3 ms·

It seems doable, e.g. have a few neurons observe that the "other" ant's movements seem to obey our own motor neuron's commands. The consequence wouldn't be tha

• sjeohp 9y ago
  Self recognition is considered a big deal because very few animals that we know of are capable of it: most apes, some monkeys, dolphins, elephants, magpies, etc. Notice they also happen to be among the most sapient animals. In this case self-recognition == self-awareness. The ants had a stored representation of themselves in memory that didn't include a blue dot on the head. When met with their reflection they were able to deduce that: a) they were looking at themselves b) the blue dot was not a part of them and so should be removable Whether it's possible to be unconsciously self-aware is an interesting question.