"The chimps were rewarded with raisins or apple cubes for correct answers."
It seems to be me that the chimps actually had the motivation to remember these numbers. I bet if you offered those people some Cake they'd pass that test just fine.
This can't be that surprising though, given how much information there is in the world today, humans are overloaded with things we need to remember. As a result we have become more reliant on artificial means for memorizing facts: notes, books, PDAs, contact lists with numbers and addresses. Our brains just can't handle All the information we need in a day, so we've had to supplement them with technology. We don't even really need to remember much apart from where we have the information kept at. Hell, most people probably just Google up the info that they need anyways.
Compare the memory of people in modern industrial countries with those that live in more traditional cultures with rich oral traditions and you'll probably find a similar gap in memory I would guess.
Slashdot Mirror
"The chimps were rewarded with raisins or apple cubes for correct answers." It seems to be me that the chimps actually had the motivation to remember these numbers. I bet if you offered those people some Cake they'd pass that test just fine. This can't be that surprising though, given how much information there is in the world today, humans are overloaded with things we need to remember. As a result we have become more reliant on artificial means for memorizing facts: notes, books, PDAs, contact lists with numbers and addresses. Our brains just can't handle All the information we need in a day, so we've had to supplement them with technology. We don't even really need to remember much apart from where we have the information kept at. Hell, most people probably just Google up the info that they need anyways. Compare the memory of people in modern industrial countries with those that live in more traditional cultures with rich oral traditions and you'll probably find a similar gap in memory I would guess.