As I get older, I realize there are too many passwords. I can’t remember everything, so I need to write them down. Sure, my laptop holds them in the keychain, but after a recent trip outside the country, I needed to put in the passwords for most of my accounts.
And I needed to reset more than a few.
A password book would have been handy, but I was stubborn and assumed I could recall the vital information. Nope. Not anymore.
I felt like a goldfish living with a three-second memory. Then I wondered, is that even true?
Do goldfish only have a three-second memory?
In short, no.
Goldfish might seem like simple little fish, but they’re actually much smarter than you might think! In reality, goldfish have some impressive memory skills that put them way ahead of what most people expect.
Research going back to the 1960s has shown that goldfish are way more intelligent than the typical “dumb fish” stereotype suggests.
Goldfish can learn to stick to one side of their tank if that’s where they’re fed, and they remember this habit even when food isn’t given. They also pick up on colour cues and can remember which colours lead to treats long after the training. This ability to learn and remember isn’t just about food—goldfish can react to other cues like bubbles or music, too.
Goldfish are also pretty clever problem-solvers. They’ve been trained to navigate mazes and escape from nets, and they remember how to do these tasks for weeks or even months. On top of that, goldfish can recognize and remember other fish and sometimes even their human caretakers.
One study found that goldfish use something called optic flow to estimate distances. This means they pay attention to how visual patterns change as they move, which helps them figure out how far they’ve gone. This is a different way of estimating distance compared to land animals like humans, making goldfish’s navigation skills pretty unique.
So next time you’re admiring your goldfish, remember they’re not just swimming around aimlessly. They’re intelligent, capable of learning, and have a memory that goes way beyond just a few seconds.
Stay curious and enjoy life.
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