Some people can remember information very easy. They are also able to
process it and recall it almost effortlessly. Would a smart chimp have
a better memory than a slow human? or do chimps have better memories
than us?

pakihaki22@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
news:eor3tg$9pe$1@darwin.ediacara.org...
Some people can remember information very easy. They are also able to
process it and recall it almost effortlessly. Would a smart chimp have
a better memory than a slow human? or do chimps have better memories
than us?


A layman speaking here...

I've often wondered myself just what a genius dog, or a genius horse, or a
genius parrot or a genius chimpanzee might be capable of. And no doubt
researchers who work with such animals do, too. But, if any of them have
been so fortunate as to have one to work with, and knew it, that would have
presented some dilemmas, it would seem. Of course, as we all know, the term
genius has been used to refer to savantism, to having an excellent recall
for many things, or an excellent recall for things of a narrowly defined
kind. But let us consider just high IQ, as might be determined for humans
based upon standardized tests.

Much controversy exists over whether IQ tests are biased in favor of, say,
verbal skills, mathematical skills, but let us "pretend" that a high IQ
human just scores near the peak of a bell shaped curve of many taking the
same test, under the same conditions. Very few humans score near the peak
of the bell-shape. And, one problem in scoring them there is that it is
hard to determine how people think and what they are capable of, when that
might require things the test-makers are unable to grasp. (Although how
quickly one can grasp or process information is another factor in
test-taking.)

But, let us say a researcher finds he has a rat that repeatedly solves maze
configurations ten percent faster than another rat. Is he a savant, in
respect to mazes? Or is he just "smart?" Or, suppose you have another rat
that, when given the same problem -- such as finding a platform under water
to stand on -- goes directly to the underwater platform, in subsequent
trials, without having to search for it. Does that rat smarter than another
rat? Or does it
just have a better ability to recall geographical bearings?

In humans there are some so-called "geniuses" who are high achievers, and
who make no bones about saying they have accomplished more than most people
because of "1 % inspiration and 99 % perspiration." Or, should we say "1 %
faster ability to process many kinds of problems and 99 % hard work. Here
we run into the dilemma of distinguishing between motivation. And, in
comparing a motivation type A to a motivation type B, it is difficult
sometimes for us to distinguish between a degree of obsessive-compulsive
disorder and a degree of genuine enjoyment of achievement. Hence we hear
about people who are Type A-one personalities and Type A-two personalities,
with the former exhibiting stress-related disorders, while the latter
exhibits none such, but seems to
be exhilarated by being a hyper-achiever.

I suspect that most researchers, if they do run across a genius rat need --
first of all -- to REMOVE it from whatever study is going on as to how some
pharmaceutical affects cognitive performance, or coordination, or life span.
One does not wish to run tests with weirdos in them.

But what if, say, a person has a pet dog that seems to catch on to tricks
very quickly and perform them flawlessly,
and a cat that does not seem to "get it." One has to avoid ascribing to the
cat a lower IQ than the dog. The reason, as one cat lover put it is that,
"A dog seems to say to himself, humans wait on my needs hand and foot. They
must be gods;" while a cat says to herself, "Humans wait on my needs hand
and foot. I must be a god."

But... as I said at the outset... I'm just a lay person. I don't know
anything.

g