This clip was featured in the middle of an episode of NOVA that I saw late last night on PBS while I was up late doing some busywork. Sleep-deprived, brain-numbed from several uninterrupted hours of supertedious laptop labor, and then this friggin' shape-shifter octopus scares the living beshizzle out of me.
It was a show about the possibility of life on other planets and whether they'd necessarily be bibeds in jumpsuits. The guy's point was, it takes a huge cognitive capacity to process the information necessary to see and then spatialize and replicate a complex color pattern (and texture: these bastards can flex subdermal muscles to create 3-D bumps and ridges!). So, the guy says, if their brains can do that, they could probably eventually learn how to type qwerty and drive stick.
Alls I'm sayin is, when those sonsabitches stark crawlin out of the swamp, watch your ass and put on your infrared goggles.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
That was crazy weird!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
That looks awesome.
The sound was horrible, though. I could barely make out what they were saying.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Yeah, I couldn't find a clip with good sound. But the visuals...
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Man, what's his name? I can see his face, but I can't remember his name.
Posted by bunbun (Member # 6814) on :
Great stuff!
quote:hese bastards can flex subdermal muscles to create 3-D bumps and ridges
I didn't know about the 3-d aspects of thier camoflaging abilities. Seeing it was awesome.
Woo!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
That looked so awesome, it's almost hard to believe it's real.
Posted by bunbun (Member # 6814) on :
That little guy in the algae sure looked peeved.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Porter showed that to me, and me not knowing what I was seeing thought, "Why did they photoshop in that horrible looking blob? That looks so fake, it's laughable...."
Amazing. Truly.
And why are chameleons famous, again, for the thing for which octopuses put them to shame?
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I love how you used the word "octopuses". You read Lost Boys, didn't you? Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
*giggles* I wrote PBS about a thing they were showing during kids' programming because of that book...
I haven't seen it since. Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
quote:You read Lost Boys, didn't you?
I did, but I have a notoriously bad memory. What is the reference?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Stevie's project that won the ribbon, but the teacher gave him a bad grade on, and the only correction on the paper was changing "octopuses" to "octopi", an incorrect plural.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
These things are even more amazing than that clip demonstrates. I saw the discovery channel special on these guys.
They can mimic sea snakes, starfish, flounder, rocks, a whole crapload of other things as well. I was mesmorized the entire show.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
KQ: I remember now!
Those are amazing feats of imitation. Such a variety! I wonder, do they instinctively know how to do those things? Is it programmed in their genes? Do they learn it from a parent? Or do they figure out new tricks over time through their own genius?
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
So "octupuses" is right, but if I hadn't read Lost Boys, I'd have tried to correct you. I'd probably have been really arrogant about it too.
I assumed that you also learned that from the book. I guess you're just smart. Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: Stevie's project that won the ribbon, but the teacher gave him a bad grade on, and the only correction on the paper was changing "octopuses" to "octopi", an incorrect plural.
Did the teacher deduct any points for putting the comma outside of the quotation marks?
*flees*
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, both plurals are valid. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
*thwaps Jon Boy*
I'm coming to get you.
Beware the Ketchup of Righteousness.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
That was really cool.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
quote:Originally posted by beverly: According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, both plurals are valid.
And thus if I, or someone in a work of fiction, were to correct a person who said "octupuses", scorn and derision would fall upon their family unto the seventh generation.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Does anyone have the video of the octopus walking on two tentacles?
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
???
I'd like to see that!
Disney's The Living Seas in Epcot had a wonderful exhibit on Cuttle fish, with live critters swimming across various substrates. They would change patterns to match. Very cool.
And there's a video of them doing visual communication that is just stunning.
One question -- do octopus eyes look like goat eyes to anyone else? That strange horizontal pupil just is weird.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote:"octopuses" to "octopi", an incorrect plural.
I always thought that using commas outside quotations to name a word was alright... but I guess not (I looked it up). It looks totally wrong to me, though.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Wow! That was amazing. Gosh, after seeing that other clip of the squid killing the shark, I'm not sure I want to go swimming in the ocean anymore.
Posted by bunbun (Member # 6814) on :
Our very own cuttlefish. I think he looks irritated, don't you? This was one of 3 guarding a slew of babies. The whole scene was awe-inspiring.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
No matter where I went, they oriented on me and moved between me and the little ones.
And I don't even like calimari.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Does anyone have the video of the octopus walking on two tentacles?
I've seen that video and it's awesome! I don't think I have the link saved anywhere, though.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Dag, I didn't see your request for the video of the octopus walking on two tentacles until just now. I linked to it in this thread back in March. New Scientist's site has gotten even slower than usual though, so it's possible that your browser will time out before the video has time to load.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
That was so cool!
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
the octopus overlords
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
Dang - that was awesome!
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
So, octopus vs. ninja. Who would win? Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Depends. In the water, or out of it?
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Oooo, I guess octopuses would have a pretty hard time out of the water.
*imagines flaccid pool of cephalopod on the floor*
So much for me being worried about them taking over the world.
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the octopus overlords
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