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Topic: Primate Intelligence (Read 16990 times) |
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James Fingas
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Primate Intelligence
« on: Jan 10th, 2003, 12:14pm » |
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You walk into a room in which there are three primates: a chimpanzee, an orangutan, and a gorilla. The chimpanzee is holding a banana in each hand, the orangutan is holding a big stick, and the gorilla is holding nothing. Which primate in the room is the smartest?
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wowbagger
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #1 on: Jan 10th, 2003, 12:31pm » |
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Wow, that's definitely the best riddle I stumbled across recently! 
It took me about half a minute. - And a dictionary just to make sure.
Did you make this one up, James?
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Jeremiah Smith
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #2 on: Jan 10th, 2003, 12:43pm » |
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I recall reading this in Dilbert at some point, when Dilbert is getting assimilated into Microsoft and has to answer a question.
He didn't get it right. Apparently, the successful Microsoft employees know that people are primates too.
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| « Last Edit: Jan 10th, 2003, 12:44pm by Jeremiah Smith » |
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James Fingas
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #3 on: Jan 10th, 2003, 1:54pm » |
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Sadly, this riddle is not of my own creation  I just spruced it up a little. Apparently, even if you don't get the "right" answer, you can still answer correctly.
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redPEPPER
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #4 on: Jan 10th, 2003, 2:19pm » |
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LoL at that last remark. Although I think this is a bit of an exaggeration. Unless your answer the question with "ooh! ooh! aah! aah!" while pointing at one of the others.
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wowbagger
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #5 on: Jan 16th, 2003, 5:29am » |
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In my opinion, James's "last remark" is justifiable. One of the persons I presented this riddle to reasoned that it's the gorilla, which you could argue is a correct answer. Well, maybe you couldn't, but I could because I know that person. It is not, by the way, a correct answer when given by this particular person I'm referring to.
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towr
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #6 on: Jan 16th, 2003, 6:15am » |
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well.. the gorilla doesn't seem to be burdened by the desire for material goods like the other primates.. So it's closer to enlightenment, or perhaps has allready reached it..
Which in a sense could be considered smart..
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kshereen
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #7 on: Jan 21st, 2003, 1:52am » |
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Well the answer is definitely not the gorilla!!! Check out the definition for "primate" in a dictionary and maybe you'll guess the answer right! 
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towr
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #8 on: Jan 21st, 2003, 2:59am » |
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primate:
3 [New Latin Primates, from Latin, plural of primat-, primas] : any of an order (Primates) of mammals comprising humans, apes, monkeys, and related forms (as lemurs and tarsiers)
gorilla:
1 : an anthropoid ape (Gorilla gorilla) of western equatorial Africa related to the chimpanzee but less erect and much larger
I don't see why it should definitely not be a gorilla..
(Also consider it's not very smart to polute and destroy one's own world..)
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| « Last Edit: Jan 21st, 2003, 3:10am by towr » |
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kshereen
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #9 on: Jan 21st, 2003, 11:53pm » |
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Well erm...maybe I guessed wrongly It can be the gorilla if you consider the gorilla is smarter than YOU who walked into that room! Got the hint? 
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Bobby
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #10 on: Nov 18th, 2003, 12:49pm » |
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What is the answer This is supposed to be the answer forum!!! GODDAMIT
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towr
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #11 on: Nov 18th, 2003, 1:40pm » |
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I thought it would be pretty obvious from the thread so far..
But really, there isn't a 'right' answer or a 'wrong' one.
Firstly, after you have entered the room there are the four primates in it:
A chimpanzee
An orangutan
A gorilla
and you, a human (at least let's assume you're human, if you're an AI, alien or some other non-primate obviously this doesn't apply)
So at face value people will often not realise they themselves are primate. And so you can stick it too them and poke fun at them for being stupid, and obviously less intelligent than the other primates.
But let's look closer.
You, the supposedly smart human are walking into a room with an armed orangutan. That doesn't seem smart to me.
The orangutan would probably rather be home in some jungle, and seems to realise that a good escape plan may involve some bodily harm to their keeper, not a bad start.
The chimpanzee isn't too dumb either, seeing the orangutan ready to strike the person keeping them prisoner, he plans ahead and thinks to bring some food for the long journey home after they escape. I wouldn't put it past him to steal your carkeys either.
The gorilla of course is beyond those concerns, he's reached enlightenment and cast of the chains of desire and consequent suffering, and is thus one step closer to becoming one with the divine. Not a bad choice either.
So you tell me, which is smarter 
Or better yet, think of more contrived reasons why any of the primates would be more intelligent than another..
