Comments

  6. louis14 says

    I have to admit, though I’ve never paid much attention to cephalopods in the past, the pictures on Pharyngula are winning me over.

    Shame these poor things are dead, but I doubt I’ll look as pretty when I’m gone.

  8. Rachel Bronwyn says

    Doesn’t that make you kind of sad, PZ? I prefer to see octopi alive and in water, myself. Poor little things.

  15. amphiox says

    re: #12

    To paraphrase a previous thread:

    “Oh, the octopodity!”

    (Though one should not necessarily jump to conclusions about unnecessary suffering. We don’t know how humanely, or not humanely, they were killed)

  17. Kevin says

    Mmm… I must admit I’ve never actually eaten octopus. It’s apparently really tasty…

    Just more confirmation, however, that I seriously need to go to Japan. I wonder if my company will transfer me there eventually…

  22. maddogdelta says

    I know I’m getting a little sentimental for an edible critter…but I feel bad for the average dinner octapus. Those guys are too intelligent to be eating. I prefer to stick to tuna, cows and chickens..

    // although my hypocracy is revealed when I eat pork….

  27. Sven DiMilo says

    Unnecessary suffering of one of the most amazing sentient non-human animals.

    I can guarantee 100% that the animals pictured were not suffering.

  29. amphiox says

    Those guys are too intelligent to be eating. I prefer to stick to tuna, cows and chickens..

    Certainly cephalopods are intelligent critters, easily ranking within the vertebrate range, but I do not think was can blithely say that they are more intelligent than your average mammal (cow), or average bird (chicken). Perhaps smarter than the tuna with greater confidence, but then again, do we really know how smart your average tuna is?

  32. maxamillion says

    @Kevin #17

    Mmm… I must admit I’ve never actually eaten octopus. It’s apparently really tasty…

    Just more confirmation, however, that I seriously need to go to Japan. I wonder if my company will transfer me there eventually…

    Nah, you just need spend more time in your local supermarket.

    Some recipes http://tinyurl.com/y9kgotj

  33. Sven DiMilo says

    I do not think was can blithely say that they are more intelligent than your average mammal (cow), or average bird (chicken). Perhaps smarter than the tuna with greater confidence, but then again, do we really know how smart your average tuna is?

    Interesting question. First, cattle are almost certainly stupider than most mammals (plus they’re drunk all the time). Chickens are apparently not bad at sorting out social relationships, and may be slightly more intelligent than your average bird. Tuna? pretty much cruise-&-eat-in-a-big-school all day long; not much evolutionary pressure for intelligence there.

    Octopuses, IIRC, have been documented to exhibit observational learning, something that is very difficult to show even in non-human primates. They can also solve problems of a sort that require roughly monkey- or crow-level intelligence.