Octopus intelligence how to#
Octopus intelligence movie#

Roger Hanlon, Marine Biological Laboratory.

'The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness' by Sy Montgomery (Atria Books), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon.

Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass.

That takes a big brain.'Ī big brain in a unique and mysterious creature that scientists are only beginning to understand. But he says they are stunningly creative.

And they're calculating all along about what they're going to do next.'Īs a scientist, Hanlon is skeptical about attributing human-like emotions to the octopus, or comparing their level of intelligence to ours. 'They're taking into account the for camouflage, but also an approaching threat. This is not a reflex this is a decision-making process,' Hanlon said.

Octopus intelligence how to#

'It doesn't just happen instinctively they actually think and decide how to camouflage themselves?' Reid asked. 'I would argue that dynamic camouflage is a form of intelligence,' said Roger Hanlon, senior scientist and a top octopus researcher at the Marine Biological Laboratory, who recently gave a TED Talk on octopus intelligence that went viral:

Now you see him, now you don't: An octopus camouflages itself in the blink of an eye. The octopus changes its shape, colors, patterns, even the texture of its skin, to look like seaweed, and does it in the blink of an eye. Of all the octopus' oddities, perhaps the most extraordinary is its talent for disguise. Next stop: the beach for another octopus delicacy – crabs.īack at the lab, the day was about to get a lot better for a small California two-spot octopus – and a lot worse for one of those crabs. He's responsible for the care and feeding of the lab's octopuses, and stocks up on their favorite food: tiny grass shrimp. To learn more, Reid headed down to Cape Cod where he met Bret Grasse of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. 'That's gotta be difficult that they live such short lives,' said Reid. It turns out that calling an octopus curious is an understatement. Reid went behind the scenes to see for himself, with the help of senior aquarium biologist Bill Murphy. 'When I met an octopus for the first time, I was so struck by the fact that she was just as curious about me as I was about her,' Montgomery said. 'I believe if I've got a soul, this octopus has a soul,' she replied.Īnd that, she claims, is not the only thing they have in common with humans. Reid asked, 'Do you believe the octopus has a soul?' Montgomery spent countless hours studying these other-worldly beings while writing her book, 'The Soul of an Octopus.' And the grace? I mean, who has grace like this?' Their mouths are in their armpits they have three hearts they have blue blood. Montgomery says it's unfair to demonize them: 'You would really have to go to outer space to come up with someone more different from us than this.

Octopus intelligence movie#

Yes, Hollywood octopuses have torn down the Golden Gate Bridge, destroyed ships, and feasted on movie stars.