研究发现鱼会做加减法 网友：要多吃鱼了

近日，德国波恩大学的研究人员通过实验发现，斑马拟丽鱼和黄貂鱼能完成1到5以内加减1位的计算，准确率高达94%。

无注释原文：

Study shows: Fish can calculate

Science Daily

Cichlids and stingrays can perform simple addition and subtraction in the number range of one to five. This has been shown in a recent study by the University of Bonn, which has now been published in the journal Scientific Reports. It is not known what the animals need their mathematical abilities for.

Suppose there are some coins on the table in front of you. If the number is small, you can tell right away exactly how many there are. You don't even have to count them -- a single glance is enough. Cichlids and stingrays are astonishingly similar to us in this respect: they can detect small quantities precisely -- and presumably without counting. For example, they can be trained to reliably distinguish quantities of three from quantities of four.

This fact has been known for some time. However, the research group led by Prof. Dr. Vera Schluessel from the Institute of Zoology at the University of Bonn has now shown that both species can even calculate. "We trained the animals to perform simple additions and subtractions," Schluessel explains. "In doing so, they had to increase or decrease an initial value by one."

Blue means "add one," yellow means "subtract one"

But how do you ask a cichlid for the result of "2+1" or "5-1"? The researchers used a method that other research groups had already successfully used to test the mathematical abilities of bees: They showed the fish a collection of geometric shapes -- for example, four squares. If these objects were colored blue, this meant "add one" for the following discrimination. Yellow, on the other hand, meant "subtract one."

After showing the original stimulus (e.g. four squares), the animals were shown two new pictures -- one with five and one with three squares. If they swam to the correct picture (i.e. to the five squares in the "blue" arithmetic task), they were rewarded with food. If they gave the wrong answer, they went away empty-handed. Over time, they learned to associate the blue color with an increase of one in the amount shown at the beginning, and the yellow number with a decrease.

But can the fish apply this knowledge to new tasks? Had they actually internalized the mathematical rule behind the colors? "To check this, we deliberately omitted some calculations during training," Schluessel explains. "Namely, 3+1 and 3-1. After the learning phase, the animals got to see these two tasks for the first time. But even in those tests, they significantly often chose the correct answer." This was true even when they had to decide between choosing four or five objects after being shown a blue 3 -- that is, two outcomes that were both greater than the initial value. In this case, the fish chose four over five, indicating they had not learned the rule 'chose the largest (or smallest) amount presented' but the rule 'always add or subtract one'.

Computing without a cerebral cortex

This achievement surprised the researchers themselves -- especially since the tasks were even more difficult in reality than just described. The fish were not shown objects of the same shape (e.g. four squares), but a combination of different shapes. A "four," for example, could be represented by a small and a larger circle, a square and a triangle, whereas in another calculation it could be represented by three triangles of different sizes and a square.

"So the animals had to recognize the number of objects depicted and at the same time infer the calculation rule from their color," Schluessel says. "They had to keep both in working memory when the original picture was exchanged for the two result pictures. And they had to decide on the correct result afterwards. Overall, it's a feat that requires complex thinking skills."

To some it may be surprising because fish don't have a neocortex -- the part of the brain also known as the "cerebral cortex" that's responsible for complex cognitive tasks in mammals. Moreover, neither species of fish is known to require particularly good numerical abilities in the wild. Other species might pay attention to the strip count of their sexual partners or the amount of eggs in their clutches. "However, this is not known from stingrays and cichlids," emphasizes the zoology professor at the University of Bonn.

She also sees the result of the experiments as confirmation that humans tend to underestimate other species -- especially those that do not belong to our immediate family or mammals in general. Moreover, fish are not particularly cute and do not have cuddly fur or plumage.

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

Study shows: Fish can calculate

Science Daily

Cichlids and stingrays can perform simple addition and subtraction in the number range of one to five. This has been shown in a recent study by the University of Bonn, which has now been published in the journal Scientific Reports. It is not known what the animals need their mathematical abilities for.

斑马拟丽鱼（Cichlid）和黄貂鱼（stingray）能够在1到5的数字范围内进行简单的加减运算。波恩大学（University of Bonn）最近的一项研究表明了这一点，该研究现在已经发表在《科学报告》（Scientific Reports）杂志上。目前尚不清楚这些动物需要它们的数学能力做什么。

stingray

stingray /ˈstɪŋ.reɪ/ 表示“黄貂鱼，刺魟（一种鱼，体型大而扁圆，尾长具毒刺）”，英文解释为“a large, flat, round fish with a long tail that has poisonous points on it”

subtraction

表示“减法”，英文解释为“the process of removing one number from another”举个🌰：

The test involves simple calculations, such as addition and subtraction.

