Look to the octopus to understand how aliens might think | Oregon Field Guide

Octopuses are incredibly smart, yet the majority of their neurons exist in their arms and suckers, and not in their brain, making them as close to alien intelligence as we can find on Earth. Imagine: What if our hands and fingers could think for themselves?
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[@falcoperegrinus82]

Imagine if aliens visited earth and instead of making contact with humans, they completely ignored us to chill with the cephalopods.

[@benrobbins3585]

😮

[@shawnlund]

And take that one step further, and imagine if they eat humans deep-fried with seafood sauce

[@naggedd]

You can't ignore humans.

[@boxman5381]

Id do the same honestly

[@boxman5381]

Yeah you can

[@Bboreal88]

“It's not about how intelligent they are, but how they are intelligent”. Now that's a brilliant quote. Congratulations on your work, Dominic.

[@Travisfairman]

You copied every other comment on here

[@davidescristofaros2241]

hasn't he said the same thing?

[@kimjong-il4918]

Thanks man

[@purplehaze2342]

How is it a brilliant quote? It's just waffle

[@ericbruunk9120]

couldnt agree more

[@ThePinkBinks]

This dude literally is the abducting alien. His prisoners study him then tell their children about the time they were abducted by an alien who could touch water but not live in it and they were kept in isolated cubes of water.

[@Igoorboy]

And no one believes him

[@lllllMlllll]

and he has a youtube channel full of low resolution videos

[@Lazy-Lizard]

Sadly, octopi aren't social and don't raise their young :(

[@observantmagic4156]

@@lllllMlllll the camera would be shaking like crazy

[@yougotthis2505]

Read the bible Aliens are falling angels 😇

[@MikeMaileFoolishBehavior]

I love that he releases them back into the wild rather than dissecting them. It makes me wonder if once returned to the wild do the octopi communicate and relay their findings to each other. Is this young man building a bridge of knowledge and communication between two species?

[@chasbodaniels1744]

Their peers might think they were crazy if they insisted that “I was abducted and kept in a tiny ocean with hard boundaries”.

[@MachineElf_Official]

It's a cool thought, but I don't think octopuses are social animals in the same way that humans are

[@eleSDSU]

@@MachineElf_Official Cuttlefish are tho, so maybe Chasbo was talking about a cuttlefish telling another cuttlefish about a cousin that was abducted

[@rustytonguepunch]

They don't have a long enough life span to really get to their true potential, I don't even think they live for 2 full years

[@josegarcia2762]

they dont actually. octopuses basically birth them out and abandons them. they also have short lifespans, if they could live as long as humans and be able to teach their young.we might not be the top predators

[@Barxxo]

What fascinates me about their intelligence is the fact they developed it completely in isolation, no one else to learn from. The mother dies when the offspring hatches. The human intelligence only can develop in a social context.

[@Barxxo]

@Shanks Fault? Please explain. Thanks

[@Barxxo]

@Shanks maybe it was misleading. I ment: without social interaction human intelligence can not develop.

[@tascapte905]

do you have any sources backing up your last statement? I highly doubt our intelligence doesn't develop out of socialisation. u evolve with your own experiences, not just social ones

[@RubelliteFae]

@Shanks Have you read the few case studies of children who grew up totally isolated from humans? Cultural transmission plays a huge role, not to mention skin contact and other forms of attention.

[@ThroughDarknessComesLight]

@@RubelliteFae Tesla was very isolated as kid and basically created the modern world

[@jetlag1488]

"It's not about how intelligent they are, it's about how they are intelligent." Really well put. I've always known this, but actually hearing it said out loud really makes me think and appreciate the mind.

[@777domingo8]

can u explain that quote for me😅, they rlly sound the same thing

[@777domingo8]

i have smal brain

[@kvdrr]

@@777domingo8 Their minds are so different from ours that it's pointless to compare our IQ levels to theirs. We should study how intelligence emerges in animals, regardless of whether we personally consider them smart or not. All animals are smart in their own way. We can really compare ourselves to other mammals at best.

[@777domingo8]

@@kvdrr thank you! now i understand the quote😊

[@jetlag1488]

@@777domingo8 The first part is about the extent of their intelligence, the second part is in what ways they are intelligent.

[@dutchray8880]

I saw a film years ago in which one of B F Skinner's students was working with octopuses. Some could open a jar to get at a shrimp inside, while others could not. It was discovered by accident that if an octopus couldn't open a jar, it could learn by observing an octopus in an adjacent aquarium opening a jar. Even Skinner was surprised that octopuses can learn by having a behavior modeled for them.

[@mnkeymasta]

Watching a tentacle controlled by another octopus seems just like watching one's own tentacles

[@tocruelforyou39]

The octopus wants whatever is inside the jar and think logical by thinking that if it got inside there might be a way to get it out.

[@konkyolife]

A real biologist studying LIFE and then letting it go back HOME. Thank you for this upload!

