According to an article on MSNBC, rats appear to have some capability to think and reflect on the acquired knowledge…
Where is this world coming to now?? 
I mean if this is how it’s going to be we’re all domed!
“Imagine, for instance, that you’re a student going into a classroom to take an exam,” Crystal said. “You will often have some idea how well you’re going to do on the test. You know before you answer the questions whether you know or don’t know the answers. This pretty complex form of cognition, known as metacognition, is at the heart of the human condition.”
Increasingly, evidence of metacognition is found in rhesus monkeys and other primates, but little research has been done on it in other mammals. Crystal and his colleague Allison Foote decided to push the limit and see if rats were capable of it.
This is rather interesting, especially thinking of animal rights and the related issues — can we really treat animals almost as inanimate objects? Do they “feel”? How, if so?
This could potentially open many new doors in science…
I’m curious to see where this research will endup.
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