“Human eyes have three visual pigments, allowing us to see color. Octopuses have only one—which would make these masters of camouflage, commanding a glittering rainbow of colors, technically color-blind. How, then, does the octopus decide what colors to turn? New evidence suggests cephalopods might be able to see with their skin.”
Imagine that for a moment. Seeing with your skin. Octopuses represent the great mystery of the Other. They are strange, almost alien-like to behold. Yet, they have reached out to us from the depths, wanting to connect, to teach and to inspire. About 2/3s of their neurons are located in their arms, which means they can touch, taste and work on their own accord. They have a big brain and are very smart. They dream. Octopuses have 3 hearts, which pump blue blood. They can shoot ink in the water to help them escape predators, and also detach their arms, which grow back. They are not like us and yet they are. We are separated from them 500 million years on the evolutionary branch. That’s more than twice as ancient as the first dinosaurs.
“If we can connect with them as sentient beings, it is not because of a shared history, not because of kinship, but because evolution built minds twice over. They are probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.” Peter Godfrey
“Human eyes have three visual pigments, allowing us to see color. Octopuses have only one—which would make these masters of camouflage, commanding a glittering rainbow of colors, technically color-blind. How, then, does the octopus decide what colors to turn? New evidence suggests cephalopods might be able to see with their skin.”
― Sy Montgomery, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
Imagine that for a moment. Seeing with your skin. Octopuses represent the great mystery of the Other. They are strange, almost alien-like to behold. Yet, they have reached out to us from the depths, wanting to connect, to teach and to inspire. About 2/3s of their neurons are located in their arms, which means they can touch, taste and work on their own accord. They have a big brain and are very smart. They dream. Octopuses have 3 hearts, which pump blue blood. They can shoot ink in the water to help them escape predators, and also detach their arms, which grow back. They are not like us and yet they are. We are separated from them 500 million years on the evolutionary branch. That’s more than twice as ancient as the first dinosaurs.
“If we can connect with them as sentient beings, it is not because of a shared history, not because of kinship, but because evolution built minds twice over. They are probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.” Peter Godfrey