Showing posts with label consciousness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consciousness. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

You ain't so special... part whatever

Some birds can tell they're looking at themselves in a mirror.

[Prior&al paper at PLoS Biology]

This is a version of the mirror test, used to gauge self-awareness.

There are now at least nine species where this has been observed; this is the first non-mammal to have unequivocal results - and there are a number of other bird species that I would be utterly unsurprised if they had similar results.

You have to wonder - do they have a theory of mind? From what I've seen from certain corvids, I would have to suppose that they do.

As the wikipedia link (which has already been updated to include the new information) points out, it's not a suitable test for all animals, so there may well be some creatures who don't perform at the mirror test who are nevertheless self-aware.