New Scientist 2018 sep

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LEADER

8 September 2018 | NewScientist | 3

WE LIKE to think that the human

mind is special. One sign of our

superiority is self-awareness,

which is generally seen as the

pinnacle of consciousness.

Only a select group of species has

passed the test of being able to

recognise themselves in a mirror.

Most, including elephants, apes

and dolphins, are notoriously

smart. But now a scrappy little

fish, the cleaner wrasse, has joined

their ranks (see page 14). What are

we to make of this?

Admittedly, the mirror test is

a questionable way of probing the

minds of other animals. But the

finding does fit with an emerging

idea that the ability to recognise

oneself is more related to an

animal’s lifestyle than to its brain

size. Self-awareness is likely to

occur in creatures whose survival

is dependent on reading the

minds of others. In fact, by this

way of thinking, it is nothing more

than an accidental by-product of

evolution, a simulation created

by the brain, or even just a hall

of mirrors giving the illusion of

complexity (see page 28).

The cleaner wrasse lives on

coral reefs and provides a service

by nibbling parasites off the

scales of bigger fish, a delicate

relationship that may require

insight into the minds of its

clients. Such “theory of mind”

has long been seen as another

cornerstone of human mental

superiority. The possibility that

fish possess it is not, however,

the only threat to our human

exceptionalism. It may not be

long before computers give us

a run for our money, too.

Researchers have created a set

of tests to look for theory of mind

in artificial intelligence – and

some systems are on the verge of

passing (see page 10). We probably

don’t need to worry about robots

that can recognise themselves in

mirrors. But we might want to be

more open to the idea that human

intelligence isn’t quite as special

as we like to think. Q

Like looking in a mirror

We’re not unique – lots of species can recognise themselves

There are only two weeks to go

now until New Scientist Live. The

four-day show is a unique mixture

of fascinating talks from scientists

and an amazing array of exhibits,

from a slime Olympics to a virtual

reality tour of the brain. It’s an

enormous and joyful celebration

of ideas, and we call it “the world’s

greatest science festival”

because we really think it is.

Last year, more than 30,

people came through the doors

at ExCeL in London and it was

a privilege for us to get to

know so many of you. If

you’re in striking distance

from 20 to 23 September

this year, please come

along. I’m most looking

forward to introducing

astronaut Tim Peake’s

talk on the Thursday,

but whatever day you

come, there will be

something brilliant

going on. Check out

the programme at

newscientistlive.com.

Emily Wilson

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