Good NewsSmart chimp solves memory puzzle at unbelievable speed
Ayumu the chimp is called "the world's greatest animal mind." The primate can solve a complex memory test faster than you can blink, really.
In just 60 milliseconds, the 11-year-old can remember the location and order of a set of numbers.
Watch the chimp below:
"In this case, that information is the position of Arabic numerals on a touch-sensitive screen. Ayumu is shown the numbers 1—9 on the computer screen, and given just a fraction of a second to commit their randomized location to memory. Once that fraction of a second is up, the numbers are covered with white squares, at which point Ayumu must select them in numerical order."
How does he do it? There are two theories.
The first theory says that Ayumu is able to commit a complete picture of an intricate scale or pattern to memory, something called "eidetic imagery."
The second theory suggests the chimp is subitizing, which means he can "look at a small number of items and automatically know how many of each are present," Buzzfeed explains.
Read more about the test here.
Ayumu lives and trains at the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University. He's the son of super-smart chimpanzee Ai, "whose intelligence has been studied for over 30 years by Professor Tetsuro Matsuzawa," the BBC reports.
