@@ducky4534 jesus christ imagine sleeping with a mirror on the side then you look at it 3 times but on the last glimpse your mirror self didn’t turn its head it just keeps looking at u lol....
"I woke up and looked in the mirror and there was an X on my forehead. It can only mean one thing. Ganesh has chosen me." And so began the Elephant Inquisition...
Man, the more I learned about elephants the more amazed, sympathetic, and sad I become for them, they're such amazing animals and are extremely important to their environment
I had a dog that would constantly try to look at herself in a reflection, wheather in a mirror or a puddle of water. She would examine parts of her mouth, and when I would put tape on her butt, she would see it in the mirror and would try to take it off. She was one of the weirdest dogs I've known, her behavior in almost everything was very human. Miss her so much
i also had a dog that seemingly passed an unintentional mirror mark test. as a puppy he tried to play with the reflection, and as he grew up gradually became disinterested and ignored the mirror completely. one day mid way through his life i had put a t shirt on him, and as he walked past the mirror like usual he startled and did a double take, then stood carefully examining his new changed appearance for several minutes. dogs are a lot smarter than people give them credit for, especially breeds like collies known for being able to learn hundreds of words. they have to be right up there with chimps.
That is a trippy thought. Assuming you’ve never lived near still bodies of water, what would it be like to be a human as an adult and see yourself for the first time in a mirror?
Well, there is a video of that. An explorer came upon a tribe in New-Guinea and became acquainted with them. One of the first things he did is show them a little mirror as gift. The surprise and realization on their faces is very interesting to see.
I had one dog, a rat terrier, that would act kind of like this in front of the mirror. She sure seemed to know what she was looking at. She’d put her paw up to her face and seemingly examine herself. I’ve had many other dogs that just didn’t care but she was different.
From what I remember there's already a research about that. Sadly, the one I had watched got interrupted by eel when the octo tried to investigate what's the back of the mirror...which the researcher said that its behaviour changed (with the octo land on the ground and spray its ink while its skin color turns pale....then it attacked the big eel)....but perhaps youtube has videos of that similar research.
I'm from Bangladesh, and the magpie robin is our national bird. It's known as দোয়েল here (pronounced "though-el"). I remember reading that it can pass this test in a 5th grade science textbook. Always found that pretty incredible.
To your list of self-aware an animals should be added African greys. In the vid 'Petra’s self aware mirror test “just Petra. Petra wants a peanut” ', the parrot, Petra, looks at the image, says "Hello," soon begins moving in novel ways, and then, fairly clearly, loses interest, and says "Just Petra." While it is not formally the mark test, that's quicker than the elephants, and shows not only use of words, but understanding of the meanings of the words well enough to convey self-awareness.
I think this is the specific to animals that have been tested conclusively. I'm sure they have tested cats and they have failed, however, I had a cat who would sit by the mirror, pose, and admire herself. That means that some species may be aware of their own reflection but not behave in lab conditions necessarily in a way that can consistently be scientifically tested.
@@ejtattersall156 I think we also have to acknowledge that members of these species display intelligence and self-awareness on a spectrum. Some cats are smart enough to get it, but not all cats seemingly can. A lot of species are probably right on the edge where some of the smarter ones can figure it out, but on average they do not display a capability to pass the mirror test. I wonder what the scientific consensus is on these edge cases? Is it enough for just ONE member of a species to pass the mirror test? Or does it need to be some percentage?
0:52 That reminds me of my old dog (Beagle mix) from early childhood. We had a couch facing a mirror on the wall 10ft away and and started wailing and making hilarious noises. He always looked at me or the rest of my family when we started laughing and he had such a confused look on his face while we tried to comfort him and make him more comfortable seeing his reflection by trying to show him we know what he sees and it’s not a threat to him. Luckily I think he understood or realised it wasn’t something to worry about. I don’t know what goes through the minds of dogs in these situations or if they have to ability to think about what just happened, but it definitely was something that will live with me for my entire life, I sure do miss him. He was a very sweet and gentle dogo and always waited for me at the door to comfort me from the misery and loneliness of being in school. Now I’m starting to tear up
It also hold a tremendous amount of filth of such deprivations that the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse would go "aw fuckin hell mate". RU-vid can be a dark and unforgiving place. but every once in a while, gems like this pops up and it is a truly delightful experience.
