Monkeys have a basic intuition for geometry, study suggests

Humans may not be the only primates with geometric intuition as monkeys recognise shapes in remarkably similar ways, study finds

New research indicates monkeys and humans process geometric shapes similarly. This suggests geometric intuition evolved long before modern humans appeared. Rotated shapes revealed abstract reasoning abilities in monkeys and children. The study found shared cognitive mechanisms rather than separate systems. Human geometric abilities build upon primate foundations, not entirely new reasoning.

Monkeys understand shapes almost like humans

You (probably) won’t find a monkey in a geometry class, but it looks like our fellow primates can swing the basics.

Monkeys have a basic intuition for geometry, study suggests

Monkeys use some of the same basic mental strategies as people do to perceive abstract relationships between shapes, a new study suggests. The findings challenge the idea that humans crossed a sharp evolutionary divide when they learned to recognize geometric properties like symmetry, parallel lines and right angles, the researchers say. "While humans do come up with geometric descriptions that are more abstract than what nonhumans can do, there…