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Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

nbcnews.com

41–50 of 277 posts

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#42

Octopuses are much more intelligent than many give them credit for, but sadly I also love takoyaki (but then again, eating horse and whale is also culturally acceptable in Japan, one of the few countries that allow it; I've tried both as well, they're pretty good).

horse meat is allowed in plenty of countries, in northeast italy you can find a lot of horse (and donkey) meat dishes. It is a delicacy though, and more expensive than "regular" meat.

Also pretty common in Sicily.

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#43

Octopuses are much more intelligent than many give them credit for, but sadly I also love takoyaki (but then again, eating horse and whale is also culturally acceptable in Japan, one of the few countries that allow it; I've tried both as well, they're pretty good).

This article quotes a post-doc researcher:

"In terms of sentience, they are at a very close level or closer than we think toward us."

That's different than intelligence though, right? Or are they two sides of the same coin? Can you have a very intelligent but low sentience or stupid but high sentience animal?

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#44
post #3

Seems like they're reading a lot into why the Octopus is punching those fish that are just hanging around them.

I agree, and one thing that makes me skeptical is that for it to be effective, the fish being punched would presumably have to understand that the octopus wants it to act in a certain way - i.e., the hypothesis seems to imply that the fish has a theory of mind with respect to the octopus. Similarly, it seems to imply that the octopus has a theory of mind about the fish - it believes that the fish will understand why the octopus is punching it.

I'm not saying that this is impossible, but it is a very big claim. Furthermore, it is not clear from the video that the punching has the outcome implied by this hypothesis. It seems at least as plausible, at least from the video alone, that the octopus is just keeping the fish away from stealing an anticipated meal.

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#46
post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

I wonder why it is that "octopuses" just kind of sounds wrong?

Is it the repeated "s" at the end? But we have no problem saying "buses" or "rebuses".

Is it something to do with the plural of "fish" just being "fish"? But we have no problem making whales and dolphins plural with an -s.

Is it that "-puses" sounds slightly vulgar, like we're talking about multiple female genitalia?

I genuinely don't know. All I know is that "octopuses" just sounds wrong for some reason I can't put my finger on. And that "octopii" somehow "feels" much better, even if everything about it is logically wrong.

I'll still say "octopuses", but I know I always want to say "octopii" instead. (And spell it that way too, because "octopi" feels like it would rhyme with "canopy".)

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#47
post #16

I used to love eating octopus, but since I've learned so much about their intelligence, I have not been able to bring myself to do so, anymore. I have the luxury of choice. There are many, in this world, that do not.

A female octopus will try to eat the male octopus, so the intelligence is not at empathy or morality levels.

I was reading a fairly forgettable SF series, where one of the alien species is this giant centipede, that switches between “cooperative,” mode, and “competitive” mode.

When “cooperative,” they are your best buddy.

When “competitive,” you are fresh meat.

And you can’t tell when they switch.

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#48
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A female octopus will try to eat the male octopus, so the intelligence is not at empathy or morality levels.

To be fair, it's not at the empathy or morality levels of humans that a lot of people consider "smart", either. As for the female octopus trying to eat the male octopus, did I ever tell ya the one about my ex wife? Huh? Huh? crickets

Excellent point, but a truly intelligent octopus species would set up a parliament and make laws that the male octopus must provide 10 fish per week to the female after mating instead of cannibalism.

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#49
post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

I wonder why it is that "octopuses" just kind of sounds wrong? Is it the repeated "s" at the end? But we have no problem saying "buses" or "rebuses". Is it something to do with the plural of "fish" just being "fish"? But we have no problem making whales and dolphins plural with an -s. Is it that "-puses" sounds slightly vulgar, like we're talking about multiple female genitalia? I genuinely don't know. All I know is…

> I wonder why it is that "octopuses" just kind of sounds wrong?

Because of the english words with taboo meanings that coincidentally share the phonetic structure p-s-

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