We call them teeth in our human forms. So I suppose our lateral incisors could be the closest to tusks. Further from that, a large hard thing protruding from the body could emboss a similarity. Maybe he has a cigar or something"else" in his mouth.
Next test: Place a self-aware animal in front of a computer-screen hooked up to one of those VTuber setups and see how they react when their actions are mirrored by an animé girl.
I've seen something similar, there are videos of cats and dogs freaking out when looking at their owners on computer screens with zoom filters with their owners' heads replaced by a cat's head, they look at the computer screen and back at the real person and back at the computer screen and back at the person in horror at the discrepancy.
I sat my dog down in front of a mirror, she never had the reaction of it being another dog. but when I told her to sit and stare at the mirror, secretly took a toy and held it a foot behind and above her head. then she looked at the toy in the mirror, I told her to get it and without batting an eye she immediately turned around and grabbed the toy as if she knew exactly where the toy was.
That's a cool exercise, but I wonder if she smelled the toy or heard you holding it. From what I understand, a dog's sight is very poor but hearing and scent take over. Then again, you say she looked at it in the reflection.
@@uweinhamburg never said she doesnt understand the idea of self, just that she is able to include mirror images in her understanding of her spacial awareness. What it seems like is she knew how to judge how far behind her head the toy was.
@@FionavanDahl while yea she could have smelled or heard it, she does seem to have the ability to distinguish where things are via sight, from my understanding their sight may not be as strong as a humans but they can still spot things. For instance my dog can spot and visually track a rabbit wandering around in grass and brush from 40 ft away.
@@FionavanDahl - A dog's eyesight isn't bad at all, and there are both "sight hounds" as well as "scent hounds". Meaning that certain breeds rely on their noses, while others use their eyes.
David Brin wrote "The Uplift Saga" a set of books about a fictional universe where sentient beings have learned how to help other beings / animals become sentient. Very inspiring.
@@brianisme6498 I wonder if this is because of dogs use of scent as a primary source of information about their surroundings. They might notice visual stimulation, but immediately recognize it as an illusion. Really makes you wonder about our own sensory systems and their effects on our philosophical comprehension of what information is a viable source, huh? Take dolphins and birds. Using sonar and magnetism for situating themselves within a three dimensional space must allow them some pretty incredible access to knowledge we cannot inherently understand, right?
@@ayde92829 that’s true. It’s possible that we’ll never be able to comprehend other animals senses. We can’t echolocate, we can’t sense electrical impulses, we can’t feel the magnetic pole. How would that feel. What does it feel like to be able to every electrical impulse in a fishes neurones? What does it feel like to feel the force of Earth’s magnetic pole?
And that my children is why we invent shit to allow us to see, feel and understand these indirectly! PS: BTW our eyes and brain combined is good enoghe to act as echolocate in distances that are useful to us as humans. In fact in many cases it is more useful than echolocation.
they are very smart, and dangerous, like very other animal in this planet, even humans; but those wild animals are more unpredictable than humans because we can't communicate effectively with them
Damn, that self mark really had me going for a while, but I find it still hard to process it happening on an animal: He is not going for "that other elephant has something in his forehead and I am going to wipe that mark on him", he actually grasps that mark is on its own forehead. Damn!
i had a parrot for more than 40 years and he was aware too about watching himself in a mirror. he could even look at me and comunicate with me throught the reflection, and was completeley aware that it was a reflection.
love the “and a bird called a magpie” part. like some bird during evolution was just like “i crave sentience. universe, give me consciousness.” the brain size doesn’t make any sense compared to the other animals so i wonder why they have that ability.
