Fish Can Learn Basic Arithmetic (science.org) 30
sciencehabit shares a report from Science.org: Addition and subtraction must be hard for fish, especially because they don't have fingers to count on. But they can do it -- albeit with small numbers -- a new study reveals. By training the animals to use blue and yellow colors as codes for the commands "add one" and "subtract one," respectively, researchers showed fish have the capacity for simple arithmetic.
To make the find, researchers at the University of Bonn adopted the design of a similar experiment conducted in bees. They focused on bony cichlids (Pseudotropheus zebra) and cartilaginous stingrays (Potamotrygon motoro), which the lab uses to study fish cognition. In the training phase, the scientists showed a fish in a tank an image of up to five squares, circles, and triangles that were all either blue or yellow. The animals had 5 seconds to memorize the number and color of the shapes; then a gate opened, and the fish had to choose between two doors: one with an additional shape and the other with one fewer shape.
The rules were simple: If the shapes in the original image were blue, head for the door with one extra shape; if they were yellow, go for the door with one fewer. Choosing the correct door earned the fish a food reward: pellets for cichlids, and earthworms, shrimp, or mussels for stingrays. Only six of the eight cichlids and four of the eight stingrays successfully completed their training. But those that made it through testing performed well above chance, the researchers report today in Scientific Reports.
To make the find, researchers at the University of Bonn adopted the design of a similar experiment conducted in bees. They focused on bony cichlids (Pseudotropheus zebra) and cartilaginous stingrays (Potamotrygon motoro), which the lab uses to study fish cognition. In the training phase, the scientists showed a fish in a tank an image of up to five squares, circles, and triangles that were all either blue or yellow. The animals had 5 seconds to memorize the number and color of the shapes; then a gate opened, and the fish had to choose between two doors: one with an additional shape and the other with one fewer shape.
The rules were simple: If the shapes in the original image were blue, head for the door with one extra shape; if they were yellow, go for the door with one fewer. Choosing the correct door earned the fish a food reward: pellets for cichlids, and earthworms, shrimp, or mussels for stingrays. Only six of the eight cichlids and four of the eight stingrays successfully completed their training. But those that made it through testing performed well above chance, the researchers report today in Scientific Reports.
Dr. Seuss basically had it right... (Score:2)
He had to change yellow to blue to keep the rhyme.
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Correction (Score:2)
Hell, it appears these fish are better at math than the majority of the US public these days.
There, FTFY
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"Hell, it appears these fish are better at math than the majority of our US public school kids these days."
These were foreign fish, they had fins, so they were probably from Finland, they have the best school system.
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Re: Dr. Seuss basically had it right... (Score:2)
Because New Math or some other feelings centric curriculum that prioritizes warm fuzzies over critical real world skill has taken over.
Wait until they get socked in the face by reality that can't even give two fucks about anyone's feelings. Expect more homeless encampments and fuller prisons.
obligatory meme (Score:2)
https://img.ifunny.co/images/f... [ifunny.co]
Those meanies (Score:2)
Not rewarding some of the regular trials was intended to prevent fish from realizing that transfer trials were unrewarded and, therefore, not worth participating in.
fishy (Score:2)
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Well the whole story seems fishy given the date.
Oddly enough, the date of the original article was one day early...
But can they translate? (Score:2)
What we need is little fish that we can stick in our ear to do translations for us.
Belief bias seems strong here (Score:2)
I'm not convinced these fish are doing the arithmetic purported here.
Determining "more" and "less" is not the same as performing "add one" and "subtract one".
Seems like this experiment failed to check for the case where both doors have less shapes, but only one of them is "subtract one", and same goes for doors with extra shapes.
You've shown these fish are trainable to choose between "more" and "less", and proven they can differentiate between blue and yellow colors, but that's about all I'm seeing here.
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I also wonder if the fish that never picked up the trick are incapable of distinguishing between the two colors, so they don't even get a chance to apply intelligence.
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"If the shapes in the original image were blue, head for the door with one extra shape; if they were yellow, go for the door with one fewer."
I agree, calling it arithmetic seems like a stretch. Maybe the fish are simply able to distinguish between larger and smaller visual fields of things in an image. That would seem useful for their interactions with habitat. They did have to make a decision based on color, which is an extra step.
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Researchers on these subjects notoriously overestimate what their subjects can do. Typically this is done by coming up with more complex explanations for a behavior than is needed. "More/less" is far simpler than "can count" or "can do basic arithmetic". In particular, depending on the precise setup, this could even have been "more of some color" and "less of some color", and not even the number of shapes.
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A basic test for more or less is showing the fish triangles then using squares on the 'more' and 'less' doors.
Give it enough trials... (Score:2)
Of course it can! (Score:2)
Ho Hum (Score:2)
I'll be more impressed when they teach the fish to ride a bicycle.
this used to be an "important"... (Score:2)
date for slashdot with all sorts of clever stories
sad day for this site, I've been a user for decades though now moderation is largely broken and has been for weeks
I guess it's time to find a replacement...
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Next up... (Score:2)
Scientists discover that the tit mouse can read simple words.
Image association not math (Score:2)
"The rules were simple: If the shapes in the original image were blue, head for the door with one extra shape; if they were yellow, go for the door with one fewer"
This is image association, not math. All sighted animals can do this.
They are seeing colors (or shades of grey) and bigger/smaller blobs but that's it.
Funny (Score:2)
So fish are smarter than Biden/Trump (take your pic)?
Are you smarter than a fish? (Score:2)
Lots of humans struggle with basic arithmetic.