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| « Last Edit: Nov 18th, 2003, 1:52pm by towr » |
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mistysakura
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #12 on: Nov 18th, 2003, 10:23pm » |
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By the way, this is not the answer forum. It's jsut a place where we discuss riddles.
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crooked
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #13 on: Nov 20th, 2003, 4:55pm » |
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[/i]The chimp is the one with the food, as long as he can stay awake, he would be the champ, but a even better idea would be for him to throw the bananas out of the room and make a run for it.[i]
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Sameer
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #14 on: Jan 21st, 2004, 4:00pm » |
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haha i knew this was a word puzzle the moment i read it.. but i tried a different approach
Before you walk in there was a room with three apes, a stick and two bananas. The objective of the game is to grab food and survive that day.
Since YOU walked into the room with three unchained (no mention?) apes you are not smart enough
The gorilla even though strongest of apes is empty handed
The orangutan even with a stick has a stick
The chimpanzee on the other hand by his wits has managed to grab both the bananas in the room 
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Yoda
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #15 on: Jan 22nd, 2004, 6:36pm » |
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As others have mentioned, a human who walks into a cage with an armed orangutan and a gorilla is clearly not the smartest primate.
Some people have said that since the monkey is the one with the bananas, it must be the smartest. But what they don't know is that gorillas are omnivores and that this particular gorilla fancies himself to be a 'monkey farmer'. He's just smacking his lips wondering when his little piece of monkey meat is gonna be fattened up enough.
As for the orangutan, I'd put him in second place for having the foresight to pick up a stick after realizing that he is in a jail with a thousand pound gorilla that will have other primal 'urges' after the monkey flesh has satisified the gorilla's hunger.
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| « Last Edit: Jan 22nd, 2004, 6:43pm by Yoda » |
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Kazn
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #16 on: Jan 25th, 2004, 6:24pm » |
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You can't tell if the primates are smart or not because what if the chimpanzee is planning world domination, the orangutan is planning to have an animal council, the gorilla is planning to clean the earth, and you are just standing there. Of course, we will never know what others are thinking.
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John_Gaughan
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #17 on: Jan 25th, 2004, 10:32pm » |
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on Jan 25th, 2004, 6:24pm, Kazn wrote:| You can't tell if the primates are smart or not because what if the chimpanzee is planning world domination, the orangutan is planning to have an animal council, the gorilla is planning to clean the earth, and you are just standing there. Of course, we will never know what others are thinking. |
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While they may be planning different things, that has nothing to do with their intelligence in terms of IQ or potential.
While I have great potential since I have a human brain, my current plans involve drinking beer and scratching my ass. This puts me roughly on the same level as the other primates
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towr
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #18 on: Jan 26th, 2004, 1:38am » |
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on Jan 25th, 2004, 10:32pm, John_Gaughan wrote:| While they may be planning different things, that has nothing to do with their intelligence in terms of IQ or potential. |
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It does have something to do with it. If they have very intricate, thought out plans they must be intelligent, else they couldn't think of it..
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John_Gaughan
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #19 on: Jan 27th, 2004, 5:27am » |
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on Jan 26th, 2004, 1:38am, towr wrote:| It does have something to do with it. If they have very intricate, thought out plans they must be intelligent, else they couldn't think of it.. |
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Intelligent people are capable of thinking of simple solutions, and I've seen some stupid people come up with intricate (but ineffective) plans and ideas
But I do agree with you. If an ape were to understand the idea of the whole world, let alone world domination, that would be one smart ape.
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why_linux_BSD_rule
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #20 on: Jan 27th, 2004, 9:48am » |
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I dont know if this post is dead not but this questions is like
(although not as obvious) A man walks into a lions cage (lion is very hungry,strong .........). Who is the smartest species in the cage?
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Star Warrior X
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #21 on: Jan 31st, 2004, 1:30pm » |
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Are they pondering what I'm pondering??
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John_Gaughan
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #22 on: Jan 31st, 2004, 9:44pm » |
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on Jan 31st, 2004, 1:30pm, Star Warrior X wrote:| Are they pondering what I'm pondering?? |
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That depends, what are you pondering?
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jbcrowley
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #23 on: Jan 15th, 2013, 12:38pm » |
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My first thought was the gorilla... he's smart enough to get the orangutan to be his bodyguard and the chimpanzee to hold his food...
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| « Last Edit: Jan 15th, 2013, 12:39pm by jbcrowley » |
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Grimbal
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Re: Primate Intelligence
« Reply #24 on: Jan 16th, 2013, 12:52am » |
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Just wondering. Would that be two bananas or four?
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