Chris writes, “This is an image of a female Cave Weta – A New Zealand indigenous insect similar to a grasshopper, except much larger.”
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Originally published June 21, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.
Slate, June 20, 2008
Aristotle didn’t have a high opinion of the octopus. “The octopus is a stupid creature,” he wrote, “for it will approach a man’s hand if it be lowered in the water.” Twenty-four centuries later, this “stupid” creature is enjoying a much better reputation. YouTube is loaded with evidence of what some might call octopus intelligence. One does an uncanny impression of a flounder. Another mimics coral before darting away from a pushy camera. A third slips its arms around a jar, unscrews it, and dines on the crab inside. Scientific journals publish research papers on octopus learning, octopus personality, octopus memory.
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Originally published June 19, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.
Alan writes:
“After much consideration, I decided to get an atom tattoo. But what atom? Given that I’m a graduate student in organic chemistry at the University of Michigan, carbon seemed like the obvious choice. It also has the advantage of being small enough not to look too crowded. I went for a retro 50’s Jetsons sort of look. Believe it or not, the general shape (though not the coloring) is based on a piece of Microsoft Office clip-art.”
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Originally published June 18, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.
Hey Angelenos! I hope you can come out to catch my next talk about Microcosm. It’s part of the Zocalo lecture series. I’ll be talking next Wednesday, June 25, at 7:30 pm at the Skirball Cultural Center. Here are the details.
Originally published June 18, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.