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The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

nytimes.com

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Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#131

Post by wavefunction »

kevinmchugh wrote: post #33
Shivetya wrote: post #19

Interesting they say they are solo in this article yet we had articles posted here about nurseries found where hundreds were together https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18335536

There's been a couple reports of this happening (I think I've heard of exactly 2) and only in the last few years. They live very solitary lives, even if they're occasionally alone together.

A couple of reports in the past few years and then you extrapolate that backwards given that it's statistically unlikely to be a recent development and you've got a pretty remarkable situation of communal nurseries over millions of years.

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#132

Post by mirimir »

icebraining wrote: post #93
otabdeveloper2 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's just that too much "why" is dangerous. You're totally right. Asking questions and thinking about things might lead you to dangerous places. You might even (gasp) eventually start believing in God. That would be doubleplus ungood crimethink!

Ah, but which one? You might start believing in the wrong god.

I'm a fundamentalist. To the extent that I consider the possibility of deities, it's the fundamental active/aggressive and passive/receptive principles that appeal most. Plus some casual animism, I guess. Although I've always been agnostic, experience with psychedelics has affected me. Plus, of course, all the fantasy and SF.

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#133

Post by kwxza »

erikig wrote: post #91
Nasrudith wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I think the bigger issue for gazelles is energy density period - brains are calorie hogs and it doesn't take much cunning to track down grass. Grass eating is the opposite direction in a food strategy - going for abundant but low density food instead of chasing higher density. A diverse diet is a bit of a hallmark of intelligence in itself in that they are able to use their brains to get more food to make it wor…

Speaking of Hermit Crabs, I was also blown away by their communal shell exchange process. Many hermit crabs will come together and work as a team to change shells in hierarchy. If you've never seen it, you are in for a treat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1dnocPQXDQ

That was fascinating, thank you for sharing.

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#134

Post by blacksmith_tb »

rland wrote: post #22

Octopuses are really incredible creatures. They diverged from humans in the evolutionary tree hundreds of millions of years ago. Our common ancestor would have been a very dumb animal. Their brain structure is so different: 8 semi-autonomous tentacles, with one sort of central coordinating body. What could it possibly be like to experience the world that way? They're probably the "peak" of intelligence with the most…

I was surprised to see the NYT say "males and females don’t stay together for long or care for their young" in light of the female's ultimately fatal guard duty for their eggs[1]. While I suppose that is technically "not caring for young", it certainly outdoes most other invertebrates.

Personally I am impressed that cephalopods can be as intelligent and resourceful as they are while being cold-blooded, though I suppose tropical species don't suffer much from that problem.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus#Reproduction

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#135

Post by bromuro »

Animats wrote: post #3

Octopi are interesting in that they evolved along their own path. The octopus eye has the wiring on the back, where it belongs, instead of on the front blocking some of the light, as most other animals with eyes do.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order); it labels octopodes "rare", and notes that octopi derives from the mistaken assumption that octōpūs is a second declension Latin noun, which it is not.

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/270/what-is-the-...

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#136

Post by codeisawesome »

lawrenceyan wrote: post #55
codeisawesome wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to take away from this point - but I was always curious - Anyone have a summary of how these “rote inbuilt behaviours” work Hardware-wise in living things? Is the research even far along on defining and demarcating behaviours easily based on this?

Instinctual responses are generally understood to be stored within the genetic material, though I imagine like most anything, there’s a sort of continuous distribution between instinctual and learned behaviors rather than an analog black and white distinction.

That’s truly amazing. So does this mean that .behaviour files are a common format, and that, .braingroove and .genememory are “compiled” into this format at “runtime”?

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#137

Post by pandaman »

jlawson wrote: post #127
insulanus wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could fire projectiles, like a blow gun. A poison-tipped dart could be made to work underwater.

Dart will stop within a few centimeters due to water resistance (unless it is very long and dense, like a metal harpoon, but you can't make such a thing). Poison will dissolve and drift away within moments of applying to a projectile. Nothing to make the tube out of. You don't have lungs (water respiration doesn't work this way in any creature I know of), so you can't "blow" anything.

>You don't have lungs (water respiration doesn't work this way in any creature I know of), so you can't "blow" anything.

You might have heard about mantle, an organ that distinguishes mollusks. Many of them use it to circulate water around the gills and some are so good with it that they can create a water jet and shoot it with such a force that they swim in the opposite direction.

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#138

Post by ethbro »

foundart wrote: post #23
ams6110 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, please don't. If you want a pet, adopt a dog or cat from the local shelter. At least they have been domesticated long enough that they are better off under human care. Don't keep an animal that had to be captured and removed from its natural habitat.

Yes and please don’t get a pet that will outlive you unless you are willing to make sure it is cared for after you die.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#139

Post by ethbro »

Nasrudith wrote: post #52
stjohnswarts wrote: post #12

I would like to keep one for a pet but they only live a few years. Been through that with a rat, won't do it again; even kits and pups only last 15 years or so. too soon

Turtles and tortoises can be very long lived - Harriet [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_(tortoise) ] died at 175 well outliving Darwin. They aren't the most interactive or cuddly but they have the longevity. Terrapins tend to be about 20 to 30 years though.

Also, bats!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat#Life_expectancy

Negatives, there are a few. But on the positive, amazing lifespan:size ratio!

Re: The Octopus Is Smart as Heck, But Why?

#140

Post by hyperpallium »

jlawson wrote: post #127
insulanus wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could fire projectiles, like a blow gun. A poison-tipped dart could be made to work underwater.

Dart will stop within a few centimeters due to water resistance (unless it is very long and dense, like a metal harpoon, but you can't make such a thing). Poison will dissolve and drift away within moments of applying to a projectile. Nothing to make the tube out of. You don't have lungs (water respiration doesn't work this way in any creature I know of), so you can't "blow" anything.

spearguns work
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