"the brain size doesn’t make any sense" good observation! this is because all of the other animals on the list are mammals, and bird brains are surprisingly more efficient for their size. just one more reason to love birds ^_^
The problem with the mirror test as an indicator of capacity for self-recognition and self-awareness in a species is that it depends exclusively on visual feedback. Some species that rely more on olfactory or auditory senses (and less on vision) in their social or individual routines will perform worse in such tests, but that does not necessarily mean they do not possess the capacity for self-recognition
Now that you mention it I wonder how this applies to scent as lots of animals seem to recognise their own scent, but if this doesn't apply then that is saying that your scent isn't part of yourself in which while its not visually observable is very much you and only you just like seeing yourself in a mirror.
@@SGz_EliminatedI want to try that. Get the scent all over an object and place it somewhere the animal has never been and see how it reacts to it vs another random animal scent.
Another problem is that it relies on the animal actually giving a f***k. I mean that quite seriously. An example is cats. Some domestic cats are indifferent to their reflection yet if they see your reflection in a mirror, they'll turn to face you. This shows that they clearly understand that what they see is a reflection, they're just not interested in looking at themselves.
@@antonystringfellow5152 Perhaps the lack of curiosity suggest the lack of self awareness? Maybe there's a line between recognising reflections and being self aware
My cats are really not interested in their reflections at all but one of mine was in front of the mirror and saw me in the reflection looking up and he made eyecontact with me in the mirror and immediately turned around to get his attention from the now awake me. So even if he ignores the cat he did recognize me for being the figure in the bed, even if not consciously. He didn't mistake my reflection for being me but the indication that I was up.
My cats "use" a mirror that's hanging on a wall near to our frontdoor to observe, who is coming in. I'm sure they understand, what it is. They recognize our dog in the mirror - why shouldn't they recognize themselves 😉
Yeah they just find other things far more important than the cat in the mirror. They don't think it's a strange cat but they don't seem to care what they look like, it has no importance to them, unlike other objects in the mirror.
@@ralfreichelt2337 It's actually quite different. Understanding a reflection is actually a lot easier than understanding the concept of self. If you think about it the concept of self is rather advanced, it involves being able to imagine i.e. simulate reality in your mind as an abstract concept. It's a fascinating thought and harkens to the question of what intelligence really is (Think about it for a second, do you know). My opinion btw.
The first time our dog saw his reflection in a mirror, he barked and did a play bow. He then approached the mirror, and sniffed. Next, he looked behind the mirror. After that, he was never interested in the mirror.
@@The_Gallowglass Yeah. We had a dog that was not really bright that would freak at a mirror. I've also known smart cats that don't care like you say, while many reptiles, fish (betas) and some birds (cardinals) are known to have territorial reactions to reflections.
I've read that animals will eventually recognize their reflection isn't another animal, but they don't realize it is them either. At that point, it just doesn't matter in their world anymore and they ignore it, just as a dog may encounter a tractor for the first time in its life and to them it is just another entity that has no bearing on their existence.
Absolutely that is the point they don't care of their reflection otherwise all national geographic videos will show animals fearing of their image when drinking water, obviously we don't see that, but here so called scientists making theories and naming 8 species which can identify themselves, did they forgot about parrots.
I did that test on my cats. Yep...very self aware. I put eyeshadow on my female cat. And she didn't even know till she went to her mirror. Then she looked and did a doubletake and sat & washed off the eyeshadow (don't worry it was children's play make up) but I created a monster she decided that it was okay to wear purple (her fav color they aren't color blind) and she started getting into my make up and putting it all on her face. She only stopped when I put purple eye shadow on her. You couldn't even tell it was purple but where her white was. But she knew
and here I thought my cat not freaking out about his own reflection meant he was aware it was himself and just didn't care. He'll sit and watch other cats on the tv, but never has any interest in his own reflection.
cats definitely don't think it's another cat in the mirror. that's obvious. they would never ignore a strange cat. they know it's them, they just don't care
I personally find it the most likely that cats recognize that they're not actually seeing another cat after a while, but don't _necessarily_ put together that it's their own mirror image.