[@Sharonmxg]

What an amazing job. I feel sure this young marine scientist has been preparing for this gig his whole life. Amazing information.

[@goodun2974]

On his science/comedy channel, Zefrank1 refers to marine biologists as "science hippies". This video supports his conclusion. Here is Zefranks' fascinating and funny video about sea stars. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mouVYX6pnLuYq5I

[@Sharonmxg]

@@goodun2974 I have loads of respect for Ze and approve of Science Hippies 100%

[@rubend9391]

@@Sharonmxg Yes 👍 Science is awesome 👌 Hippies are awesome 👌 The two combined....twice awesome 👌

[@ahabduennschitz7670]

How can you FEEL sure? Youre either sure or youre not, but you cant just feel like you are. Thats a stupid Statement and proof that youre not as intelligent as you think you are. And now go on and hate me because I spoke out the Truth, cause thats what stupid People do

[@PriyaMomma]

Definitely! I bet he was homeschooled for most of his life too, so he could focus on his interests and become an expert in it. His passion for it radiates. He’s not a carbon copy like public school students who come out not knowing what they want to do with their lives. He’s done well!

[@SeekoGT]

"It's not about HOW intelligent they are... It's about how they ARE intelligent." Love that.

[@SeekoGT]

@Frackyamotha is a quote from the video, poser…

[@afbennett3038]

The fact they’re friendly makes me hopeful that actual aliens could be as well.

[@tahazfury1178]

shiii- now you've got my hopes up

[@Kozep]

That’s just cause we are multiple times there size, imagine if we were the size of that shrimp he threw in the tank.

[@lowenzahn3976]

Most life forms are friendly as long as you feed them regularly.

[@HBDiniz10]

Well, are humans friendly?

[@nxdeflowers]

@@HBDiniz10 There were other humans before us, we destroyed them all, so no

[@nugsymalone1247]

I love how scientists look for planets in our galaxy that are like earth, assuming intelligent life or life in general has to be on planets like ours. Meanwhile, we have these intelligent creatures that we still don't fully understand. Makes me think life and or intelligent life could show up in all sorts of biomes in ways we wouldn't understand

[@johnsober]

Well, two things. One, they aren't physically going to these planets. They're doing things like searching for chemical signals indicative of life, meaning, they're looking for chemical signals we know a planet with life gives off, even baisc bacterial life. Two, how can you search for something you don't know how to even identify? This sounds like the same point but what I'm talking about now is efficiency, not plausibility. These things also require money and you'd probably have a hard time getting funding if you can't say why what you're proposing is what you're proposing. "Yeah, we want to look for life on this planet because you can't say for certain some weird type of life doesn't live there." Trust me, I get it though. We're literally assuming that life has to similar to ours. What if earth is the weird one! Alternatively, it could very well be the case that life itself is only possible with very very specific conditions and a such it will always generally come about a certain way and all life in the universe will have significant degrees of similarity. For example all life has to be carbon based and yes I know of the hypothetical boron and silicon base (I'm just giving an example to illustrate my point). The tricky thing is that we can't know until we find a case where life is significantly different to earth's which of course entails finding life.

[@nugsymalone1247]

@@johnsober I fully understand, it just seems like they pigeon hole us into only viewing science as one dimensional. They could easily be lying to us a hundred dif ways and the science folk will judge everyone that questions the narrative. Intelligent humans are one thing, but money will shut up the smartest mouths... who can you trust? Could be aliens coming around that are invisible and breathe nitrogen for all I know. So mankind looking for goldilocks zones must be solely for mankind's benefit. Not looking for any kind of life in general. That's if they are honest with us in the first place

[@goldenhorde6944]

@@johnsober Also when astronomers say a planet is "Earthlike" they usually just mean that it's a rocky planet, on a stable orbit, within the same general size range as the Earth, and with some amount of water somewhere in its geosphere. The concept of a "biome" just doesn't really exist outside of a terrestrial context.

[@elevatedvibes9769]

Michael Devenish oooo

[@RickBeacham]

I wonder the same thing.

[@MephitisUK]

If you find this fascinating, it's worth reading Peter Godfrey-Smith's book, 'Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness'

[@MayimHastings]

Thank you!!! Def gonna read that. 🙏💚🐙

[@GearHeadBoris]

Thanks for the tip!👍 Definitely sounds interesting.

[@karmaleenash2841]

Will be getting this. Thank you! 💚💚💚

[@lcd_scream2304]

Yes, thank you! This sounds so interesting, definitely a must-read 😀💛🐙💛

[@DwayneShaw1]

The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness | Peter Godfrey Smith | Talks at Google kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3axiZmkhNSVsNk

[@benmcreynolds8581]

They are like cats, they will go into paper bags, or cardboard boxes. The octopus will go into a box too lol. It's crazy that the octopus has evolved like mini processors that connect to another main processor hub, that's connected to a final main computer processor. That's so facinating. I also have been facinated with the different ways blood and hemoglobin has evolved. Like the ice fish has clear whiteish blood, then you got blue blood in horseshoe crabs, etc. Etc.

