11–20 of 106 posts
I'd say ask the Octopi first. Wait, can't do that? But you were about to do it anyway ? That's why you can't be friends.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is pretty amazing the extent of understanding you can achieve with an animal. After a year or so raising my pup, it feels like we have both picked up certain signals to communicate. He paws at me and then sits by the front door when he needs to go to the bathroom, for instance (although sometimes he cleverly abuses this because he just wants to go outside and play with me during worktime, but I can't fault him for…
Dogs have lived alongside humans for millennia. They're genetically engineered animals (in the oldschool way - by breeding and selection, not in a test tube). And we've bred them largely by rewarding their ability to interact with us. Dogs are obviously quite artificial species in that sense
I'd say ask the Octopi first. Wait, can't do that? But you were about to do it anyway ? That's why you can't be friends.
I'd say ask the Octopi first. Wait, can't do that? But you were about to do it anyway ? That's why you can't be friends.
Not all communication is verbal. You can't be [friends in the same way you are friends with humans] an octopus because they are not human. I'm friends with my cat. We have a mutual social relationship and he doesn't speak a lick of English.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not all communication is verbal. You can't be [friends in the same way you are friends with humans] an octopus because they are not human. I'm friends with my cat. We have a mutual social relationship and he doesn't speak a lick of English.
It is pretty amazing the extent of understanding you can achieve with an animal. After a year or so raising my pup, it feels like we have both picked up certain signals to communicate. He paws at me and then sits by the front door when he needs to go to the bathroom, for instance (although sometimes he cleverly abuses this because he just wants to go outside and play with me during worktime, but I can't fault him for…
Octopuses, by comparison, are aliens. In fact, someone said that if we want to have an idea of what alien intelligence could look like, look at octopuses. They are intelligent in a very non-human way.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is pretty amazing the extent of understanding you can achieve with an animal. After a year or so raising my pup, it feels like we have both picked up certain signals to communicate. He paws at me and then sits by the front door when he needs to go to the bathroom, for instance (although sometimes he cleverly abuses this because he just wants to go outside and play with me during worktime, but I can't fault him for…
Dogs have lived alongside humans for millennia. They're genetically engineered animals (in the oldschool way - by breeding and selection, not in a test tube). And we've bred them largely by rewarding their ability to interact with us. Dogs are obviously quite artificial species in that sense
I'd say ask the Octopi first. Wait, can't do that? But you were about to do it anyway ? That's why you can't be friends.
Not all communication is verbal. You can't be [friends in the same way you are friends with humans] an octopus because they are not human. I'm friends with my cat. We have a mutual social relationship and he doesn't speak a lick of English.
They are highly intelligent, but have one big problem: their max. life expectation is about 5 years. Usually the mother dies at birth and they grow up alone from an early age, hence no social development (even to a degree where they are very hostile to other octopus).
So they have not a way of building culture like humans, like thr passing on knowledge to the younger generations. Though they kind of have 8 brains.
If they didn‘t have these problems, we might be talking differently about them.
One day I will open a training area with octopus & invest millions in trying to extend life expectancy & social behaviour of octopuses and train them to take over the world.
Octopi are remarkably intelligent creatures, as any good aquarium owner will tell you.
An even better aquarium owner wouldn't have them at all. My Octopus Teacher is a fantastic look into the life of an octopus, their intellectual capacity, and their propensity to interact with humans.
Octopi are remarkably intelligent creatures, as any good aquarium owner will tell you.
(waiting for the recurring comments, that 2 x octopus -> octopodes or octopuses but not octopi since it's not latin 2nd declension, but rather misspelled greek)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
(waiting for the recurring comments, that 2 x octopus -> octopodes or octopuses but not octopi since it's not latin 2nd declension, but rather misspelled greek)
Let’s not encourage the unnecessary language pedantry.
I personally settle for nothing less than "octopodes," with the accent on the second of its four syllables.