Clever Hans

“But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts?’” [Matthew 9:4]

In Germany around 1904, Wilhelm von Osten owned an extremely bright horse he named Clever Hans. He earned his name because, von Osten claimed, his horse could solve complex arithmetic problems, tapping out the answer with his hoof. Observers asserted that Hans could even read the instructions to a mathematics problem written on a chalkboard and then tap out the correct answer.

Hans never seemed to give the wrong answer. It appeared that the horse had the mathematical ability of a calculus professor. Skeptical researchers tested Hans, asking strangers to present the math problems. Nothing made a difference. Hans was even able to answer questions posed in foreign languages, questions whispered to him, even questions not asked at all but merely thought. Hans still came up with the correct answer. For a brief moment in history, Clever Hans had the German scientific community chasing its tail trying to explain the phenomenon. Many believed they had found a horse that was at least as intelligent as a human and possibly even brighter.

But along came a skeptical psychologist, Dr. Oskar Pfungst, who refused to believe the obvious. Through a series of tests, Dr. Pfungst proved that although Hans was able to provide correct answers, he was not solving the problems himself. The horse was exceptionally clever about observing people. Hans was carefully watching the person presenting him with a problem, slowly tapping his hoof until he noticed a slight flicker of behavior that told him it was time to stop tapping. His perception was so keen that he noticed slight reactions that humans could not see. He was so gifted that he could recognize the slightest change in the facial expression or body language of everyone he observed. Hans was better at reading the behavior of people than people are at reading the behavior of horses.

Some have wondered, “Do angels know what we are thinking by reading our minds or are they simply observing our body language?” The Bible teaches that only God can read our minds. “The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile” (Psalm 94:11). Perhaps angels can observe our body language better than human beings, but only God can see deeply into our inner thoughts. That’s why even when we pray silently, the Lord can hear us.