Curated rabbit holes
Five trails through the octopus mind
Chapters are useful. Questions are better. Each trail crosses disciplines to follow one idea wherever it leads.
5 attractions
The Alien Mind Trail
How evolution built complex cognition twice, on radically different neural plans.
Guiding question: What does intelligence look like when it is not built like us?
4 attractions
Where Does the Octopus End?
Arms, skin, suckers, and environment blur the boundary between brain and body.
Guiding question: Can a self be distributed across a body?
3 attractions
Color Without Color Vision
A monochromatic visual system produces some of nature's richest camouflage.
Guiding question: How does a colorblind animal match a colorful world?
4 attractions
The Inner Life Trail
Pain, active sleep, possible dreams, personality, and the limits of inference.
Guiding question: What can science responsibly say about octopus experience?
6 attractions
Intelligence in Action
Tool use, learning, social behavior, play, and the controversies behind the headlines.
Guiding question: Which celebrated octopus abilities survive close methodological scrutiny?