[@adampallerdy783]

“It’s not about how intelligent they are it’s about how they are intelligent” Best quote I’ve heard

[@innsj6369]

The octopus controls its tentacles by sending them generalised signals and letting them figure things out on their own. That's really fascinating. Humans have a more centralised control mode, whereas octopi are more decentralised. It's hard to compare intelligence when you see it that way.

[@jaredponder4149]

Yeah it's almost like a master builder sending out instructions to" build this cathedral", to a multitude of workers, and then the workers figure it out from there, because it would be inefficient for the master to explain every little detail of the instructions. . Except, all of this is going on in a SINGLE entity. Mind boggling. Octopi are a hive mind, change my mind.

[@vibovitold]

Some people suffer from the "alien hand syndrome", which is somewhat similar in that you don't have full control and your arm acts as if it had a mind of its own. Obviously it's different because it's a form of malfunction of a centralised brain rather than delegation (where the sub-systems are generally obedient), but it's fascinating nevertheless - if creepy. Such differences might make aliens so different from us psychologically that any meaningful communication would be next to impossible, like in Len's novels another interesting thought is, what if compared to the alien mind OUR mind is like the one of octopus? what we consider "centralised" could not be as centralised as theirs. after all, we've got subconsciousness, we've got various sub-centres in our brains. by our standard it's a coherent structure, but for an we know we might be somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between the octopus model and the alien model. Earth life standards are not absolute standards.

[@WillN2Go1]

When an octopus tries to escape its enclosure, or takes any action (independent of a stimuli specific to a sucker) , has anyone determined if it's usually the same tentacle, or quadrant, that leads the way?

[@max-6035]

That’s a clever hypothesis behind there. I’m also curious if they can think in abstraction, their nervous system only really seems to be arms and two visual cortex lobes. Also interesting that with so few neurons compared to humans they show such interesting behavior. Jumping spiders as well, I know cats stupider.

[@r.guerreiro140]

Very good question

[@6ick6ick6ity5]

Seems like each arm has a mind of its own

[@MrDarren690]

@@max-6035 I'm really curious about abstract thinking too. Philosophically, it seems like abstract thinking is bound by the mind, which itself is an ephemeral center somehow related but still operationally distinct to the body. Yet if the octopus thinks-behaves in such a way that it computes with it's entire body, then they might have no split between their mind and body, and "only" conceptualize as infinitely as their arms and bodies can move or their senses can sense. Octopus intelligence could be truly monistic.

[@duncanrobertson6472]

I remember hearing both octopus and squid show some evidence for dominant side preference, probably in moth light media's video on symmetry in animals. I'd imagine they do it for the same reason we do - specialization of limbs is just more efficient.

[@BlckCloud73]

You know, that octopus was probably intelligent enough to understand how good he had it in captivity, and was bummed because he has to hunt his own food again and worry about being killed by other sea creatures.

[@dylanschmeichel2008]

I love how octopus are some of the only species of animal that actually toy with scientists - Many studies fail due to the fact octopi (?) will purposefully skew results or mess with scientific observers because they genuinely understand what is going on i.e. they are being observed. Crazy stuff.

[@yeyeyeyeyey]

Hmm. Where did you read this from?

[@markhirstwood4190]

Cool video. It reminds me of a line from Miyamoto Musashi: "Nobody is strong and nobody is weak if he conceives of the body, from the head to the sole of the foot, as a unity in which a living mind circulates everywhere equally."

[@mob1480]

I don’t understand the quote, explain 😭

[@MaxFung]

I love that last comment. It's fascinating to view intelligence not from a human-centric perspective, but by truly appreciating how different brains can be across the animal kingdom and the broader tree of life!

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

I am curious about the intelligence of juvenile hatchlings. A paper described cephalopod hatchlings learning to hunt slow spikey and fast smooth copepods. The spikey ones hurt their tentacles/arms and they learned to control their escape reflex to hold onto the spiked copepods. Also, squid. I'd like to learn about squid intelligence.

[@JohnSmith-mk1rj]

Squid seem much more aggressive and far less contemplative than octopi. Probably has a lot to do with their design (they're open ocean predators and built like fighter jets) and most of them travel in massive groups so they compete for food. They have exceptional vision, though, unlike the octopus. The giant squid actually has the largest eyeballs of any animal on the planet. They see just fine at night, and down in the dark. Squid have little bone hooks in their suckers. Octopi don't. To me, that best sums up the difference between the two species. Squid are pretty darn savage, are built to catch and kill stuff, and are exceptional predators. I saw a video of an octopus playing around with a crab, chasing it when he could've just jumped on it, and a seal swam over and ate the octopus. I've seen an octopus get beaten up by a mantis shrimp. They're not the greatest predators on the planet. They're cool and all, but vicious predators they are not. Giant Squid are a favorite food of the sperm whale. We've only managed to film live Giant Squid in action a couple of times, but sperm whales hunt and eat them all the time. That makes me think that, while Giant Squid must be very wary of light and humans in general, there's lots of them down in the deeps. And that thought scares me. A 40 foot long squid? If it had the temperament of a Humboldt Squid? No thank you. EDIT: Peter Benchley, author of Jaws, wrote a book called 'The Beast,' which is about a killer Giant Squid. Crazy fun book.