测验包括一些简单的运算，例如加法和减法。

Suppose there are some coins on the table in front of you. If the number is small, you can tell right away exactly how many there are. You don't even have to count them -- a single glance is enough. Cichlids and stingrays are astonishingly similar to us in this respect: they can detect small quantities precisely -- and presumably without counting. For example, they can be trained to reliably distinguish quantities of three from quantities of four.

假设在你面前的桌子上有一些硬币。如果数量不多，你可以马上知道到底有多少个。你甚至不需要去数它们--只需看一眼就足够了。斑马拟丽鱼和黄貂鱼在这方面与我们惊人地相似：它们可以精确地识别出较小的数量--而且大概不用数。例如，它们可以被训练成可靠地分辨出三和四的数量。

glance

可以作名词，也可以作动词，表示“一瞥，看一眼”，英文解释为“to quickly look at someone or something”举个🌰：

She took/cast a glance at her watch.

她看了一下手表。

The man glanced nervously at his watch.

那人紧张地看了一眼手表。

quantity

表示“（尤指可测量或确定的）量，数量，分量”，英文解释为“the amount or number of something, especially that can be measured”举个🌰：

Police found a large/small quantity of drugs in his possession.

警方发现他携带大/少量毒品。

presumably

presumably /prɪˈzuː.mə.bli/ 表示“据推测，大概，可能”，英文解释为“used to say what you think is the likely situation”举个🌰：

They can presumably afford to buy a bigger apartment.

他们大概买得起一套大一点的公寓。

distinguish

表示“辨别；区分”，英文解释为“If you can distinguish one thing from another or distinguish between two things, you can see or understand how they are different.”举个🌰：

Research suggests that babies learn to see by distinguishing between areas of light and dark.

研究显示婴儿是通过区分明亮区域和黑暗区域来学会观看的。

This fact has been known for some time. However, the research group led by Prof. Dr. Vera Schluessel from the Institute of Zoology at the University of Bonn has now shown that both species can even calculate. "We trained the animals to perform simple additions and subtractions," Schluessel explains. "In doing so, they had to increase or decrease an initial value by one."

这一事实已经有一段时间了。然而，由波恩大学动物学研究所的教授维拉·施卢塞尔（Vera Schluessel）博士带领的研究团队现在已经表明，这两种动物甚至会算数。“我们训练这些动物进行简单的加减运算，”施卢塞尔解释说。“这样做时，它们必须将一个初始值增1或减1。”

◉ Blue means "add one," yellow means "subtract one" 蓝色意味着“加一”，黄色意味着“减一”

But how do you ask a cichlid for the result of "2+1" or "5-1"? The researchers used a method that other research groups had already successfully used to test the mathematical abilities of bees: They showed the fish a collection of geometric shapes -- for example, four squares. If these objects were colored blue, this meant "add one" for the following discrimination. Yellow, on the other hand, meant "subtract one."

但你如何向斑马拟丽鱼询问“2+1”或“5-1”的结果呢？研究人员使用了一种其他研究团队已经成功用于测试蜜蜂数学能力的方法。他们向鱼展示了一组几何图形--例如，四个正方形。如果这些物体的颜色是蓝色的，这就意味着在后续辨别中是“加一”。反之，黄色则意味着“减一”。

geometric

表示“几何图形的，几何的”，英文解释为“A geometric pattern or arrangement is made up of shapes such as squares, triangles, or rectangles.”

After showing the original stimulus (e.g. four squares), the animals were shown two new pictures -- one with five and one with three squares. If they swam to the correct picture (i.e. to the five squares in the "blue" arithmetic task), they were rewarded with food. If they gave the wrong answer, they went away empty-handed. Over time, they learned to associate the blue color with an increase of one in the amount shown at the beginning, and the yellow number with a decrease.

在展示了原始的刺激物（例如四个正方形）之后，动物们被展示了两幅新的图片--一幅是五个正方形，一幅是三个正方形。如果它们游向正确的图片（即“蓝色”算术任务中的五个方块），它们就会得到食物的奖励。如果他们给出错误的答案，他们就会空手而归。随着时间的推移，它们学会了将蓝色与开始时显示的数量加一联系起来，而将黄色数字与减一联系起来。

stimulus

stimulus /ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/ 表示“刺激（物），激励（物）；促进因素”，英文解释为“something that causes growth or activity”举个🌰：

Foreign investment has been a stimulus to the industry.