@@ethanotoroculus1060 i get what you mean, but my brain is kinda giving up on me trying to wrap my head around the thought of aknowleding that the one in the mirror is not anyone else, but also failing to recognize that the one in the mirror is me.
@@ethanotoroculus1060 Some of them do. There's a video on RU-vid of a cat touching its own ears in front of a mirror as if it's just then learning what its own reflection looks like.
Self Awareness is not limited to vision, as this old mirror test suggests. It was designed in a fully anthropocentric way. Recent studies demonstrate how animals like cats and dogs are able to recognize themselves by other senses, such as smell and hearing. So if dogs, smell focused animals, designed this test like humans did, they would assume we are not self aware.
@Vanessa Xoax Infelligence...Perhaps. Though couldn''t be used as a standard intelligence test. Many animals can't even see well enough to distinguish reflections. And when you said many animals can distinguish themselves from others by smell cause of genetics, that's exactly the same as humans, but in our case we are mainly visual animals; followed by hearing, then very little smell, compared to smell oriented animals such as dogs.
I wonder about animals like horses, who certainly seem self aware when faced with mirrors and such, and will tell people where they'd like to b scratched, if they'd like their blankets on (if they're cold), but they would have no way of reaching parts of their bodies like the elephant with trunks, or chimps with hands can.
Our horses love mirrors but I’m sure they don’t realize it’s them. They will stand next to a mirror quietly for long periods, but it appears it’s to feel safe as if it’s another herd member.
@@harrystyles705 They travel at the same speed btw This is because cold is the absence of heat. So as heat spreads, cold diminishes Thus rate of Cold spreading = the rate of heat diminishing.
I love how happy the elephant was, when he was looking in its own mouth🐘 They are multible tons heavy, but they looked like children to me at that moment
@@angelabaird7135 Thankfully the reported cases are getting less and less. A lot of tusks nowadays are getting coloured with harmless dye, so they'll be worthless to the poachers.
@@Max-kh1cf THAT IS THE BEST NEWS I HEARD ALLL DAY!!! Thank Heaven!!! Let these and ALL majestic creatures keep their beautiful innate Beauty, Health and Love for themselves and those they love! Stop trying to own and monetize somehting that doesn’t belong to them! How totally smart to dye them! Yayyyy, now those males can go down to a water reflection and enjoy their swagaliscious tusks all day long! 🐘
My cat would actually look at me through the mirror and watch my movements, and when I would approach her tail from behind, which she wouldn't normally see if not looking through the mirror, she'd turn her head away from the mirror and to my hand to grab it. This shows she understands somehow that what she sees in the mirror is herself and my hand sneaking behind her.
@@Thelozer8 that's what i am saying xD they are talking about species which most likely tend to have the ability It always varies - same exact thing with humans! :)
Some cats and dogs are smart enough to recognize themselves. Here is a video about a cat discovering that is has EARS: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-akE2Sgg8hI8.html
Right from the off I can tell you I know that at least some cats can recognise themselves. My old cat Denzil once came in with something matted in his fur, he went straight past me and up to the bedroom and I say him looking in the mirror to inspect the spot it was matted in, and swiping at himself in that area clearly demonstrating he was using the mirror to work out where the substance was and trying to get it. More than 8 species can recognise themselves for sure.
I believe it. We really underestimate animals. I think my cat recognizes himself in the mirror too, he just doesn't care and seems unbothered by his reflection.
I've seen videos of people holding their cats in front of them, and using a cat filter in their phone's camera to replace their own face with a cat's. Not all, but many of the cats would clearly change their expression once they randomly locked eyes with the filter-cat in the screen, and turn towards their owner with urgency, sometimes even attacking them.
