It’s hard to know how smart animals are for the simple reason that they’re not able to come right out and tell us. Scientists have developed various methods over the years to assess animal intelligence, but a simple new body-awareness test involving elephants may be a promising new tool to add to the arsenal.
We all like to admire ourselves in the mirror from time to time, but there’s a bird in Australia that seems to have developed a rather unhealthy fixation, gazing upon its reflection for hours on end while seemingly oblivious to its surroundings. It’s pretty funny, but should we be worried about this fine feathered…
The ability to look into a mirror and recognize oneself is a cognitive skill we all take for granted, but very few animals outside of humans are able to do it. New research shows that monkeys can be trained to pass the so-called “mirror test,” suggesting that more species may be self-aware than previously thought.…
Very few animals are capable of recognizing themselves in the mirror. New research suggests that manta rays are capable of this unique cognitive feat—a possible sign that these fish are self-aware.
It’s nothing to get too excited or alarmed about, but a robot has passed a modified version of the classic King’s Wise Men Test. It’s another classic case of simulation rather than emulation, but the experiment shows how artificial self-awareness can be programmed into our technology.
Of all the animals that exist on this planet, only a precious few have the capacity to recognize themselves in a mirror. These fascinating — and at times hilarious — videos taken by photographer Xavier Hubert-Brierre reveal the reactions of various animals as they gaze upon their reflections for the very first time.
German researchers have created a version of Nintendo's Super Mario Advance in which the videogame hero can learn and venture through the game according to his "feelings." It's an exciting advance, but the claim that Super Mario is now "self-aware" is grossly overstated.
By administering mild electric currents to the brain, neuroscientists from Frankfurt University have successfully induced self-awareness in sleeping volunteers. Amazingly, the technique could be used to help people take better control of their dreams. But it's also a discovery that's offering critical insights into…
A number of websites recently reported on a breakthrough in which a robot was alleged to have successfully passed the mirror test. In turn, many of these news sites declared that the machine had achieved "self-awareness," proclaiming it to be an important step forward in the development of advanced robotics.
Neuroscientists who study consciousness have suggested that self-awareness depends on the presence of very specific "higher order" regions of the brain. In turn, that means that any serious impairment to these critical areas would virtually eliminate any sense someone has of themselves as a separate person. At least,…
Self-awareness, the ability to assess and even doubt one's own thoughts, is a crucial sign of intelligence, but it's also one of the hardest traits to identify. Macaques have now demonstrated they have self-awareness...which might explain our own evolutionary story.
