Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.74 (708 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B06WW5K91W |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 140 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-01-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Angie Boyter said Fascinating but not quite as advertised. Pete Godfrey-Smith shares an important trait with the octopuses he loves to study---he is full of curiosity about his world, especially the marine world. Fortunately for us, Godfrey-Smith’s life has lasted a lot longer than the 1-"Fascinating but not quite as advertised" according to Angie Boyter. Pete Godfrey-Smith shares an important trait with the octopuses he loves to study---he is full of curiosity about his world, especially the marine world. Fortunately for us, Godfrey-Smith’s life has lasted a lot longer than the 1-2 years common to octupuses, so he has had enough time to tell us. years common to octupuses, so he has had enough time to tell us. "Excellent Philosophy of Science book" according to C. M. Stahl. This was a profoundly interesting book to read. I became intrigued after seeing a review of it and had never come across the author before. It was intriguing primarily for the subject matter which I had a minor level of curiosity about. It was however, the first book I have read about cephalopods. My. John W. Weil said But I loved the rest of it and even found that I. This book really has two aspects. One is the telling of first hand experiences with octopi and cuttlefish, together with a summary of what others have found and what is known about these fascinating creatures. The other is a considerable amount of philosophizing and speculating about the development
But what kind of intelligence do cephalopods possess? Drawing on the latest scientific research and his own scuba-diving adventures, Godfrey-Smith probes the many mysteries that surround the lineage. Tracking the mind's fitful development, Godfrey-Smith shows how unruly clumps of seaborne cells began living together and became capable of sensing, acting, and signaling. The first nervous systems evolved, probably in ancient relatives of jellyfish; later on the cephalopods, which began as inconspicuous mollusks, abandoned their shells and rose above the ocean floor, searching for prey and acquiring the greater intelligence needed to do so. How did the octopus, a solitary creature with little social life, become so smart? What is it like to have eight tentacles that are so packed with neurons that they virtually think for themselves? What happens when some octopuses abandon their hermit-like ways and congregate, as they do in a unique location off the coast of Australia? By tracing the question of inner life back to its roots and comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives, Godfrey-Smith casts crucial new light on the octopus mind - and on our own.. In captivity, octopuses have been known to identify individual human keepers, raid neighboring tanks for food, turn off lightbulbs by spouting jets of water, plug drains, and make daring escapes. Taking an indepe