"Wow. That's really big. Of course, Mythbusters showed that goldfish could learn YEARS ago, and they did it for free."

"maybe this explains ralph's treatment of spotty"

"I am sooooo impressed. When are we going to demand that such research be redirected toward addressing problems that matter? Sure, there may be some redemptive purpose, but it doesn't register on the scale of importance. "

"Good news. Maybe liberals can learn too."

"Hmm, just shows that the human with the big head isn't the smartest since they have da largest brain!"

"Observe common Mollies, the black tropical fish popular in home aquariums. When hungry, which is nearly always, the entire tank population (say, 20 fish of different ages and sizes) will cluster in the corner when they are usually fed as soon as someone walks by. Newborn Mollies learn the same trick within days after rising from the bottom."

"I once thought my Bettas made intelligent decisions, now I am convinced"

"Fascinating. I shall use it for my next screenplay, "Night of the Stickleback""

"Of course they can learn, why do you think they spend so much time in schools. I know that was bad, but I can't be the only one thinking it. "

"I have an aquarium and new that for years."

"Why are humans so caught up with brain size, and so willing to write off us smaller creatures because we don't meausure up? Do us a favor...use your big brains to ward off the next killer meteor or comet strike...we're tired of evolving... "

"They could have saved time and money by asking any fisherman"

"A fish may learn from tradition, but precedent only matters to the left if it is Roe v. Wade."

"Great, now Acorn will give them names, and they will be added to their voters list."

"Does this mean that liberals and socialists are able to learn, even with their small brains? If, so then this is a really important discovery."

"Thats great news. Now if we could teach liberals to think more and feel less we could save the country."

"Any one that has ever owned a fish can tell you so, they should have just ask and yes free results Good news. Maybe liberals can learn too."Ian (Maryland) Posted: 17/06/2009 02:21:39DITTO LOL!!"

"Good to hear that scientists have discovered that fish can learn. But frankly, anyone hacving a few goldfish and goldfish bowl knows that (for instance) tapping the side of a bowl with a fish food container probably will go to that side of the tank, in anticipation of being fed. Fish in the wild learn not to approach a bigger fish that might eat it. Fish learn to to hunt.Hopefully nobody spent too much money to "learn" what should have been obvious...."

"My fish (goldfish and gouramis) were experts in reading human emotions. They would perform to get food, dancing and making a big fuss whenever I walked into the room. Fish, all fish, are much more intelligent than previously thought."

"Other comments caught this as well. Mythbusters showed this years ago. Also anyone who has ever owned an aquarium has made quite elementary observations like this decades apon decades ago. "

"Of Course fish have brains and can learn. Just ask any fisherman who's tried to fish in heavily fished waters. The fish aren't dumb. "

"My jack dempsey wants to know why behavior is spelled with a "u". I had to explain to him that he was aquarium raised and doesn't yet understand the concept of continents and is therefore confused by different variants of the English language between them. I shouldn't get excited though - my intellectual superiority will not last. Anyone who puts their intelligence up against a fish has it coming. Soon, scientists will explain why aquarium fish are better citizens than people, OR blame them for global warming. Either way, I'm ready."

"Of Course fish have brains and can learn. Just ask any fisherman who's tried to fish in heavily fished waters. The fish aren't dumb. "

"Ooooo,fish can learn. This was probably part of a $50M government study. All you have to do is ask anyone who has a Koi pond. If you go to the same spot to feed them every day they recoginze you and when they see you coming they all swim to that spot. Now we get BIG NEWS fish can learn. What dumb ass just figured that out? Although maybe he/she was'nt so dumb if they go $50M."

"Great! There is hope for the left."

"So...can we replace our politicians with fish?"

"Of course this research matters. To better understand how we think, we need to understand how other animals think. This has relevance in game theory, robotics, sociology and of course biology.The point of the article is not that fish learn, but that they learn in cultural setting, observing behavior of other fish. The learning process in this case is dependent on the population in the environment. How many humans have wanted to get something because the Jones's have one? Fish have their own version of that."

"Democrats in America have already proven the "small brain can learn" theory."

"This gives me great hope for my husband. "

"So...can we replace our politicians with fish?"

"Democrats in America have already proven the "small brain can learn" theory."

"Anybody that keeps fish as pets could have told you this."

"Huge waste of money. I'm glad it was paid in pounds and not dollars! Charles: I don't want fish (or robotics) involved in economic policy (game theory). Fish are driven by the need to propagate and the need to feed; us humans are driven by far more than that. I'm not an animal."

"This is nature, God made it so eons ago."

"I am sorry, but I had to laugh out loud at this "discovery" by "scientists"...the brilliant scientist discovered what fisherman have know for thousands of years. Suggestion to the "scientist"...get out of the lab and GO FISHING!"

"Another example of wasted time and money just like anthropologic warming. The idea that humans are superior, powerful and god-like."

"So why can't liberals learn from their behavior? Are their brains just too small to pick up new clues? Nothing else explains the Obamatrons behavior."

"If fish with small brains can learn things, would that include politicians with small brains???"

"So there's hope for Liberals???"

"so it took a bunch of scientists how much money to learn something that any aquarium of koi pond owner could have told you for free....nice use of money and time..."

"Mosquitoes are quite possibly the most intellegent creatures on earth behind humans (usually behind that is...). Therefore, I propose that there is absolutely no relationship between intelligence and brain size."

"THERE WAS A MISTAKE IN THE STORY. THE ACTUAL HEADLINE WAS "LIBERAL POLITICIANS" CAN SOMETIMES LEARN DESPITE THEIR SMALL BRAINS-"

"There's a significant difference between finding food, and associating a particular stimuli with that food, and a fish watching another fish do something and using that information to help it's search for food. This discovery has less to do with fish and more about the assumptions of what was possible for certain brain types to manage. So the real "big news" is that people are more interested in insulting political affiliations than understanding the world around them...but I guess I didn't need a study to figure that out either."

"Seems like fish are smarter than most politicians. At least fish learn."

"blah blah blah, conservative drivel, blah blah, god damn liberals have something to do with a story about fish. i go to drudge report, i dust my framed reagan portrait, and i post on news websites. you people bore me"

"And taxpayer dollars were wasted for this study why? Fish go where the food is, and the bigger fish ain't. Otherwise, they become hors d'oeuvres."

"Perhaps, the next move is to check the brains of the political officials to see if THEY can learn. Sure doesn't look like it to me."

"Why would "brain size" be correlated to intelligence? The larger the computer, the more powerful its computational capability? Social insects such as ants have a profound collective intelligence but very small individual brains. If they think sticklebacks are smart wait till the start studying cichlids!"

"kevin, they were trying to find out what makes Nancy Pelosi tick."

"Great, now I guess Peta won't let us eat fish."

" If unique decision making possible in fish, what about octopuses or other types of creaters? "

"Have these guys ever gone fishing? Of course they learn. You don't need to be a scientist to know that? What a waste of tax payer money."

"Well, I guess there's still hope for liberals."

"i had a tiny chihuahua who was the smartest pet i ever had by far and her brain was smaller than a walnut.. and a fish that was able to tell when i woke up and would splash at the top of the aquarium for breakfast. we humans are not quite so special as we like to think we are."

"They learn in schools and on line... "