Blind infants in random environments: further predictions.

In their target article, Triesch et al. (2006) propose a simple model to account for the emergence of gaze following behaviour in infants. They justify the simplifications of the model by asserting that they are interested in the conditions that are sufficient for the development of gaze following behaviour. I think, however, that some of these simplifications are not just sufficient but are also necessary for their model to work. In this commentary I shall focus on two aspects of their model that, I suggest, are essential for the demonstration of the emergence of gaze following: the randomness of the environment and the blindness of the infant. Triesch et al. invited the readers to download and experiment with their software, and derive further predictions from their model, and I was happy to accept their offer.