Sunday, June 22, 2008

Cephalopods are awesome

I'm on record saying cephalopods are amazing and everything I've learnt about them since has confirmed me in this view. The fantastic Carl Zimmer asks in a just-released Slate piece: "How smart is the octopus?" The answer, in short, is 'very smart, if not necessarily in human terms'. Zimmer reports on a paper that even claims octupi are conscious (in a limited or "primary" way). If you haven't seen the TEDTalk I posted earlier, have a look and also check out the YouTube videos Zimmer links to.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 23, 2008 at 11:22 AM

    If you're not familiar with a poetic cephalopod - check out www.digitalcuttlefish.wordpress.com. :) The blogger is currently traveling, but the poetry has won pride of place in a Science Blogs anthology.

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  2. Anony MouseJune 23, 2008 at 11:55 AM

    Thanks... that's pretty cool! (It's blogspot, not wordpress, btw).

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