Humans 1, Chimps 0: Correcting the Record
Jason Collins critiques the claim of superior chimpanzee working memory, citing methodological flaws in studies. He argues that with training, humans can match chimp performance, emphasizing accurate scientific representation.
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In a blog post, Jason Collins revisits a claim made in 2012 regarding the working memory of chimpanzees, specifically referencing a chimp named Ayumu, who demonstrated impressive memory skills in a numerical task. Initially, this performance was interpreted as evidence of superior working memory in chimps compared to humans. However, Collins highlights that this conclusion is flawed due to methodological issues. Research by Cook and Wilson in 2010 pointed out that Ayumu had extensive practice on the task, while the human participants did not. Subsequent studies indicated that with moderate training, humans could match or even exceed Ayumu's performance. A literature review by Read et al. in 2022 suggested that chimpanzee working memory is comparable to that of 4 to 5-year-old humans, but falls short of adult human capabilities, particularly in tasks involving two-digit numbers. Collins argues that the initial assertion of chimpanzees having superior working memory is not supported by evidence and distracts from more meaningful research on memory in both chimpanzees and humans. He emphasizes the importance of accurate representation in scientific discourse to further understanding of primate evolution and cognition.
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- Many commenters argue that humans have an advantage due to extensive prior exposure and training compared to chimps.
- There is skepticism about the validity of the studies, with calls for more unbiased comparisons and consideration of different contexts.
- Some participants express a sense of relief or humor regarding human cognitive abilities in relation to chimps.
- Concerns are raised about the ethical implications of using primates in research and the need for better scientific practices.
- Several comments highlight the importance of transparency and accessibility in scientific research.
14 commentsAn example which springs to mind is the utterly absurd physical traits and likely corresponding hand-eye coordination Homo naledi possessed in order to perform their burial rituals
It took world-class climbers risking their lives to even reach the burial chamber, let alone do it repeatedly without modern climbing gear or even light
Despite their size and build being advantageous, I do not see how their mental attributes wouldn’t be more conducive to related skills than even trained (but tool-less) Homo sapiens
Source: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2023/june/claims-homo-na...
The article is misnamed, the actual score is 1 to 1.
The humans had more than 20 years of training, going through mandatory education and then college.
It is not a competition between species. It's a competition between quality training on the one hand and on the other, the notion that some species are somehow born with skills.
I think humans tend to naively apply our own constructs to describe what we think defines intelligence, but this habit does not necessarily generalize onto other species. As an aside, for similar reasons I'd wager generalized AI will be a surprise event rather than an incremental discovery.
Recent studies described Goldfish that can remember certain types of problems beyond a year later. Far beyond what anyone assumed possible for such a simple creature.
Some people are unique, as I met one lady that could remember 93 non-sequential digits. While she was not successful academically, it would be unwise to play card games with that person for money. =)
Primates belong in their own habitats, and should be left alone unless people have a well defined _necessary_reason_ to exploit them as subjects.
Have a great day, =3
You can improve your performance at this game by playing in extremely high contrast, so you can use the retinal afterimage to give you more time to study the numbers. Similar to how that "LSD" video requires you reconstruct persistence of visionsl while watching a too-slow animation of light painting.
Such a weird case, since any human could directly objectively test the claim on their own.
If you are in academia and you are not publishing your stuff to the public domain, including your git repo, please take some time to think about this and do what you need to do to pivot.
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