Scientific discoveries this week: 4-16-12
Marseille, France – Monkeys may have the intelligence to identify and effectively “read” short English words. In a study conducted by cognitive psychologists in France, baboons showed an ability to identify the unique arrangement of letters in each word. During the study, the monkeys would approach a touch screen computer. An arrangement of letters would appear and the monkeys would touch an “x” or an “o” depending on whether they believed the letters constituted a word. At the end of the study, the monkeys correctly distinguished words from non-words 75% of the time.