IF THE BIRD CAN DO IT, SO DO YOU !!!

Back in 2015, a group of researchers decided to run a rather interesting experiment. To train non-medical personnel how to detect breast cancer just by looking at the histopathology slides and mammograms.

The result? They were able to get up to 85% accuracy after less than 3 weeks of training.

Now come the interesting part – the subjects of the study. They are not doctors, not medical students, well, not even humans. They were pigeons. Yes, the city birds we see pecking crumbs. Don’t believe me? You can check it yourself.

This study proved that pattern recognition is powerful skill in the right context. It’s also a humbling reminder that seeing is not the same as understanding.