Chimpanzees Have A Better Short-Term Memory Than You

Humans have long believed that we are the smartest creatures on this planet. In some ways we are. However, when it comes to our memory, we are not as clever as we think we are. It turns out that chimpanzees have a way better short-term memory than we do. So good that even our brain can’t comprehend the speed they can learn things.

A test put together to measure the speed a chimpanzee can memorize numbers and their placement has stunned researchers all around the world. It is a memory game but way faster than the one that you and I casually play. Just watching it being played will make your head hurt as you will frantically try to keep up but you can’t.

I was unable to find out what this incredibly smart chimpanzee was called but he or she is helping out at the Primate Reseach Institute at the Kyoto University. What I can say, however, is that I have tried to watch this video over and over to see if my memory skills can be increased. As it turns out, I felt I got better at it the more times I watched it. Could this mean that after this chimpanzee has played this game thousands of times, it will get better at the game? Probably! But that does in no way take away from the incredible speed it can remember where each number is located.

In many ways, I feel chimpanzees are way smarter than humans. If they can learn these things, imagine what must be imprinted in their brains from us humans staring at them in a cage at the zoo.

This test is not only impressive, to say the least, but also an eye-opener that these primates short-term memory is something that we should take into consideration. Will there be a “Planet of The Apes”-scenario playing out on our fragile planet before soon. Highly doubtful. However, I do think we should treat these magnificent creatures a little better than to send them up into space and do animal testing on them.