1、2、3……人类可以进行算术，动物可以吗？


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Believe it or not, fish can count, too. According to one study, angelfish can tell the difference between larger and smaller amounts, and can count up to three. When they're in a new environment, angelfish tend to take cover by joining the largest possible group of nearby fish. Spanish researchers ran an experiment where angelfish were given a choice between schools consisting of larger and smaller numbers of fish. The angelfish were consistently able to choose the larger school as long as it was twice as large as the smaller one. When the groups varied less in size, the angelfish's choices were less consistent. In other tests, the researchers found that in certain conditions the fish were able to tell the difference between numbers as small as two and three. Angelfish are not an outlier. Besides chimps, horses, and dolphins, many other animals have shown an ability to distinguish between larger and smaller groupings. Rodents and pigeons are accomplished counters, and even salamanders have some mathematical skills. Which goes to show that at least some of the traits that we assume make humans unique such as counting are common to many living things. We humans may be able to do math at a higher level than other animals, but when it comes to the basic building blocks of working with numbers, we're more connected to the rest of the animal kingdom than we may believe.
无论你相信与否，鱼也可以数数。一项研究表明蓝刺蝶鱼区分较大数量与较小数量，并能计算到数字3. 当他们处在新的环境时，蓝刺蝶鱼倾向于加入附近较大数量的鱼群以掩护自己。西班牙的研究者进行过这样一个实验，给蓝刺蝶鱼一个选择含有较大数量及较小数量鱼群的机会。 只要当较大鱼群的数量是较少鱼群数量的两倍是，蓝刺蝶鱼始终坚持选择较大的鱼群。当两者之间的数量区别不是那么明显的时候，蓝刺蝶鱼的选择便没有那么执着了。 在其他的测试中，研究者发现蓝刺蝶鱼在一定的条件下可以区分像2、3这样小的数字之间的区别。 蓝刺蝶鱼并不是一个例外。除了黑猩猩、马及海豚还有很多其他动物表现出区分较大及较小群体的能力。啮齿类动物和鸽子是熟练的计算者，即使火蜥蜴也有一些数学能力。 至少有一些证据例如计数在许多生物中普遍存在表明是我们人类的假想使得我们与众不同。我们人类相对于其他的动物也许是能够处理较高水平的数学问题，但是当我们用数字这一基本组成进行工作时，我们与其他动物之间的联系比我们认为的要多的多。