Van Osten toured with his horse, Clever Hans, because he believed that the horse could do math. At first, some people thought Van Osten was deliberately cheating the people and had trained the horse to recognize secret signals. What other explanation was eventually given for the horse's math talent? Did Van Osten accept this reasoning?

Question

Tough Guy

Social Studies

30 December, 12:00

Van Osten toured with his horse, Clever Hans, because he believed that the horse could do math. At first, some people thought Van Osten was deliberately cheating the people and had trained the horse to recognize secret signals. What other explanation was eventually given for the horse's math talent? Did Van Osten accept this reasoning?

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Answers (2)

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Salma Zimmerman · Answer 1

Answer: Another explanation is that Clever Hans was actually watching the expression of his owner; as Clever Hans got closer to the correct number, more tension showed in Van Osten's face. When the tension released, the horse knew to stop. His owner never accepted this explanation.

Carina Cameron · Answer 2

Answer: von Osten was incredibly intelligent and knew how to hide the signals he was sending the horse.