New study finds monkeys and kids share same grasp of geometry
Researchers found baboons, macaques and preschoolers matched rotated shapes by geometric similarity, suggesting formal schooling may refine an older cognitive ability.
- Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University published research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing olive baboons, rhesus macaques, and human children share an evolutionarily ancient intuition for two-dimensional geometric shapes, cognitively processing them identically.
- Geometry has long been considered unique to humans, with most scientists assuming non-human primates lacked geometric understanding; the study overturns this decades-old assumption by providing first evidence baboons and macaques share intuitions present in young humans.
- The team tested eight adult monkeys—four rhesus macaques and four olive baboons—alongside 55 U.S. preschoolers ages 3-6 and 77 Indigenous Tsimane adults from Bolivia with minimal formal education, isolating developmental abilities from cultural and educational factors.
- Cognitive neuroscientist Jessica Cantlon found children and monkeys rely on intuitive processing while adults lean on symbolic representation learned through formal education, suggesting geometric intuitions represent shared architecture of the primate mind rather than uniquely human intelligence.
- Cantlon emphasized education builds on children's existing geometric intuitions rather than teaching from scratch, while the Primate Portal at Seneca Park Zoo provides K-12 classrooms open-access data linked to elevated math scores and heightened STEM career interest.
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31 Articles
We are even more alike than we thought. We already knew that chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are extraordinarily similar to us, an echo of our own evolutionary lineage that paleontology has been unraveling for decades. But the new study just appeared in 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' has been quite a surprise. Nobody, in fact, expected this cognitive bridge to extend, too, to other non-human primates, such as baboons and …
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Joo-young = Monkeys also share geometric intuition, which has been considered a unique ability of humans, and geometric thinking is shared by humans and other primates...
Children and monkeys share common understanding of geometry
With their ability to use tools, remember faces and even learn how to communicate with humans through sign language, nonhuman primates are considered to be among the smartest creatures on Earth. However, some concepts—geometry, for instance—have traditionally been thought of as beyond the abilities of humanity's closest cousins.
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