CHIMPS OUTWIT HUMANS IN GAMES OF STRATEGY

In contests drawn from game theory, chimpanzee pairs consistently outperform humans in games that test memory and strategic thinking.

A new study, conducted with chimps at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, involved a simple game of hide-and-seek that researchers call the Inspection Game.

In the game, two players (either a pair of chimps or a pair of humans) are set up back to back, each facing a computer screen. To start the game, each player pushes a circle on the monitor and then selects one of two blue boxes on the left or right side of the screen. After both players have chosen left or right, the computer shows each player her opponent’s choice. This continues through 200 iterations per game.

The goal of the players in the “hiding” role—the “mismatchers”—is to choose the opposite of their opponent’s selection. Players in the “seeking” role—the “matchers”—win if they make the same choices as their opponent. Winning players receive a reward: a chunk of apple for the chimps or a small coin for the humans.

If players are to win repeatedly, they have to accurately predict what their opponent will do next, anticipating their strategy.

http://www.futurity.org/chimps-games-strategy/

Found that very interesting, just because they can't talk doesn't mean they aren't clever.

I found a site one time that shared researchers' observations about wild chimps, and when you take it all together it seems like you're reading about a tribe of people. Everything from tending to wounds with herbs that have been shown to work, to leaving trail markers for other members of their group.

mmmm...i bet they were playing those games against didge....with the inevitable result.....OOOK