[@maryzambrana7141]

I heard this video on KUOW today, and I couldn't wait to see it! What can one say except thank you for sharing the absolute wonderfulness of octopus life. Their entire body is really something to behold. I was lucky enough to go to the Scripps Oceanarium years ago with my twin granddaughters. We not only were able to see, touch and marvel at the animals, it's something that we remember and talk about to this day. May Elizabeth grow and prosper in great health. Thank you, Dominic, for the knowledge that you have gained and shared with the world. A friend from across the Sound in Allyn. 🐙

[@robertlipka9541]

Love that they release them back into the wild... and NOT cook them for lunch. Shows respect.

[@ThomasFoolery8]

Yeah if he were Asian, it would be time for grilled octopus 🐙

[@TAKE_BACK_BRITAIN]

You’re saying that as if most people who study octopi typically eat them after studying them. It’s not super impressive that they don’t eat them after studying them…

[@ThomasFoolery8]

@@TAKE_BACK_BRITAIN why not? People eat octopus for food so there is a process by which we extract octopi out of the ocean for consumption so isn’t it more efficient to eat them after studying them?

[@kwatson977]

The most important approach to an octopuses intellect would be how far can the mind or consciousness of the creature be pushed without it being for immediate survival or self gratification.

[@MayimHastings]

“It’s not about how intelligent they are, it’s about how they are intelligent.” Wow. I’ve always believed this, but I’ve never been able to put it to words like that. I’m autistic, and I can remember and learn a crazy amount of things, but basic skills I often struggle with greatly. I guess that’s why I relate to animals so much. Woody at Dive Talk was right, octopuses are aliens!

[@allnewjient7651]

You are autistic? ok extra points for you+govermentcheck.Are you also black and disabled? try to get up the ladder.

[@anthonyp8955]

I think you got it wrong... autism is called mental disorder intelligence is something else e.g musically.

[@user-qu6ij5sl1v]

This applies to comparing EVERY nervous system, inter and intra species. I have very similar one-liners I've come up with, but they all applied to comparing two humans' thought patterns and consequent specialties. Well also humans and farm animals mainly cats because most of my social circle is farm animals lol and the more time I spend with them the more I see that they are differently intelligent and they think differently (although they are a lot dumber than us in general in colloquial terms to call a spade a spade).

[@MayimHastings]

@@user-qu6ij5sl1v lol yeah, I agree to all of that! And my social circle looks about the same a yours - and wouldn’t change that for the world 😊. Thank you for your reply, hope you have a lovely rest of your day 💚🙏

[@watcher805]

So glad this is not just me

[@KarePassion]

"Alien looking," yes. "Monster," no. They are amazing, intelligent and gentle.

[@DevonHewett]

Pause at 4:22 I find it fascinating how the octopus changes color to blend in with the background shading OUTSIDE of the tank at the right angles to almost appear invisible before capturing the shrimp

[@r.guerreiro140]

How the distributed intelligence could somehow be related to bee hives? Each sucker could be in some way similar to a single bee, but connected by a bigger organism?

[@AdlerMow]

"My teacher octupus" is an amazing gaze at these creatures, I firmly recommend! How can octupi not be intelligent? They are brains on tentacles, quite literally. Being so delicious to many creatures and without a shell it had to develop tool use and tactics to defend themselves and hunt.

[@kenyabee186]

Imagine how they’d react if scientists were to create something as close as possible to their natural habitat😳 Something more novel, and not as enclosed as a tank with a few floating pieces of store bought items. Would blow our mind to shambles. Great video. Enjoyed watching

[@hinamatsuro1908]

Like in a zoo?

[@rupinderjeetsinghhans]

Avatar plot basically

[@YokoSanchez]

God is amazing! This man’s reverence for the animals he studies is beautiful

[@MAAAAAAAAAA123]

He really is amazing!

