Are Humans Smarter Than Apes? Scientists Say Studies Are Biased

Humans have not fairly measured ape intelligence, so we don't really understand how smart they are, a team of researchers has asserted. The authors claim that tests are biased such that they measure performance more than they measure actual aptitude, according to a paper in the journal Animal Cognition. Among the problems that make it difficult to test an ape's intelligence in an equitable manner to humans is how differently apes and humans are prepared for experiments -- specifically in their background. This team compares the difference between humans and apes to the differences between different groups of humans. With people, factors like health and education, tied to economics, play a role in how well someone performs on a test designed to measure intelligence.