Why the octopus brain is so extraordinary - Cláudio L. Guerra
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-the-octopus-brain-is-so-extraordinary-claudio-l-guerra Octopuses have the ability to solve puzzles, learn through ...
==========
What could octopuses possibly have in common with us? After all, they don't have lungs, spines, or even a plural noun we can all agree on. But what they do have is the ability to solve puzzles, learn through observation, and even use tools, just like some other animals we know. And what makes octopus intelligence so amazing is that it comes from a biological structure completely different from ours. The 200 or so species of octopuses are mollusks belonging to the order cephalopoda, Greek for head-feet. Those heads contain impressively large brains, with a brain to body ratio similar to that of other intelligent animals, and a complex nervous system with about as many neurons as that of a dog. But instead of being centralized in the brain, these 500 million neurons are sp...
==========
What could octopuses possibly have in common with us? After all, they don't have lungs, spines, or even a plural noun we can all agree on. But what they do have is the ability to solve puzzles, learn through observation, and even use tools, just like some other animals we know. And what makes octopus intelligence so amazing is that it comes from a biological structure completely different from ours. The 200 or so species of octopuses are mollusks belonging to the order cephalopoda, Greek for head-feet. Those heads contain impressively large brains, with a brain to body ratio similar to that of other intelligent animals, and a complex nervous system with about as many neurons as that of a dog. But instead of being centralized in the brain, these 500 million neurons are sp...