外国投资促进了该产业的发展。

arithmetic

arithmetic /əˈrɪθ.mə.tɪk/ 表示“算术运算；演算；计算”，英文解释为“calculations involving adding and multiplying, etc. numbers”举个🌰：

I did some quick mental arithmetic and decided it was going to cost too much.

我快速心算了一下，觉得费用会太高。

But can the fish apply this knowledge to new tasks? Had they actually internalized the mathematical rule behind the colors? "To check this, we deliberately omitted some calculations during training," Schluessel explains. "Namely, 3+1 and 3-1. After the learning phase, the animals got to see these two tasks for the first time. But even in those tests, they significantly often chose the correct answer." This was true even when they had to decide between choosing four or five objects after being shown a blue 3 -- that is, two outcomes that were both greater than the initial value. In this case, the fish chose four over five, indicating they had not learned the rule 'chose the largest (or smallest) amount presented' but the rule 'always add or subtract one'.

但是，这些鱼能把这些知识应用于新的任务吗？它们是否真正内化了颜色背后的数学规则？“为了检查这一点，我们在训练中故意省略了部分计算，”施卢塞尔解释说。“也就是，3+1和3-1。在学习阶段之后，动物们第一次看到了这两项任务。但即使在这些测试中，它们也明显地经常选择正确的答案。”即使当它们在被展示了蓝色的三（个物体）之后，必须在选择四个或五个物体之间（即两个都大于初始值的结果后）做出决定时，也能够选择正确的答案。在这种情况下，鱼选择了4而不是5，这表明它们没有学会“选择所呈现的最大（或最小）数量”的规则，而是“总是加或减一”的规则。

internalise/internalize

表示“将（情感）藏在心底；使（想法、态度、信仰等）成为性格的一部分，使内化”，英文解释为“If you internalize your emotions or feelings, you do not allow them to show although you think about them. To accept or absorb an idea, opinion, belief, etc. so that it becomes part of your character”举个🌰：

Many people tend to internalize their anxiety and distress.

许多人常常将所有的焦虑和苦恼都深藏心底。

omit

表示“疏忽，遗漏；删节，排除”，英文解释为“to fail to include or do something”举个🌰：

She was omitted from the list of contributors to the report.

这篇报道的撰稿人中漏掉了她的名字。

◉ Computing without a cerebral cortex 没有大脑皮层的计算

This achievement surprised the researchers themselves -- especially since the tasks were even more difficult in reality than just described. The fish were not shown objects of the same shape (e.g. four squares), but a combination of different shapes. A "four," for example, could be represented by a small and a larger circle, a square and a triangle, whereas in another calculation it could be represented by three triangles of different sizes and a square.

这一成果让研究人员自己都感到惊讶--特别是由于这些任务在现实中甚至比刚才描述的还要困难。鱼儿们看到的不是相同形状的物体（例如四个正方形），而是不同形状的组合。例如，一个“四”可以由一个小圆和一个大圆、一个正方形和一个三角形表示，而在另一种计算中，它可以由三个不同大小的三角形和一个正方形表示。

cerebral

cerebral /ˈser.ə.brəl/ 表示“脑的，大脑的”，英文解释为“relating to the brain or the cerebrum”。

cortex

cortex /ˈkɔː.teks/ 表示“（尤指大脑或其他器官的）皮层，皮质”，英文解释为“the outer layer, especially of the brain and other organs”如：the cerebral cortex 大脑皮层。

"So the animals had to recognize the number of objects depicted and at the same time infer the calculation rule from their color," Schluessel says. "They had to keep both in working memory when the original picture was exchanged for the two result pictures. And they had to decide on the correct result afterwards. Overall, it's a feat that requires complex thinking skills."

“因此，动物们必须识别出所描绘物体的数量，同时从它们的颜色推断出计算规则，”施卢塞尔说。“原始图片被换成两张结果图片时，它们必须记住这两部分信息。过后它们还必须做出正确的选择。总的来说，这是一项需要复杂思维能力的壮举。”

depict

表示“描写，描述，描绘；描绘，绘画”，英文解释为“to describe something or someone in writing or speech, or to show them in a painting, picture etc”，举个🌰：

The artist had depicted her lying on a bed.

