-cdcdsc

Dear cdcdsc,

The mirror test, for those of you who are not omniscient like I am, was a test of self-awareness first developed in 1970 by Gordon Gallup Jr. It’s almost as simple as it sounds: basically the test determined which animals, of those tested, could recognize their own reflection in a mirror, rather than thinking the relection was another member of the same species.

The animals that passed included the following: the great apes (chimps, orangutans, gorillas), dolphins, elephants, rats, octopuses, rhesus monkeys, and humans.

There is one notable exception. George W. Bush, though by all appearances human, actually failed the mirror test. Upon seeing his reflection, he promptly designated it an enemy combatant and declared war on it.

I hope I’ve answered your question.

JC