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I love imagining how the fish are almost an extension of the way the octopuses think. Octopuses seem to have quite a bit of independent cognition in each of the
by primer42 2y ago
I love imagining how the fish are almost an extension of the way the octopuses think. Octopuses seem to have quite a bit of independent cognition in each of their arms, which are wrangled by the central brain. Now they're wrangling independent fish brains instead of octopus arm brains. Incredible
- mellavora 2y ago>Octopuses seem to have quite a bit of independent cognition in each of their arms, which are wrangled by the central brain. Yes, that's inherent in the design. All grey matter (optimized for local intercommunication), no white matter (optimized for sending signals between regions). Each arm has its own ganglion ("CPU") and the central unit struggles to keep up with these and keep them coordinated.
- setgree 2y agoYou might enjoy 'Children of Ruin' by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which explores this idea in depth with a civilization of genetically modified, super-intelligent octopuses. (Though I'd start with the first book in the series, 'Children of Time')
- thrance 2y agoAlso featuring geneticaly modified super-intelligent octopuses, is "Manifold: Time" by Stephen Baxter.
- zbirkenbuel 2y agoA solid series, with descriptions of thought process feeling truly alien. I'm currently enjoying "The Mountain in the Sea" by Ray Nayler for more octopus based speculative fiction
- abhgh 2y agoI would also recommend "The Mountain in the Sea"! I have mentioned this earlier on hn that I like it because it focuses on complexity of inter-species communication, even when both parties are intelligent. Interesting and somewhat unusual focus, plus loved the style of writing.
- fuzztester 2y agoDon't worry, Alt Samman & co. will soon create GAI - Genetically Advanced Intelligence, Octopus Edition, which will know how to manhandle us, 8 arms at a time.