[@nabi5864]

I used to have insects as pets for many years...Eventually to my shock I realized they all had personalities, cultures, and structures....I don't care even if science say it's instinct....I say it's obvious intelligence

[@PresidentialWinner]

Yes, it's true. Science doesn't say it's instinct, people do. Science says "More research is needed!". Remember that people used to think dogs and cats were also just biological puppets, with their reaction to pain and suffering and harm just being a reaction and instinct. The famous philosopher René Descartes advocated the vivisection of animals (dissection while the animal is alive) and practiced it himself. He argued that this is ethical because animals are biological machines and therefore suffer no pain, even if they seem to scream in agony. Insects obviously have consciousness, as do most animals. The question is really, what animals do not have it? How do we determine that? We can do brain scans on human beings in coma and deduce some probabilities that a human is still there, just unable to wake up, but even this is extremely difficult, nearly impossible. How the hell do we do this on millions of other species? I think it's better to be safe than sorry and treat nearly all animals as sentient and conscious and deserving of empathy. We can be quite sure bacteria don't process pain and do not have sentience because they lack the systems to do so (brains) but who knows what goes on inside the brain of a fly or a spider? There is a philosophy about this too. It's called sentientism

[@RealParadoxed]

huh

[@samanthagarrett3671]

Instinct and culture often overlap, even for humans.

[@eVill420]

it was simple instinct. they behaved in a certain way because their instincts told them. they only have 200 000 neurons, 2500 times less than octopi. they're incapable of having personalities, just slightly different combinations of instincts, when humans and other complex animals can develop a different personality overtime due to what we experience. if you showed a bug its relatives getting killed it wouldn't understand anything, at most the chemicals would make it instinctively move further away or closer

[@PresidentialWinner]

@@eVill420 ....no

[@KingSobieski]

That octopus is going home to tell his friends about this bizarre alien abduction

[@ThemMHeroes]

incredible work. Really has changed my outlook on intelligence as well, just from watching this vid. Thanks for documenting this amazing guys work

[@ferna2294]

Nature can be both beautiful and terrifying sometimes. Must be hard to release them back their habitat after building a relationship with them for months.

[@ranxerox692008]

I wonder if somewhere out there, humans are the octopus in some alien scientist's lab.

[@petejames1326]

they are, oh god ive said too much

[@LoverboyTousey]

@@petejames1326 we’re on our way

[@Soapsoanedesign]

This is brilliant: but do you think if you created an environment for them without plastic (!) more organic materials there might be different responses? It struck me that the scientific, manufactured environment of the lab is a major factor in observations-what if you could create a novel, organic environment in the lab which might encourage novel interactions?

[@khoi83]

Because those scientifics grew up playing Lego ;)

[@andretokayuk8100]

@@khoi83 Wonder what an octopus would build with a full set..)/*

[@lcd_scream2304]

The "Octopus in my Living room" series of videos made me happy to see a nice habitat they had the octopus living in 💛🐙💛

[@therealdarklizzy]

I think you could say the same about humans. People from a modern, industrialized society have a much different outlook on life than hunter-gatherers. Like the fact that Australian Aboriginals remembered tracks leading across the Austrilian continent, including where to find water, while most modern people would get lost in a park. Even the human mind is shaped by the environment it is in. The only thing is, consciousness is something that cannot be disputed. It doesn't matter what environment you are in, all humans are conscious. The same goes for the octopus, the lab might influence the results, but ultimately those results wouldn't be possible without an underlying intelligence.

[@khoi83]

@@andretokayuk8100 lego the Octopus movie

[@erictaylor5462]

1:20 If it gives you an uncanny feeling, imagine what it's like for the octopus! You are going down there expecting to see something like that. It's just minding its own business when you show up, nit looking like any kind of fish and blowing lots of bubbles and making a lot of weird noises.

[@teresagraham6166]

This for me is total proof of the creator. Thank you.

[@KellyBergerDeusVult]

For it's short duration, this video was very informative. I like the end quote, that resonates deeply.

[@mariashaffer-gordon3561]

Very interesting video. Think about how intelligent octopuses are with such a limited lifespan. It's a good thing they don't live as long as we do or they'd be running the world!

[@henrybrowne7248]

I didn't know they were short-lived. What is their lifespan?

[@mariashaffer-gordon3561]

@@henrybrowne7248 I believe it's just a couple of years. If they aren't victims of predation or some other cause, they die not that long after mating. Mama octopuses stay with their eggs to keep them clean and aerated and don't eat while they're doing so.

[@oneandzero6251]

Intelligence and consciousness are two different things. For any species to have a chance to compete with humans they need to do random things. Thats how we humans managed to build our civilization. We thought of things, the ideas that failed we gave up on and those that worked we continied with. Even the animals we think of as the most intelligent has a very limited ability for this. And if any animal started learning that way we would exterminate them before become a "threat" to us anyway. That is why most likely each planet that supports life as us only has one conscious lifeform.

[@macawism]

So how do they learn so quickly? Even seeming to have social transactions with some humans…

[@LittleKitty22]

@@henrybrowne7248 Some live up to four years but that's the longest they can live.

[@goblingirl2112]

Amazing. Octopuses have always been my favorite animal but this reinforces that even more

[@NM-ok9wb]

A random octopus in the ocean: look to the humans to understand how aliens might think

[@joetaylor486]

This was utterly astonishing. I loved the parting line.

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

One of the most amazing creatures on earth. 🥰

[@r.guerreiro140]

And delicious too

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

@@r.guerreiro140 just like humans.

