0:00:07.058,0:00:11.074
What could octopuses possibly[br]have in common with us?

0:00:11.074,0:00:17.014
After all, they don't have lungs, spines,[br]or even a plural noun we can all agree on.

0:00:17.014,0:00:20.162
But what they do have is the ability[br]to solve puzzles,

0:00:20.162,0:00:21.998
learn through observation,

0:00:21.998,0:00:23.634
and even use tools,

0:00:23.634,0:00:26.112
just like some other animals we know.

0:00:26.112,0:00:29.131
And what makes octopus intelligence[br]so amazing

0:00:29.131,0:00:31.509
is that it comes [br]from a biological structure

0:00:31.509,0:00:34.430
completely different from ours.

0:00:34.430,0:00:37.074
The 200 or so species of octopuses

0:00:37.074,0:00:40.731
are mollusks [br]belonging to the order cephalopoda,

0:00:40.731,0:00:42.722
Greek for head-feet.

0:00:42.722,0:00:45.707
Those heads contain impressively[br]large brains,

0:00:45.707,0:00:50.458
with a brain to body ratio similar[br]to that of other intelligent animals,

0:00:50.458,0:00:55.850
and a complex nervous system with[br]about as many neurons as that of a dog.

0:00:55.850,0:00:58.136
But instead of being [br]centralized in the brain,

0:00:58.136,0:01:04.171
these 500 million neurons are spread out[br]in a network of interconnected ganglia

0:01:04.171,0:01:07.580
organized into three basic structures.

0:01:07.580,0:01:11.888
The central brain only contains[br]about 10% of the neurons,

0:01:11.888,0:01:16.670
while the two huge optic lobes[br]contain about 30%.

0:01:16.670,0:01:19.398
The other 60% are in the tentacles,

0:01:19.398,0:01:24.366
which for humans would be like[br]our arms having minds of their own.

0:01:24.366,0:01:26.999
This is where things [br]get even more interesting.

0:01:26.999,0:01:30.869
Vertebrates like us have a rigid skeleton[br]to support our bodies,

0:01:30.869,0:01:32.841
with joints that allow us to move.

0:01:32.841,0:01:35.413
But not all types of movement are allowed.

0:01:35.413,0:01:37.245
You can't bend your knee backwards,

0:01:37.245,0:01:40.136
or bend your forearm in the middle,[br]for example.

0:01:40.136,0:01:43.665
Cephalopods, on the other hand,[br]have no bones at all,

0:01:43.665,0:01:48.339
allowing them to bend their limbs[br]at any point and in any direction.

0:01:48.339,0:01:49.638
So shaping their tentacles

0:01:49.638,0:01:53.785
into any one of the virtually [br]limitless number of possible arrangements

0:01:53.785,0:01:56.739
is unlike anything we are used to.

0:01:56.739,0:02:00.694
Consider a simple task,[br]like grabbing and eating an apple.

0:02:00.694,0:02:04.348
The human brain contains a neurological[br]map of our body.

0:02:04.348,0:02:05.473
When you see the apple,

0:02:05.473,0:02:09.226
your brain's motor center activates[br]the appropriate muscles,

0:02:09.226,0:02:11.310
allowing you to reach out with your arm,

0:02:11.310,0:02:12.852
grab it with your hand,

0:02:12.852,0:02:14.265
bend your elbow joint,

0:02:14.265,0:02:15.870
and bring it to your mouth.

0:02:15.870,0:02:18.666
For an octopus, [br]the process is quite different.

0:02:18.666,0:02:20.465
Rather than a body map,

0:02:20.465,0:02:23.898
the cephalopod brain [br]has a behavior library.

0:02:23.898,0:02:26.013
So when an octopus sees food,

0:02:26.013,0:02:28.905
its brain doesn't activate [br]a specific body part,

0:02:28.905,0:02:32.473
but rather a behavioral response to grab.

0:02:32.473,0:02:34.556
As the signal travels through the network,

0:02:34.556,0:02:36.990
the arm neurons pick up the message

0:02:36.990,0:02:39.724
and jump into action [br]to command the movement.

0:02:39.724,0:02:41.877
As soon as the arm touches the food,

0:02:41.877,0:02:46.535
a muscle activation wave travels[br]all the way through the arm to its base,

0:02:46.535,0:02:50.709
while the arm sends back another wave[br]from the base to the tip.

0:02:50.709,0:02:54.400
The signals meet halfway[br]between the food and the base of the arm,

0:02:54.400,0:02:57.343
letting it know to bend at that spot.

0:02:57.343,0:03:01.591
What all this means is that each[br]of an octopus's eight arms

0:03:01.591,0:03:04.092
can essentially think for itself.

0:03:04.092,0:03:06.825
This gives it amazing flexibility [br]and creativity

0:03:06.825,0:03:09.644
when facing a new situation or problem,

0:03:09.644,0:03:11.702
whether its opening [br]a bottle to reach food,

0:03:11.702,0:03:13.436
escaping through a maze,

0:03:13.436,0:03:15.359
moving around in a new environment,

0:03:15.359,0:03:19.601
changing the texture and the color[br]of its skin to blend into the scenery,

0:03:19.601,0:03:23.648
or even mimicking other creatures[br]to scare away enemies.

0:03:23.648,0:03:26.477
Cephalopods may have evolved [br]complex brains

0:03:26.477,0:03:29.170
long before our vertebrate relatives.

0:03:29.170,0:03:32.959
And octopus intelligence isn't just useful[br]for octopuses.

0:03:32.959,0:03:37.774
Their radically different nervous system[br]and autonomously thinking appendages

0:03:37.774,0:03:39.572
have inspired new research

0:03:39.572,0:03:43.944
in developing flexible robots[br]made of soft materials.

0:03:43.944,0:03:48.882
And studying how intelligence can arise[br]along such a divergent evolutionary path

0:03:48.882,0:03:54.056
can help us understand more about[br]intelligence and consciousness in general.

0:03:54.056,0:03:57.483
Who knows what other forms [br]of intelligent life are possible,

0:03:57.483,0:04:00.791
or how they process the world around them.