2024年4月6日发(作者：镇语心)
People are funny. We’re constantly trying to understand and interpret
the world around us. I live in a house with two black cats, and let me tell
you, every time I see a black, bunched up sweater out of the corner of my
eye, I think it’s a cat. It’s not just the things we see.
人是非常有趣的。我们一直在试图理解和解释我们周围的世界。我家里有两
只黑猫，我可以告诉你，每次我眼角瞥见一件团成一团的黑色毛衣，都会以为那
是一只猫。不只是我们看到的东西。
Sometimes we attribute more intelligence than might actually be
there. Maybe you’ve seen the dogs on TikTok. They have these little
buttons that say things like “walk” or “treat.” They can push them to
communicate some things with their owners, and their owners think they
use them to communicate some pretty impressive things.
我们有时以为一些东西有超常的智慧，但实际上未必有。比如，你也许在
TikTok 上看到过狗狗的视频。上面有一些小按钮，写着“要遛遛”或“要吃的”。
这些狗狗能用这些按钮和它们的主人交流，它们的主人也以为用这些按钮就能让
狗狗做一些令人惊奇的事情。
But do the dogs know what they’re saying? Or perhaps you’ve heard
the story of Clever Hans the horse, and he could do math. And not just like,
simple math problems, really complicated ones, like, if the eighth day of
the month falls on a Tuesday, what’s the date of the following Friday? It’s
like, pretty impressive for a horse.
但狗狗知道它们在说什么吗？或许你听过那匹叫作“聪明的汉斯”的马的故事，
这匹马居然能做数学题。不仅仅是简单的数学计算，还有非常复杂的问题，比如，
如果某个月的第八天是星期二，那么下个星期五是哪一天？对于一匹马来说，这
真是令人惊叹。
Unfortunately, Hans wasn’t doing math, but what he was doing was
equally impressive. Hans had learned to watch the people in the room to
tell when he should tap his hoof. So he communicated his answers by
tapping his hoof. It turns out that if you know the answer to “if the eighth
day of the month falls on a Tuesday, what’s the date of the following
Friday,” you will subconsciously change your posture once the horse has
given the correct 18 taps.
不幸的是，汉斯并不是在做数学题，但它学会的事情也很了不起。汉斯学会
了观察房间里的人，来判断它该在什么时候敲蹄子。它通过敲蹄子来“说出”它的
答案。真实的情况是，如果你知道答案，就是知道“如果某个月的第八天是星期二，
那么下个星期五是哪一天”，你会在汉斯正确敲打18下的时候下意识改变你的姿
势。
2024年4月6日发(作者：镇语心)
People are funny. We’re constantly trying to understand and interpret
the world around us. I live in a house with two black cats, and let me tell
you, every time I see a black, bunched up sweater out of the corner of my
eye, I think it’s a cat. It’s not just the things we see.
人是非常有趣的。我们一直在试图理解和解释我们周围的世界。我家里有两
只黑猫，我可以告诉你，每次我眼角瞥见一件团成一团的黑色毛衣，都会以为那
是一只猫。不只是我们看到的东西。
Sometimes we attribute more intelligence than might actually be
there. Maybe you’ve seen the dogs on TikTok. They have these little
buttons that say things like “walk” or “treat.” They can push them to
communicate some things with their owners, and their owners think they
use them to communicate some pretty impressive things.
我们有时以为一些东西有超常的智慧，但实际上未必有。比如，你也许在
TikTok 上看到过狗狗的视频。上面有一些小按钮，写着“要遛遛”或“要吃的”。
这些狗狗能用这些按钮和它们的主人交流，它们的主人也以为用这些按钮就能让
狗狗做一些令人惊奇的事情。
But do the dogs know what they’re saying? Or perhaps you’ve heard
the story of Clever Hans the horse, and he could do math. And not just like,
simple math problems, really complicated ones, like, if the eighth day of
the month falls on a Tuesday, what’s the date of the following Friday? It’s
like, pretty impressive for a horse.
但狗狗知道它们在说什么吗？或许你听过那匹叫作“聪明的汉斯”的马的故事，
这匹马居然能做数学题。不仅仅是简单的数学计算，还有非常复杂的问题，比如，
如果某个月的第八天是星期二，那么下个星期五是哪一天？对于一匹马来说，这
真是令人惊叹。
Unfortunately, Hans wasn’t doing math, but what he was doing was
equally impressive. Hans had learned to watch the people in the room to
tell when he should tap his hoof. So he communicated his answers by
tapping his hoof. It turns out that if you know the answer to “if the eighth
day of the month falls on a Tuesday, what’s the date of the following
Friday,” you will subconsciously change your posture once the horse has
given the correct 18 taps.
不幸的是，汉斯并不是在做数学题，但它学会的事情也很了不起。汉斯学会
了观察房间里的人，来判断它该在什么时候敲蹄子。它通过敲蹄子来“说出”它的
答案。真实的情况是，如果你知道答案，就是知道“如果某个月的第八天是星期二，
那么下个星期五是哪一天”，你会在汉斯正确敲打18下的时候下意识改变你的姿
势。