[@engineeredarmy1152]

🐙

[@zephyr4813]

The guy being interviewed seems like someone I'd want to be friends with. Awesome video.

[@hereus5]

Thank you for returning the octopus to its natural habitat. All researchers should do the same.

[@guyh.4553]

Once again OPB, bravo! Another great story!

[@andretokayuk8100]

OPB.. do a story on the for profit "justice system" that makes low wage tax slaves for it's corporate butt-buddies!!!

[@postoak2755]

Inspiring! Thank you for showing us your science!

[@SixDigitOsu]

*"Each sucker has basically a mind of it's own"*

[@pulsarecho1952]

Fascinating creatures; their problem solving skills are amazing.

[@kocetociparov1089]

Honestly I feel like we are the aliens more so then anything else on the planet because we are fascinated and constantly researching everything on this floating rock.

[@AndrewManook]

lol other apes do the same.

[@hiiambarney4489]

I mean, I've read some assumptions and theories that microscopic life was trapped in ice on a meteorite that hit earth so it's not all that odd to say we are aliens but I believe this would mean every other life form is also an alien, if i'm grasping this concept right.

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

This is a great post. Lots of info but the part I liked the best is when the octopus was released back to its natural environment . Humans can be quite selfish as we all know so I didn't expect to be able to witness this lil guy/girl going home. I really liked that, pretty cool👊🏻😊

[@AndrewManook]

It's not a big deal we do it all the time.

[@nancyjackson3909]

He gave the little duplex man a hug

[@dannypope1860]

It’s very interesting how they have spread out their “brain”… but even a dog still has a central brain with ten times more neurons.

[@saintjackula9615]

Their minds are so fascinating, I have so many questions, like..... is an octopus dumber if it loses an arm? Does it lose memories if you chop off an arm? Does its personality change when it grows an arm back? If an octopus had 16 arms, would it be an Einstein octopus? What about siamese twin octopodes, are they smarter? Do they have a left and right, or do they handle direction differently with all those arms? Are they legs, or are they arms, and are they walking, or are they crawling?

[@firecatflameking]

the way i understood it is that the arms and central brain at large are mostly separate. so the arms wouldnt influence the main brain. it doesnt sound like the arms have a "personality", more than the arm "brain" just acting like a high level interface for the main brain. this allows the main brain to be smaller and operate with simpler, more "general" commands as mentioned in the video. so in other words, one less tentacle would just mean one less tentacle imo

[@titlasagna2172]

One less tentacle would mean less information passed to the brain. It wouldn’t get dumber, from it's optimal self it probably would get slower

[@peanutboxes4076]

i love your questions!!

[@Raw_Combat]

4/20 inspired thought, this is exactly how advanced aliens would study other sentient life . The part about being sad to let the animal because of the bond built hits home though, and having the wisdom to be happy because it's back in it's natural habits alive and healthy is probably a feeling that spread 100s If not 1000s of light years

[@user-qu6ij5sl1v]

Well have a 4/21 thought (not that a date ever affects what I do lolol): 100.000% of examples that humans use to conceive of alien abduction as a concept came from humans (unless you buy alien abduction stories which I don't). So just to clarify the upshot of that statement, human-sourced stories about alien abduction are probably a lot more likely to describe human behavior given the discovery of an alien intelligence than to describe alien behavior given the discovery of human intelligence. Not sure I'm articulating that well but aliens as described by humans are very human and they do 1950s human things like put other species in a lab and run experiments. Whereas real aliens are probably way weirder and harder to understand from a human perspective lol

[@josegarcia2762]

@@user-qu6ij5sl1v youre one of those guys. 100Trillion galaxies in the universe each galaxy having 100b stars. but alien abductions, too far gone . how can people be so dense. you pray to fake god for ffs

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@user-qu6ij5sl1v true, true.

[@twentystars6116]

@@user-qu6ij5sl1v good point but you could also argue that the scientific method is somewhat universal and there would be an always be order for how something is studied if it comes from a universe with the same laws. Assuming the aliens find humanity by being technologically advanced

[@architguleria989]

Octopus in the Global Maritime Conference: "I was abducted by aliens. They seemed hospitable though."

[@Adimari.musica]

3:38 "To find out how this suckers think for themselves"😆

[@jointhefist1016]

So much more interesting than I thought. Was thinking about a brain that is spread out thought the body. Turns out that is the fact for these in a way.

[@ClearAdventure]

Has anyone tried to teach an octopus English, or language of any kind? Even pictures, shape's, etc? Just imagine if we could communicate, what would they say? Love this video, thank you! 🤘😁❤️

[@jamalempfehlung9841]

One time a little octopus told me to fuck off.

[@trstn_4650]

getting john c. lily vibes off of you right now lol

[@machmar]

Truly amazing documentary, could there be any longer version made?

