Current Events > If Octopi lived longer lives,do you think we'd see some signs of civilization?

(+) Yeah! (+)

They certainly seem like they're intelligent enough to be capable of it. They use tools, solve complex puzzles, and plan ahead for the future, the latter being something that as far as I know no other species has displayed, though I could be wrong there.

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Squirrels?

...plus a million other things?

But I do agree octopus are much more interesting and intelligent.

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If Octopi were tool-bearing creatures with intelligent communal language who were faced with a near-extinction event that rendered them biologically inferior to their environment & surroundings.... and had to rely moreso on their tools & language, then.... yes. Maybe.

Alteres posted...

Squirrels

The hoarding for winter with squirrels isn't them planning ahead, it's just instinct. Octopus will take a tool that has no current value for future use.

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They still don't have a language, that might slow things a bit.

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They're notoriously anti-social, so they probably wouldn't form a civilization. Scientists did an experiment once where they gave them ecstasy and they became more sociable.

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This reminds me of an SCP story about a neutralized SCP that was an ordinary octopus. The only thing remarkable about him was that he chose to communicate with humans, something that a large number of octopus could also do. He was friendly with the researchers until his death from old age.

He told the researchers that humanity had doomed itself to extinction, and that octopuses and crows were at war with each other over who would take humanity's place as the next dominant species.

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Ivynn posted...

They still don't have a language, that might slow things a bit.

While this is true, that doesn't mean they're incapable. Doesn't help that most adults die defending their young, so no generational knowledge.

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Son Of Spam posted...

They're notoriously anti-social, so they probably wouldn't form a civilization. Scientists did an experiment once where they gave them ecstasy and they became more sociable.

Ooooh interesting, have a link?

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They are notoriously anti-social.

I dont recommend giving MDMA to octopi in those experiments. If youre going to try to further intellectual development, the experience needs to outweigh the reliance on substance, and you need to let the octopi make their own decisions with that. And, also, I find it unlikely youll be able to create the conditions required to spark them into dominance. There were many many creatures, I imagine, vying for control of the planet back in the day. The other possibility is that the octopi will simply become depressed & die. So yeah

coin flip

newhorrorguy posted...

Ooooh interesting, have a link?

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45600372

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so you're stealing vegy's gimmick of reposting shit on reddit here

nothanks1 posted...

so you're stealing vegy's gimmick of reposting shit on reddit here

I already knew all this about octopuses but someone questioned it and I decided it's worth posting here:)

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BB mofo posted...

He told the researchers that humanity had doomed itself to extinction, and that octopuses and crows were at war with each other over who would take humanity's place as the next dominant species.

That'd be quite the event to witness.

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Umbreon posted...

That'd be quite the event to witness.

If the crows were losing bad enough would you say the war was a lost caws for them?

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They dont teach their offspring right? Maybe once they do that they can become like us after millions of years

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Ratchetrockon posted...

They dont teach their offspring right? Maybe once they do that they can become like us after millions of years

IIRC they do, but most parents die protecting them, so the generational knowledge rarely gets passed down.

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Any species could evolve to be like us under very specific circumstances and millions/tens of millions of years. I'd say they have a decent capacity to develop greater intelligence, but I don't think they have the environment in which it would be necessary.