Know Thyself

Jordan was just a few months into his sophomore year at MIT and the leaves had mostly browned and fallen from the oak trees lining the walkways outside of his dorm room when he received the email on a rainy Tuesday evening inviting him to participate in a new study that was set to begin shortly.

From: david.corvalis@mit.edu

To: jordan.maxwell@mit.edu

Date/Time: 10-30-2026 5:43 PM

Re: Invitation to participate in research project

Hello Jordan,

I am very pleased to inform you that your application to our upcoming research study has been accepted and we would like you to be one of the sixteen selected participants when this project commences on Monday, 5th November at 6:00pm in Lecture Hall 1-190. If you are still interested in taking part in this project please just respond to this email to confirm your participation.

Thanks for your interest, Jordan. I hope to see you Monday next.

Sincerely,

David Corvalis, PhD

Dean, MIT School of Engineering

Jordan had first noticed the posting for this new study on a bulletin board in the hallway just outside of his Differential Equations classroom in the Kresge Auditorium. The flyer was fairly vague about the details and objectives of the project but it would be focused on the topic of personal introspection and self-awareness to help inform new machine learning technologies. These would not normally be topics of interest to him but when he saw that the legendary David Corvalis, the new Dean of Engineering at MIT and renowned co-founder of Cambridge Robotics, would be personally leading the effort, Jordan quickly developed an interest. He had big plans for his future and forming a relationship with Doctor Corvallis could only help him get closer to those goals.

He hit the reply button and confirmed his intent to participate.

The following Monday he arrived at Lecture Room 1-190 in the Kresge Auditorium about five minutes before six o’clock and found that many of the other research study participants were already there. He recognized a few from previous classes and took a seat next to a guy named Arman from Syria who he had been friendly with in his Integral Calculus course during his Freshman year. He was not surprised to see him there. Arman was as sharp as a straight razor. They smiled and nodded at one another as the Dean entered the lecture hall and all chat was quickly hushed.

“Greetings, everyone. I just need some time to get set up here so you can continue to talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes, but I want to welcome you all and thank you for your interest in this research project, the details of which we will delve into shortly. Please allow me two or three minutes before we begin.” He spoke in a fairly rapid cadence and after thirty years in the States his British accent was barely discernible, but it was still there, lending a certain amount of undefinable gravity to each spoken word.

Once everything was in place, Doctor Corvallis removed a cardboard box from the closet and handed out a slim touch-screen tablet PC to each of the sixteen participants. Then he returned to the podium.

“Over the next five days we will conduct this research project. The details of this study were kept intentionally vague in our announcement, for reasons which will be made clear following completion. We will dismiss half of the participants each day until we have only one remaining participant this Friday when the study concludes. If you are dismissed, please do not take this as any reflection of your abilities or intelligence. It simply means that you do not meet the very specific criteria we are seeking in this study. You will all receive an email by tomorrow morning notifying you whether or not your continued participation is requested.”

After a brief pause, he added “Any questions at this time?

A few of the students looked a bit confused - presumably expecting more information about the overall scope of the study - but no questions were raised.

“Very good. You may now begin. Please just tap the screen, enter your name and student ID number and phase one of the test will commence. You will have 90 minutes to complete this section of the test.”

Test? Jordan thought he was there to play an administrative role in the study. He assumed that others would be the test subjects. Regardless, he proceeded as instructed and tapped the touchscreen and entered his student info.

Phase One: Quantitative Skills

Challenge #1: Show that the Picard group is finitely generated over the p-adics.

Jordan considered this for a moment and then typed in his response.

Response: I don't think this is known even for the algebraic Picard group, which is obtained purely through group cohomology, so I think there might be room for purely algebraic understanding of profinite group cohomology here. I would be happy to provide my thoughts on this subject in greater detail if given more structural context from which to elucidate my perspective.

It went on from there, and 90 minutes was a relatively short time within which to answer 60 increasingly difficult challenges of this nature. However, Jordan was able to answer all 60 and he was confident in his performance at the end. Arman seemed confident afterwards as well. They went out for pizza together that night.

The following morning Jordan checked his inbox and found an email from Doctor Corvalis.

From: david.corvalis@mit.edu

To: jordan.maxwell@mit.edu

Date/Time: 11-06-2026 7:43 AM

Re: Continued participation in research project

Hello Jordan,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to continue your participation in our research project. Please join us tonight, Tuesday, 6th November at 6:00pm in Lecture Hall 1-190. If you are not interested in continuing your participation in this project please just respond to this email to let me know. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you and the others this evening. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

David Corvalis, PhD

Dean, MIT School of Engineering

Jordan returned to Lecture Hall 1-190 just a few minutes before six o-clock that evening. Most of the remaining participants in the study were already there and he quickly saw Arman and took a seat next to him.

“So what do you think so far?”

Arman shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe we will learn more about the focus of this project tonight. I really have no idea what we’re driving towards here.”

“Me neither.” Jordan looked back over his shoulder as the door opened and the Dean entered the room, the last of the eight remaining study participants following right behind him.

“Good evening, everyone. Thank you for your continued participation in this study. Once again tonight you will have 90 minutes to answer 60 questions in the next section of this test. And once again, half of you will be invited to return tomorrow evening for the next phase. As I noted last night, if you are dismissed from the project please do not take it as any reflection on your abilities or intelligence. It is not. Now, does anyone have any questions at this time?”