[@NoahSpurrier]

Is it really that different than the mammalian mind? It’s certainly physically laid out differently, but I wonder how different it is from a functional perspective. Human brains perform a lot of computation at a low level which is directed by the neocortex. Even the eyes perform a lot of visual processing before an image is sent to the brain. Functions such as edge detection, motion and optical flow happen outside the brain. But octopus brains do seem to have the most sophisticated cognitive abilities of a creature that evolved completely differently than us. It does show that high level intelligence isn’t just a fluke or lucky accident. Octopuses are certainly the most charming creatures that appear to be so completely alien from us.

[@thehammurabichode7994]

Fun fact: Some of our neurons are located in our hearts

[@Renegadereadingsrecovery]

And our gut.

[@Witchofthewoods.]

Dominic thinks he's studying the Octopus, but in reality the octopus is studying him!! 👾

[@andresaguilar327]

This is one of the most satisfactory videos I've ever seen in my life. Thanks. Octopus are beautiful and amazing.

[@pho3nix-]

They are actually really scary (and sometimes cute)

[@ninja1970fin]

scary how ????? they are lovely

[@warrax111]

@@ninja1970fin not scary how. Just scary. People always inscribing them and painting them negative way. I also don't find them beautiful, but gross and nasty. Don't like to watching them. I have natural instinct to avoid them, in me, and also majority of people. Same as medusas. Probably saved a lot of poisoning and stuff over history. If you don't feel this, then, it's unnatural. Like people, that love and like spiders, and don't find them disgusting.

[@ninja1970fin]

@@warrax111 oh, interesting. I love them and feel highly connected ☺️

[@warrax111]

@@ninja1970fin don't juding that. But anyway, would be more suprising for me, if anyone would have that way, or majority people.

[@pixpusha]

Octopodes are incredible. But isn't them having neurons in their arms our equivalent of having neurons in our spinal cord?

[@Dxco31]

scientist: octopus is very intelligent animal japanese: hmmm takoyaki

[@downey2294]

just wait until you tel them about dolphins... oh wait.

[@austincole1703]

I love curious people, especially for a niche field. Well done and thorough!

[@matthewwelsh294]

They are very intelligent and super cute

[@ElizabethHensleyomegasseekerr]

My name is Elizabeth. i didn't know someone named an Octopus after me! :o) Also did anyone else notice that when they put the net in the water to transfer Elizabeth to another tank she swam into the net on her own, They didn't have to catch her.

[@Hakimgrr_]

she prob understood what has happening, wasn't the first net she'd ge into, she also didn't try to desperately run from them when being released, and did not attack them during the studies

[@currenlydying]

They named a queen after you!

[@sgt-willkillu]

When my misses gets all her gear on, all of a sudden my hands & fingers have a mind of there own already. LoL

[@seirdo8285]

I like how he's like the alien abducting them, doing tests, then sending them back to their general area.

[@heatherkaye8653]

Oh my. Resident Alien the sitcom on on Sci Fi points this out. The alien can communicate with octopuses and claims they are ancestors.

[@goodun2974]

Love that show, its hysterical. The lead character who plays the alien in human form is awesome, I can't imagine anyone else doing that role. His control of his facial muscles is like nothing I've ever seen from a human being.

[@captainjj7184]

Although today octopus could only live too short of a life to be able to teach their young (except for those ones in a special region in Australia), this has been a popular view for quite some time, some had even said if we were to fail becoming an intelligent civilization as we are today then the octopus branch will be the ones taking over that gap. A popular view indeed and even got featured in the 2016 movie "Arrival" that supposedly took place somewhere else not earth. But here's a question: being "highly intelligent", how do they compare in this intelligence quota vis a vis to human age group like scientists have done to man's best friend/ the dog? How would a preserved (and longer living) slice of their neurons bode similar potential towards the intelligence claim when being compared to that of humans, side by side? Of course, after someone manage to figure out how to convert their unique type of tentacleigence :p

[@vibovitold]

This is unlikely, because they are solitary. Social creatures (like humans or dolphins) can reach higher levels of intelligence, because they need to communicate, which is an intelligence booster. We developed language (along with the brain centers handing language processing) because we needed to communicate eg. for efficient hunting, which is a group activity for hominides.

[@SV123193]

Came for aliens. Stayed for octopus.

[@jibblecain]

"they're just like cats, they love boxes" Bro, we live in boxes.

[@cortster12]

Imagine octopuses that evolved socially, longer lives, and communication abilities like us.

[@chrisrode8158]

They would tell their children that they were abducted by aliens and tested in a lab. who knows, we might be anally probing these poor guys? I wonder if other octopi would believe him?

[@J7Handle]

@@Stevie-J social abilities, intelligence, and lifespans don’t fossilize, anyway, so any creature that had those things, we wouldn’t know unless they built things that could be preserved. Thinking about it, there could have been a dinosaur that made wooden stuff 65 million years ago and died from Chixulub, and we would never know. Stone creations might not even survive that long. We would probably see big skulled fossils for that, though. Octopi not having skulls does mean, however, that we could never know the brain size of ancient octopi. Maybe there were whole tribes of them at one time.

