I do it one last time, will I beat him?


  21. Caleb
    Sep 17, 2008
    Reply

    This isn’t too hard, you just have to do it a few times. Its not really factual memory, its subconscious memory like murtibing said. You have to let yourself act unconsciously.



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