Do you have a good memory?
Do
you
have
a
good
memory
?
Maybe you remember better than all of your friends.
Maybe
you
remember
better
than
all
of
your
friends
.
But even if you have a short-term memory, it's better than a chimpanzee's, right?
But
even
if
you
have
a
short-term
memory
,
it
's
better
than
a
chimpanzee
's
,
right
?
Well, you may be wrong.
Well
,
you
may
be
wrong
.
Tetsuro Matszawa, a scientist from Kyoto University, Japan has showed how chimps have far better memories than humans.
Tetsuro
Matszawa
,
a
scientist
from
Kyoto
University
,
Japan
has
showed
how
chimps
have
far
better
memories
than
humans
.
"We learn that chimps have great memories by doing tests," he told The Guardian "You can do things to improve your memory."
``
We
learn
that
chimps
have
great
memories
by
doing
tests
,
''
he
told
The
Guardian
``
You
can
do
things
to
improve
your
memory
.
''
How do chimps have better memories than us?
How
do
chimps
have
better
memories
than
us
?
Scientists tested four chimps and human volunteers.
Scientists
tested
four
chimps
and
human
volunteers
.
They showed them five numbers on a computer screen.
They
showed
them
five
numbers
on
a
computer
screen
.
Chimps and human volunteers had to remember the numbers correctly.
Chimps
and
human
volunteers
had
to
remember
the
numbers
correctly
.
But to make it hard, the numbers disappeared after seven tenths of a second.
But
to
make
it
hard
,
the
numbers
disappeared
after
seven
tenths
of
a
second
.
Then they will reduce the time to two tenths of a second.
Then
they
will
reduce
the
time
to
two
tenths
of
a
second
.
While humans began to make mistake after mistake, the young chimps still did very well.
While
humans
began
to
make
mistake
after
mistake
,
the
young
chimps
still
did
very
well
.
Why do they have better memories?
Why
do
they
have
better
memories
?
We share 98.8 percent of our DNA with chimps.
We
share
98.8
percent
of
our
DNA
with
chimps
.
But during evolution, we lost some of our shared abilities.
But
during
evolution
,
we
lost
some
of
our
shared
abilities
.
As humans learned new skills, like language, we had to lose some of our memory skills to make room in our brains.
As
humans
learned
new
skills
,
like
language
,
we
had
to
lose
some
of
our
memory
skills
to
make
room
in
our
brains
.
"To get something, we had to lose something," said the scientist.
``
To
get
something
,
we
had
to
lose
something
,
''
said
the
scientist
.
Chimps need good memories to survive.
Chimps
need
good
memories
to
survive
.
When a chimp looks up at the big tree and pick a banana, he must remember where he saw it as he fights off competition from other animals.
When
a
chimp
looks
up
at
the
big
tree
and
pick
a
banana
,
he
must
remember
where
he
saw
it
as
he
fights
off
competition
from
other
animals
.
Do you have a good memory? Maybe you remember better than all of your friends. But even if you have a short-term memory, it's better than a chimpanzee's, right? Well, you may be wrong.  Tetsuro Matszawa, a scientist from Kyoto University, Japan has showed how chimps have far better memories than humans. "We learn that chimps have great memories by doing tests," he told The Guardian "You can do things to improve your memory."  How do chimps have better memories than us? Scientists tested four chimps and human volunteers. They showed them five numbers on a computer screen. Chimps and human volunteers had to remember the numbers correctly. But to make it hard, the numbers disappeared after seven tenths of a second. Then they will reduce the time to two tenths of a second. While humans began to make mistake after mistake, the young chimps still did very well.  Why do they have better memories? We share 98.8 percent of our DNA with chimps. But during evolution, we lost some of our shared abilities. As humans learned new skills, like language, we had to lose some of our memory skills to make room in our brains. "To get something, we had to lose something," said the scientist.  Chimps need good memories to survive. When a chimp looks up at the big tree and pick a banana, he must remember where he saw it as he fights off competition from other animals.