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Baby Chicks Have Innate Mathematical Skills

Hugh Pickens writes "Chicks can add and subtract small numbers shortly after hatching, says Rosa Rugani at the University of Trento. Rugani reared chicks with five plastic containers of the kind found inside Kinder chocolate eggs. This meant the chicks bonded with the capsules, much as they do with their mother, making them want to be near the containers as they grew up. In one test, the researchers moved the containers back and forth behind two screens while the chicks watched. When the chicks were released into the enclosure, they headed for the screen obscuring the most containers, suggesting they had been able to keep track of the number of capsules behind each by adding and subtracting them as they moved. It is already known that many non-human primates and monkeys can count, and even domestic dogs have been found to be capable of simple additions but this is the first time the ability has been seen in such young animals, and with no prior training in problem solving of any kind."

19 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Who would have thought by qoncept · · Score: 4, Funny

    They also stress the fundamentals of basketball even though they no can dunk.

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    Whale
  2. Chic(k) computing by Bovius · · Score: 3, Funny

    If these guys were programmers, in 6 months we'd have a baby chick Turing machine up and running.

    1. Re:Chic(k) computing by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yah, like geeks can get any type of chick, Turing or otherwise, turned on.

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    2. Re:Chic(k) computing by jgtg32a · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hopefully these guys work out better than ducklings, because it was too easy to get stuck in inf loops with ducklings

      http://xkcd.com/537/

  3. Don't forget. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    What the researchers fail to consider is this experiment's youtube Adorability Factor.

  4. That's nothing by Centurix · · Score: 4, Funny

    We have duck called Mersenne that quacks in primes.

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    Task Mangler
  5. This calls for something. by A.+B3ttik · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who else could go for a bucket of KFC right about now?

    1. Re:This calls for something. by CannonballHead · · Score: 4, Funny

      I don't see what real, actual chickens have to do with KFC. ;)

  6. Re:Chic(k) computing, oblig by JamesP · · Score: 5, Funny

    Imagine a bewolf cluster of these.

    And if you need more power, you just need to pick up more chicks.

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  7. Hot chicks are good at math? by GPLDAN · · Score: 4, Funny

    Did somebody say hot chicks? That are good at math?

    I knew you Slashdot guys were cool...

  8. cool, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    can they count before they're hatched?

  9. Interesting by shellster_dude · · Score: 2, Funny

    They seem to have about as much grasp of math as some one the chicks in my last calculus class.

  10. Next experiment... by ajlitt · · Score: 4, Funny

    Convince the chicks to put the containers in the incinerator.

  11. News flash by momerath2003 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Chicks dig math. Slashdot rejoices until they RTFA.

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    1. Re:News flash by Kyont · · Score: 5, Funny

      Slashdot rejoices until they RTFA.

      So... the rejoicing continued indefinitely?

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  12. !News by Thelasko · · Score: 5, Funny
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    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  13. Now, for the rest of the story... by BForrester · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...but what about baby dudes?

  14. Re:Alternate hypothesis by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah? Well vultures have great senses of smell. Maybe these were vulture chicks. I bet the scientists didn't think of that! I'm so smart.

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    The enemies of Democracy are
  15. Re:Alternate hypothesis by tonyreadsnews · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's because most cows only have a 1 byte counter in them.

    You have to get the ones that were abducted (but not eaten) by aliens which have been upgraded.