Possibly the one thing that is preventing them from creating culture/civilisation with how smart they are. Maybe they’ll get their shit together when we’re gone. Planet of the apes is too played out.
There’s that, and also their short lifespan (1 to 5 years).
And the fact that the mother only cares for their offspring while they’re in eggs.
Forms of transmission of behaviors by imitation or communication mostly emerge in species that care for their young, like birds or mammals, because the young learns from their parents, which complements instinct. It gets stronger when they’re a social species, because they also learn from every other individual. That’s when culture begins to emerge (like how some “accents” or “dialects” can be identified in the songs of birds or whales of a same species). But a specie that isn’t social and doesn’t care for it’s young, whatever an individual learnt in its lifetime dies with it, behaviors can only be transmitted genetically, so they’re slower to evolve.
I agree with the point you’re making. I’d just like to note that the mother doesn’t care for her children because she dies taking care of the eggs. The eggs get attached to a ceiling of an underwater cave, and the mother watches the eggs until she dies of starvation. It is theorized that this happens to prevent the mother from eating her children.
The second Children of Stuff- I think it’s Children of Ruin- talks about far-future octopod civilization. Interesting stuff. The whole trilogy is super good and I recommend it.
Klear@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Possibly the one thing that is preventing them from creating culture/civilisation with how smart they are. Maybe they’ll get their shit together when we’re gone. Planet of the apes is too played out.
loaExMachina@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
There’s that, and also their short lifespan (1 to 5 years). And the fact that the mother only cares for their offspring while they’re in eggs.
Forms of transmission of behaviors by imitation or communication mostly emerge in species that care for their young, like birds or mammals, because the young learns from their parents, which complements instinct. It gets stronger when they’re a social species, because they also learn from every other individual. That’s when culture begins to emerge (like how some “accents” or “dialects” can be identified in the songs of birds or whales of a same species). But a specie that isn’t social and doesn’t care for it’s young, whatever an individual learnt in its lifetime dies with it, behaviors can only be transmitted genetically, so they’re slower to evolve.
meekah@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I agree with the point you’re making. I’d just like to note that the mother doesn’t care for her children because she dies taking care of the eggs. The eggs get attached to a ceiling of an underwater cave, and the mother watches the eggs until she dies of starvation. It is theorized that this happens to prevent the mother from eating her children.
SolOrion@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
That is absolutely fucking metal. TIL.
AmidFuror@fedia.io 6 months ago
First they need to develop a language that allows them to transcend time.
bizzle@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The second Children of Stuff- I think it’s Children of Ruin- talks about far-future octopod civilization. Interesting stuff. The whole trilogy is super good and I recommend it.
Beanedwizard@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Nah raccoons will take our place when humanity wipes itself out.