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Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith
carolined314's review
informative
3.75
Thought-provoking, if you can get past the author's self-involvement and pretension
robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
For the most part, a pleasantly scattered approach.
Speculation, hedging and hey, look what nifty thing this cephalopod can do! Then discussing current knowledge on consciousness in humans, which, okay, but not what I was reading it for? Then back to that thing the octopus or cephalopod did and an associated theory. What I learned from this book is I want to read more about cephalopods, perhaps from a more purely scientific, rather than philosophical framework. Did love finding out how cuttlefish's colouration works, even if the community is still a little fuzzy on the why's.
⚠️animal cruelty, animal experimentation
Speculation, hedging and hey, look what nifty thing this cephalopod can do! Then discussing current knowledge on consciousness in humans, which, okay, but not what I was reading it for? Then back to that thing the octopus or cephalopod did and an associated theory. What I learned from this book is I want to read more about cephalopods, perhaps from a more purely scientific, rather than philosophical framework. Did love finding out how cuttlefish's colouration works, even if the community is still a little fuzzy on the why's.
⚠️animal cruelty, animal experimentation
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Medical content and Animal cruelty
ruth24's review
4.0
I am now very knowledgeable about cephalopods. Did you know that the plural form of octopus is in fact not 'Octopi' but 'Octopuses'? My whole life has been a lie. Also, this was the most expensive book I ever borrowed from the library, because I spilled tea all over it and had to pay $22 to replace it. Eek! Fortunately the librarian was very nice about it, because she'd done exactly the same thing the week before. Like I said to her, you can't read a book without a mug of tea and accidents are bound to happen!
"Mischief and craft are plainly seen to be characteristics of this creature." - Claudius Aelianus, third century A.D., writing about the octopus.
[b:Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness|28116739|Other Minds The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness|Peter Godfrey-Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1458496696s/28116739.jpg|48126419] opens with the above quote, which right away made me want to learn more. I found the book fascinating as it combined my interests in animals, psychology, and evolutionary processes. One of my favourite classes in university was comparative cognition, which was about chimpanzees, birds etc. and what evidence has been gathered about their mental processes. In another life, I think I might have liked to pursue a career in comparative cognition and become like Jane Goodall!
Having not read much non-fiction lately, it was challenging at first to get my brain to focus. My eyes would physically read the words, but I'd get to the end of a paragraph and realize I'd been distracted thinking about life stuff and hadn't taken anything in. It was a bit like when you try to meditate, but you can't get your mind to go blank because you're thinking about everything under the sun. Once I got past that, things were better and I think Peter Godfrey-Smith did a good job of giving the book a somewhat narrative quality, with interesting tidbits, photos, and diagrams.
Here are a few sections I highlighted:
If you've ever been to the aquarium and stood in front of a singular tank staring in wonder at an octopus (or any other sea creature really), then you should consider reading this book! :)
"Mischief and craft are plainly seen to be characteristics of this creature." - Claudius Aelianus, third century A.D., writing about the octopus.
[b:Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness|28116739|Other Minds The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness|Peter Godfrey-Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1458496696s/28116739.jpg|48126419] opens with the above quote, which right away made me want to learn more. I found the book fascinating as it combined my interests in animals, psychology, and evolutionary processes. One of my favourite classes in university was comparative cognition, which was about chimpanzees, birds etc. and what evidence has been gathered about their mental processes. In another life, I think I might have liked to pursue a career in comparative cognition and become like Jane Goodall!
Having not read much non-fiction lately, it was challenging at first to get my brain to focus. My eyes would physically read the words, but I'd get to the end of a paragraph and realize I'd been distracted thinking about life stuff and hadn't taken anything in. It was a bit like when you try to meditate, but you can't get your mind to go blank because you're thinking about everything under the sun. Once I got past that, things were better and I think Peter Godfrey-Smith did a good job of giving the book a somewhat narrative quality, with interesting tidbits, photos, and diagrams.
Here are a few sections I highlighted:
"Much of a cephalopod's nervous system is not found within the brain at all, but spread throughout the body. In an octopus, the majority of neurons are in the arms themselves -- nearly twice as many as in the central brain." p. 67
"Each sucker on an octopus's arm may have 10,000 neurons to handle taste and touch. Even an arm that has been surgically removed can perform basic motions, like reaching and grasping." p. 67
"Octopuses, like us, seem to have a distinction between short-term and long-term memory. They engage in play with novel objects that aren't food and have no apparent use. They seem to have something like sleep. Cuttlefish appear to have a form of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, like the sleep in which we dream. (It's still unclear whether there's REM-like sleep in octopuses.) Other similarities are more abstract, such as an involvement with humans, including the ability to recognize particular humans." p. ??
"We have hearts and so do octopuses. But an octopus has three hearts, not one. Their hearts pump blood that is blue-green, using copper as the oxygen-carrying molecule instead of the iron that makes our blood red." p. 74
If you've ever been to the aquarium and stood in front of a singular tank staring in wonder at an octopus (or any other sea creature really), then you should consider reading this book! :)
chester_jeebs's review
4.0
A really interesting and informative look at the evolution of the conscious mind. I wish there had been more octopus content (in both writing and photos) but I get the impression that the slight lack is due to a lack of research in the area rather than the enthusiasm of the author. I would love a book that goes more in depth into these areas but as a read accessible to the general audience, it does great.