My Octopus Teacher

[GoSeigen]

My Octopus Teacher has an unpromising title but is a gem of a nature documentary which I can 100% recommend. It really doesn't have any weakness with Attenborough-quality narration, stunning underwater photography, excellent understated soundtrack and an emotionally engaging plot line...

Available on Netflix: My Octopus Teacher directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Read.


GS

[nimnarb]

Well worth watching. It was rightly mentioned that if you are looking for alien creatures, we have more weird looking species of absolute alien proportions that cannot even be normally imagined and they are mostly under our feet which brings me to this question..

Why are we spending so much time and money on space as opposed to going "down under" literally. Create another Atlantis, have continuous oxygen pumped into a vast chamber(I mean we build tunnels under the sea). Yes I know, pressure, danger, water leaks, etc, etc, nor more so danger(probably a lot less) than flying zillion of miles away and creating civilization which no doubt will happen one day, but my untrained brain on this subject is just asking what probably is a stupid question and too lazy to google a possible answer.

Regardless, that chap was quite emotional and can totally understand why and as for that Octopus, just too incredible for words and who said we humans are more intelligent and certainly would love to grow an appendage back if it got bitten off. Talking about my arm.

[DiamondEcho]

It's not just the octopus, cuttlefish can be similarly 'interactive', dolphin and sea-lions too if you're lucky. Some fish follow along with a SCUBA diver, some (pipefish, lionfish) even using a diver's presence to hide behind or follow to assist with hunting. Some are incredibly shy and scarper at the first glimpse of you in the distance (garden eels).
What a diver comes to realise is that a lot of vertebrate sea life has a distinct personality. Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise, it's default for us to imagine sheep and cows (and for some even horses) as 'uniform beings', but a farmer who raises them will individually know them and their personalities.

[servodude]

it's default for us to imagine sheep and cows (and for some even horses) as 'uniform beings', but a farmer who raises them will individually know them and their personalities.

If only sheep could change colour like cuttlefish!
Imagine the wool

-sd

[DiamondEcho]

If only sheep could change colour like cuttlefish! Imagine the wool -sd

Wow maaaan In fact you can get a good idea of a cuttle-fish's mood from it's colour and how it's changing. Imagine that in sheep! [backing music from the neo-ruminant-wave band The Psychedelic Fleece's?]