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The math-solving horse who fooled scientists still haunts AI research

Boing Boing
Jul 26, 2026
∙ Paid
Karl Krall / Public domain (via Wikipedia)

In early 1900s Germany, a math teacher named Wilhelm von Osten toured the country with Clever Hans, a horse who could apparently add, subtract, multiply, divide, tell time, and answer questions like “If the eighth day of the month comes on a Tuesday, what is the date of the following Friday?” by tapping his hoof…

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