-Demosthenes- Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 On the way to school today I said goodbye to my Gold Fish, so aptly named: Goldy. I waved good bye and asked for luck on my Bio test that I was going to have that day. On that test I did well, but I found out that it mattered little. For on the test there was an extra credit and it asked: What's a GoldFishes Memory span. I didn't know, I didn't even guess, but when it came back, I was in shock. It's memory span is only 3 seconds! I was devestated. But it couldn't be true, I told myself that Goldy was special, but there was only so long I could lie to myself. I knew Goldy didn't know me, and that he didn't even remember at that moment. We hadn't bonded or anything. Plz tell me that they are wrong about goldfish, plz!!! Okay before all you moderaters and administraters run to delete poor old Demosthenes post again I really want to ask a question, the above was just a little entertainment I know that some of you don't get strory time at your daily lives Can an animal really survive with only 3 seconds of memory?? It seems that I wouldn't be able to remember how to eat? It's puzzling for me How? It's probably some obvious answer that I should already know, but can someone tell me? PS: I made up Goldy, not that he would remember me anyway!!
Pinch Paxton Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 Well eating could be a triggered response like pulling your hand away from fire. Everything that a goldfish does must be a triggered response. You could make a computer program of a goldfish, make all of the things that it does as automatic, don't give it learning capabilities, and it would perform the same. There isn't that much that you would have to program. Eat, flick your tail, avoid obstacles, avoid sudden movements, mate. The avoid sudden movements might be the reason for the 3 second memory. Don't avoid sudden movements of mate. You might wonder why so many other animals have a memory at all. I don't think that a moth even has a brain.
atinymonkey Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 I'm not sure where the 3 sec memory came from, but I seem to remember it's not true. This experiment points towards short term memory over 60 sec:- http://www.learnmem.org/cgi/content/full/7/3/151#SEC1 Goldfish would need more than 3 seconds memory to remember to evade threats. Print it out and give it to the person who set the test.
Pinch Paxton Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 I think that the test was for them not to evade a threat, rather than for them to evade a threat. Otherwise it would not be memory, but reflex. There is not much about the test in that paper, but it seems like they were trained not to avoid fast running water, and tested again after 1 minute. I skipped over the Honey Bee stuff, so I had to just get the scraps that I could. I looked on the net for goldfish memory, but it was not easy to find anything relevant. I would need to know the exact test that was performed on the goldfish to make any judgement. That paper does not really help to say that this was a myth, it leans towards 1 minute, but that is not a very long time either. Pincho.
Cap'n Refsmmat Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 It was tested on MythBusters. Over 45 days, they trained a fish to go through little holes in glass. The fish remembered. And, Jamie actually has trained a fish to ring a bell.
atinymonkey Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 Pinch Paxton said in post # :I think that the test was for them not to evade a threat, rather than for them to evade a threat. My mention of need to evade a threat was a general statement, not substantiated by the research. I just thought it was a relevant point.
-Demosthenes- Posted March 16, 2004 Author Posted March 16, 2004 Really? I've seen that show before, not that certain one though. 45 says? that would be a lot longer than the test said, huh. Sayonara, I don't even have a goldfish I was kidding dude. I know the story was good but... PS: Jsut saw a cartoon somewhere on TV, and I saw you sayonara!! It was the weirdest thing ever, invader zim or something...I love that stuffed animal thing
-Demosthenes- Posted March 16, 2004 Author Posted March 16, 2004 That's who it was, gir. It was quite a weird cartoon though....
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now