[@johnalver]

But I understand what you mean when it looks at you you get this sense of some sort of intelligence behind those eyes

[@ellobo1326]

I think octopus are one of the most amazing creatures to have ever inhabited the earth.

[@sircrackboi]

This octopus: "Dude i tell you i got adopted by humans!" other octopus: "Marc, you are insanse these are fairy tales our octopus grandfathers told us when we were little, grow up."

[@quercus4730]

I wonder what octopuses are thinking about the aliens that are studing them?

[@teamblacktree3431]

As he returned the octopus to its home, I immediately thought ... This animal has just collected loads of information and data on him, and can now calculate how to overtake the human race, in an epic battle of amphibious warriors 😁🤣

[@BenMcNelly]

When they returned him, I was like dang... that octopus has a cool alien abduction story now.

[@rogerdildeau7507]

How aliens think: "Carramba, are we in Texas yet, amigo?"

[@patsmith5947]

What I think is really sad is when the females finally reproduce they die after they lay their eggs. It’s really a mother sacrificing for her children. I have always been fascinated by octopus.

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

It is just an evolved trait of them, not a choice at all. A female cannot choose to die or not. The hormones after egg laying tell her body to age. The same happens in some spiders and a few mammals.

[@filmntvguy1977]

Just like an ant ecosystem works, except in one body. Hive mind, internalised.

[@24tommyst]

I've always looked at Octopi and Elephants like "ya, there is nothing much weirder on any other planet". Earth has some pretty freakin weird beings.

[@wbrito8617]

Octopus: I will let myself get captured to study and observe how far humans progressed..

[@benjiebenjamin7810]

Well, that gives me food for thought, especially the last statements. I'm very curious about the idea of alien species in the universe as it's way too massive to just be us. I've had an interest in these multi-armed critters as they are intelligent & others have expressed good interaction with them. For all we know they could be smarter than us when comparing size ratio, surroundings, etc.....as in using their full brain potential. I discovered this video, so, we can learn something new every day, eh 😉?

[@goodun2974]

In the movie "The Arrival" , scientists try to communicate with alien creatures that look like giant octopi. There's also a monster movie of sorts ( I forget the name) about giant alien octopi in Mexico.

[@there_vision]

@@goodun2974 That movie is called Monsters, it’s really underrated and has a beautiful soundtrack.

[@SmartK8]

Octopus is not alien. It's just different. It's still DNA, it's still from Earth. You can't even imagine how alien would aliens look. Just to make a hint imagine a bio-nanotechnological cloud.... brain of light. That's what simulates your.. our galaxy.

[@crono3339]

Sure ya can imagine, DMT and psilocybin can help us at least imagine if not actually see, or think alike.

[@timmacmarle1151]

Who said octopus DNA is from Earth originally?

[@Dr.Akakia]

THEIR DNA is different than other creatures on earth as i read before

[@SmartK8]

@@Dr.Akakia Every creature has a different DNA than the others. That what makes everyone unique. Octopuses are still closely related to the other mollusks. They're still far closer in DNA than trees, plants or mushrooms are. They're still animals like humans.. from Earth.

[@SpeedKing..]

@@crono3339 cringe

[@Witchofthewoods.]

The octopus 🐙 is probably more intelligent than most of the people I know. They're beautiful, unique, mystical and so awesome.

[@OscarTheGrouchy]

1:29 missed opportunity to put in a picture of Squidward

[@0MVR_0]

If aliens want to be understood as a potential for interaction, simply take a look at how the conquistadors and colonists acted towards native peoples.

[@joeh858]

You're perpetuating a revision of history, so sad. Propagandized.

[@0MVR_0]

@@joeh858 Save your sad tears for the victims of colonization.

[@joeh858]

@@0MVR_0 So... Every civilization ever? We're not victims. You benefit from it so stop with the fragile guilt .

[@0MVR_0]

@@joeh858 That logic insinuates that native peoples should shut up since they have casinos.

[@TheRealMikeMichaels]

@@0MVR_0 You won't find that in Islam. When Islam spread to foreign countries, the native people accepted Islam and they were not persecuted unlike how the Spanish did with the Natives. Indonesia, the largest Muslim populated country in the world, accepted Islam from Arab merchants spreading the message, they saw the manners of these merchants and were amazed. Now, do aliens exist? Allah knows best. We know He has created what we don't know.

[@vincentrusso4332]

The octopus and platypus were brought here by the Annunaki. Clearly recorded in the cuneiform, they also brought plants and grains as well.

[@georges3799]

The octopus actually willingly moved into the researcher's net.

[@bv6540]

I want to watch TV again, but the problem is I keep finding super interesting stuff on YT, like this. So well, I stay on YT!

[@dougsteeleguitar]

I looooove cephalopods. Faves are Cuttlefish, then octopus, then squid. LOVE LOVE LOVE.