画家画了她躺在床上的画像。

📍此前价值1.8亿元毕加索名画被撕文中出现过，According to Tate, the artwork depicts Picasso's lover Dora Maar and was painted in Paris in May 1944, during the final months of the Nazi occupation.

feat

feat表示“功绩；技艺；武艺；功绩；英勇事迹”，英文解释为“If you refer to an action, or the result of an action, as a feat, you admire it because it is an impressive and difficult achievement.”如：to perform/attempt/achieve astonishing feats 表演惊人的技艺；争取/取得惊人的功绩，举个🌰：

The tunnel is a brilliant feat of engineering.

这条隧道是工程方面的光辉业绩。

📍be no easy feat 不容易，非易事。类似的还有be no small feat/ be no mean feat可以理解为“是了不起的成就，绝非易事”，英文解释为：to be a great achievement，举个🌰：

Getting the job finished in under a week was no mean feat.

一周内就把这项任务完成了，真了不起。

🎬电影《惊天魔盗团2》（Now You See Me 2）中的台词提到：by performing what he calls an impossible feat. 在这里上演他所谓不可能的奇迹。

To some it may be surprising because fish don't have a neocortex -- the part of the brain also known as the "cerebral cortex" that's responsible for complex cognitive tasks in mammals. Moreover, neither species of fish is known to require particularly good numerical abilities in the wild. Other species might pay attention to the strip count of their sexual partners or the amount of eggs in their clutches. "However, this is not known from stingrays and cichlids," emphasizes the zoology professor at the University of Bonn.

对一些人来说，这可能是令人惊讶的，因为鱼没有新皮质--大脑中也被称为“大脑皮层”的部分，负责哺乳动物的复杂认知任务。此外，据了解这两种鱼在自然环境下都不需要特别好的计算能力。其他物种可能会注意其性伴侣的数量或其窝卵数。“然而，这在斑马拟丽鱼和黄貂鱼中并不为人所知，”这位波恩大学的动物学教授强调说。

neocortex

表示“（大脑）新皮质”，英文解释为“part of the brain that controls sight and hearing”

cognitive

表示“认知的；感知的；认识的”，英文解释为“Cognitive means relating to the mental process involved in knowing, learning, and understanding things.”举个🌰：

As children grow older, their cognitive processes become sharper. 

随着孩子们长大，他们的认知过程也变得越来越敏锐了。

mammal

mammal /ˈmæm.əl/ 表示“哺乳动物”，英文解释为“any animal of which the female feeds her young on milk from her own body. Most mammals give birth to live young, not eggs.”举个🌰：

Humans, dogs, elephants, and dolphins are all mammals, but birds, fish, and crocodiles are not.

人、狗、大象和海豚都是哺乳动物，而鸟、鱼和鳄鱼则不是。

in the wild

表示“在野外，野生的；在自然环境下；在野生环境中”，英文解释为“in natural conditions, independent of humans”举个🌰：

Animals would produce more young in the wild than they do in the zoo.

动物在野生环境中的产崽数量要比在动物园里多。

clutch

clutch /klʌtʃ/ 表示“（尤指鸟巢里的）一窝蛋”，英文解释为“a small group of eggs produced by the same bird, especially in a nest”。

She also sees the result of the experiments as confirmation that humans tend to underestimate other species -- especially those that do not belong to our immediate family or mammals in general. Moreover, fish are not particularly cute and do not have cuddly fur or plumage.

她还认为实验结果证实了人类往往低估其他物种--尤其是那些不属于我们直系或一般哺乳动物的物种。此外，鱼不是特别可爱，没有可爱的皮毛或羽毛。

underestimate

表示“低估；（对…）估计不足”，英文解释为“to fail to guess or understand the real cost, size, difficulty, etc. of something”举个🌰：

Don't underestimate the difficulties of getting both parties to the conference table.

要让双方坐下来谈判，难度不可小觑。

cuddly

cuddly /ˈkʌd.əl.i/ 表示“可爱的；令人想抱的”，英文解释为“liking to cuddle, or making you want to cuddle”如：a very cuddly child 非常可爱的小孩。

plumage

plumage /ˈpluː.mɪdʒ/ 表示“（鸟的）全身羽毛”，英文解释为“a bird's covering of feathers”举个🌰：

Male peacocks have beautiful plumage.

雄孔雀有美丽的羽毛。

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