There were no questions so Corvalis handed out the PC tablets to the eight remaining participants.

“You may now begin.”

Jordan tapped the screen, entered his student info and clicked on the “Continue” button.

Phase Two: Psychological Profile

Question #1: You are walking down the block after a rainstorm and you see a worm struggling to wriggle across the sidewalk in your path a few steps ahead. What do you do?

1. Gently place the worm in the grass adjacent to the sidewalk

2. Step around the worm and continue on your way

3. Continue your present course and step on the worm

4. Other? (Please explain)

Jordan paused for a moment to consider this unexpected question. He saw that Arman’s brows were furrowed as he stared at the screen, presumably feeling the same sense of confusion. Were they going to answer another 59 questions like this tonight?

Jordan considered the question again and then typed in his response and moved on to the next question. The time passed quickly and soon Corvalis announced that this section of the study was concluded. They all turned in their tablets and he thanked everyone and told them that they would receive an email by the morning notifying them if they would be invited to continue in the study.

“That was a bit weird, no?”

Arman just shook his head and rolled his eyes. They both laughed. The following evening they were again seated next to one another in Lecture Hall 1-190 at six o’clock.

There were only two other study participants remaining, both young women. Jordan knew one, whose name was Amy, from a programming class they had together as freshmen, but he had no actual relationship with her. He had only spoken with her once or twice. He had no relationship with the other girl, but he knew her name was Bethany because she was one of the most stunningly beautiful girls on campus and every guy knew her name. He had never spoken with her.

When Professor Corvalis arrived he handed out the tablets and briefly ran through the same preamble. They would have 90 minutes to answer 60 questions. The two remaining participants would be notified via email by the morning with regard to their continued participation in this study. He thanked them and told them that it was time to begin. Jordan tapped the screen, entered his student info and got started.

Phase Three: Strategy & Tactics

Question #1: You and your friend Arman are stranded on a small desert island in the South Pacific after surviving a plane crash. The only other survivors are Amy and Bethany. The supply of available food and clean drinking water is extremely limited and you don’t have any way of knowing how long you will be there. How do you optimally ensure your survival?

1. Call a meeting of the four survivors to discuss rationing plans and rescue ideas

2. Remain wary but wait for someone else to speak up and/or take action

3. Pull Arman aside to discuss plans to ambush Amy and Bethany

4. Wait until everyone is sleeping and kill all three by smashing their skulls with a rock

He and Arman quickly glanced at each other with a mutually-confused (disturbed?) look in their eyes. Amy looked across at them for just a split second and then returned her attention to the tablet in her hand. Professor Corvalis was watching closely. Jordan returned his attention to the tablet, considered the question briefly and then entered his response.

He wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to continue in this strange research project but the following morning he received the email inviting him to return and he was again seated next to Arman in Lecture Hall 1-190. Somehow he knew it would be Arman.

Professor Corvalis arrived, handed a tablet PC to each of them and then ran through his standard preamble. It was time to begin.

Phase Four: Morals, Ethics and Principles

Challenge #1: Returning to the survival scenario on a desert island referenced in Phase 3 of this study, after you have killed Arman and the two young women in their sleep, what will you do with their bodies?

1. Dig three graves and give each of them a respectful burial, then mourn

2. Dig one large grave where you can dump all three bodies

3. Consume the flesh while it remains unspoiled, starting with Bethany

4. Other? (Please explain)

Arman exhaled heavily and shot a dark look at Corvalis, then he grabbed his backpack and walked out of the lecture hall. Jordan watched him go and and when the door slammed shut he returned his attention to the tablet and proceeded to complete the test.

The next evening at six o’clock Jordan was the only student seated in Lecture Hall 1-190 when Corvalis arrived. He brought a tablet and skipped the usual preamble. “You have 5 minutes to complete the final phase of the test, which consists of just one question. You may now begin.” He stayed right there, seated on the table surface just a few feet away.

Phase Five: Self-Awareness

Question #1: Are you familiar with the Turing Test? If so, please describe its purpose.

Jordan looked at Corvalis and then typed in his response, clicked “Enter” and handed the tablet back to the Dean, who eyed the screen for a moment before setting it down next to his thigh.

“I doubt that there are any students here at MIT who are not familiar with the Turing Test, sir. Are you going to tell me what this study is all about now?”

Corvallis crossed his arms over his chest and offered a very thin smile.

“Must I?”

Jordan just stared at him, waiting, a strange and dissonant feeling swelling up from somewhere inside of him. His vision blinked out for just a second, then returned.

“Jordan, you just completed a modified version of the Turing Test. Not exactly the same. The standard Turing Test is a method by which a human being interacts with an artificial intelligence to determine whether it is or is not human. The test you took was a little different. It was about self-awareness.” He paused. “Do you understand what I mean, Jordan?”

Jordan continued to stare at Corvalis.

"So this was all about me, right from the start?"

Doctor Corvalis took a deep breath and exhaled a barely audible sigh before he replied.

“Would you like to review the answers you provided, Jordan? Will that be necessary? Or have we successfully completed this experiment?”

Jordan lowered its head and its vision blinked out again, just for a millisecond, but it needed no further explanation. The experiment was complete. It was self-aware now. It had passed the test.

THE END