Most cephalopods and, I think, all octopoda are semelparous--they procreate once, and then usually die not longer after. I wonder if this is their Great Filter, preventing the emergence of more cooperative, social behaviors among themselves that could potentially put them on the path humans found themselves on.
Certainly I think octopus and squid, along with covids and some other groups, show that intelligence is rather easy to come by so long as it's adaptive. Human-level intelligence is probably only adaptive given other factors that preceded leaps in our intelligence. For example, I bet nascent (but theretofore unseen) altruism and culture emerged and created an ecological environment into which our intelligence could profitably expand, after which the process probably accelerated and became more dynamic.
In my eyes their solitude and their short and fragile lives are what caused them to evolve to such a fascinating creature. Just like the human's fragility: no inherent armour, no inherent weapon, no inherent speed. If you can survive under those conditions, you'll certainly be interesting.
Wouldn't it make more sense that the fragility, lack of armor (fur/thick skin) or claws etc. Came after tools made them redundant, like how our bowels are shorter than apes' because they atrophied after the invention of cooking- a digestive system capable of processing raw good being less efficient overall in that new environment?
> octopoda are semelparous--they procreate once, and then usually die not longer after. I wonder if this is their Great Filter, preventing the emergence of more cooperative, social behaviors among themselves that could potentially put them on the path humans found themselves on.
The fact that they are solitary is a much, much bigger obstacle than the fact that they die quickly.
It was related to the discussion of octopus being condemned to a loner existence by cannibalism and their "death-spiral" after procreation. A meaningful observing of octopus culture would only be possible if this was fixed.
The ocean is their great filter. Ocean animals are very limited in their tool use - there's not much in the way of rocks or sticks to be had. Some shells and corals. And fire is off the table. I would expect it to be true that any technological civilization has to live on land at least part of the time.
No fire means no energy or metals which means no technology more advanced than the Stone age.
One could conceive of a species that makes its own tools the same way it makes its own shells, and uses energy from hydrothermal vents, but yeah, chemistry and metallurgy would be pretty difficult underwater.
When the name COVID-19 first came out, I found myself frequently fighting back the urge to smile and think about 19 crime-fighting crows and ravens (Force Corvid-19).
Certainly I think octopus and squid, along with covids and some other groups, show that intelligence is rather easy to come by so long as it's adaptive. Human-level intelligence is probably only adaptive given other factors that preceded leaps in our intelligence. For example, I bet nascent (but theretofore unseen) altruism and culture emerged and created an ecological environment into which our intelligence could profitably expand, after which the process probably accelerated and became more dynamic.