My labrador when we are in front of the mirror realises i am going for his head with my hand when he sees it in the mirror and turns his head to look at the hand going towards him. Not sure if that makes him qualify, but i sure find it funny and was suprised by it ^^
As a cognitive psych PhD, calling this a test of "consciousness" is some first class, grade A, 100% pure horse shit. They literally just made up that this is the important test, and everyone's like "huh okay sure if you say so". That's it.
My cat not only recognised herself she looked at me through the mirror. If she was already in front of it and let's say that i coughed or did something. It's always unbelievable to me.
@@arno_nuehm_1 By the time they recognize themselves, they've gone through the stages, and so they won't have to repeat them. I have had more than one cat who recognizes themselves in the mirror.
Human beings are conscious. They can see themselves in the mirror and see colours, while an animal cannot. Only few animals can see..like Cow, some monkey,dolphin, elephant etc. Consciousness is the intelligence, the organising principle behind the arising of form. The quantum field or pure consciousness is influenced by intention and desire. All atoms in the entire universe are capable of mind reading and communicating with other atoms. There is a consciousness in every molecule of matter. As per quantum physics things do not exist in its physical form, unless they are observed by a conscious observer. In every experiment when an observer expected energy to behave as a particle, it did so. When he thought it would probably be wave-like, it was. And when observers believed it might start out as one form and end up as another, it did so. This means ,nothing actually exists in its physical form until observed by someone, was adopted by the group as one of the concepts. You created them by your expectations and your thoughts of what should be. In every situation in your life, including the wealth or lack of it you choose to attract to you. Thanks to the theory of ERP Quantum Entanglement, originally asserted by Albert Einstein and two fellow scientists , Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, we now have proof that what Vedanta had been saying for 9000 years is true.We are all connected. We are all One, sharing a consciousness with the entire universe, perhaps even many universes.
magpies are in the corvid family, meaning they're related to crows, ravens, and jays. corvids are usually extremely intelligent, and have been documented solving puzzles, recognizing faces, and using tools :) birds are smarter than a lot of folks give them credit for!
my bank has an entire side wall mirrored in the entrance way . on my 1st visit , i spoke to the vaguely familiar looking , though somewhat older appearing man who was entering the door beside me . one day , i hope to be as intelligent as an elephant .
When you look in the mirror, it’s your fathers face, and the thin grin and the thin grin and the thin grin, Santa Claus modified snow peas on the sunroofs every day in the morning when you get up and you crawl out of bed - Kottke
Interesting they did not show them looking behind the mirror to make sure there was not another elephant there. They've probably seen themselves reflected in water
i currently have a lot of access to elephants as my friend has a sanctuary and in truth, anybody who lives with elephants knows already that they have a sense of self. But this experiment was a very important experiment with all of the annals involved who turned out to have a sense of self. Because it has changed the human perspective that we are so different from the other animals.it’s also possible that despite elephants not having advanced technology or speech in the way we have, it might be that they are even more intelligent than us. Actually, the fact that they are not destroying the environment like us and know how to live in harmony, with nature also proves the fact that they are more intelligent than us.
I had a cat that would act weird in front of a mirror. She acted aggressive, but different than if she saw a real cat. She seemed to enjoy how the image would excite her fighting instinct, but she also knew it wasn’t a real threat. She would puff up and move sideways, but she didn’t totally freak out. She would set her posture and see the changes in the mirror and then make adjustments. I understand I might be anthropomorphizing her behavior, but she did seem to understand that she was seeing herself. She’d turn around and look at me totally calm then go back to playing in front of the mirror. It’s not the same as the example with elephants, but she did seem to understand that it wasn’t a different cat in the reflection, and she seemed to understand that her actions were the same as those in the mirror. It’s like she would use the mirror to adjust herself to be more terrifying.
