Study: Monkeys Can Do Math

No monkey is close to becoming the next Descartes, but a new study from Harvard University shows that they have the potential to do math. The study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found that rhesus monkeys could be taught to add two symbols and decide whether it was greater than a single symbol. Sometimes, the monkeys chose the wrong answers when the numbers were close, like six plus eight versus the single value of 13. Still, the research may be important in shedding light on how human and monkey brains process numbers.