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The problem with octopi is that they're solitary, by nature and instinct. The smartest human in history, with all the encouragement in the world, couldn't inve
by PhasmaFelis 7y ago
The problem with octopi is that they're solitary, by nature and instinct.
The smartest human in history, with all the encouragement in the world, couldn't invent agriculture or ironworking from scratch if they were born a hunter-gatherer. Innovation means building on the work of hundreds of generations of the best and brightest. That can't happen if you don't regularly interact with other people. Every genius octopus is starting from a blank slate.
- gorgoiler 7y agoIt sounds silly but also a lack of ability to make fire puts a dampener on things. No easily digestible cooked food. No ability to make metals. Perhaps somewhere near an underwater volcano there is a technologically advanced octopus city waiting to be found? Like Octlantis, but hotter, and with steel (“Cuttlefisheffield“?): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2017/sep/18/octlantis-the-underwater-city-built-by-octopuses https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2017/sep/1...