Wendy Williams (2)Reseñas

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I've been interested in reading this sort of nature/ecology book the past few years. This one was on the light side in terms of science, which made it easy and pleasurable to read, but I don't think I learned as much.

The author divides the book into three sections: past, present, and future. I loved the section about the past, learning about the beginnings of buttlerfly classification. I hadn't heard of Maria Sibylla Merian, a 17th century woman scientist who basically created the idea of scientific method and careful observation. She observed and notated through writing and art work every aspect of observable life for caterpillars and butterflies. I would like to read more about her.

The second and third section get a heavy focus on monarchs, one of the most studied butterflies. This info was all interesting, but I had learned most of it other places. Still, it was a nice synthesis.

Overall, this was a nice glimpse into what we currently know about butterflies - their life cycles, migration, and what we think they need to survive in the future.½

Pretty enjoyable, if you're like me and always want to learn a little more about science. The subject and section transitions were pretty abrupt, and it's not as much fun as seeing the colossal squid in person, but I appreciated the advocacy for scientific research.

Thank you to Libro.fm for access to this ALC.½

A treasure trove of butterfly lore: when they first appeared on the Earth, subsequent history, differences between butterflies and moths, scientists and non-scientists alike who advanced the study of butterflies[from the well-known Darwin to the obscure Maria Sibylla Merian, who first discovered the link between the caterpillar and the butterfly]. Research past and present and conclusions are discussed along with how butterflies fit into very particular ecosystems. This was a window into the world of an insect beloved by all.

La farfalla è senza dubbio l’essere vivente più straordinario che esista al mondo. Badate bene, non ho detto “l’animale più straordinario”, e qui intendo spiegarvi il perché. Le farfalle hanno ispirato poeti e pittori, scrittori e musicisti, fanno impazzire di gioia bambini quando le inseguono per prenderle con la rete, oppure gli adulti quando, forniti di tele e pennelli, cercano di ritrarle in volo su campi dorati, oppure armati di binocoli e macchine fotografiche cercano di fermarne il volo ed i sospiri.

Io stesso posseggo una ricca collezione di veri esemplari di tutto il mondo con un’ampio corredo documentaristico e bibliografico. La potete vedere nella foto che correda questo post. Ricordo che anni fa, in una 'Summer school' inglese, tra i tanti corsi che avevano in offerta ce n'era uno che aveva per titolo "Butterflies watching". I partecipanti al corso dovevano dotarsi oltre che di carta, penna e colori, anche di un binocolo per fare le osservazioni di rito durante le uscite. In effetti, gran parte del tempo era 'outdoor' visitando i vari 'habitat' dove le farfalle vivono.

Ma la farfalla sembra difendere il suo mistero. La stessa etimologia della parola non è conosciuta e sfugge agli esperti. La proposta più accettabile potrebbe essere quella di Migliorini-Duro: “Voce onomatopeica, che col suono vuole rendere l’immagine del batter d’ali della farfalla”. Meno probabile la proposta del DEI: “Contaminazione del greco 'phálle tarma', ‘falena’, farfallina che si aggira intorno al lume, col latino 'papiliō, -ŏnis'. Assolutamente fantastica l’ipotesi di Devoto: “Farfalla è termine che risulta da complessi incroci di parole.

Il primo passo è l’incrocio del lat. 'papilio -onis' con 'palpitare' sotto l’influenza del battito (delle ali) da cui nasce un tipo *papilla. Il secondo passo è dato da 'falena' (greco phálaina) che incontra il lat. 'farfăra', nome di una pianta lunga e mobile (tanto che è soprannominata ‘coda di cavallo’), da cui nasce un tipo *farfăla. Dall’incrocio di *farfala e *papilla è nato allora farfalla”. Infine, non pare molto più probabile la proposta di M. Negri di una derivazione dall’arabo. Sia quello che sia “una farfalla è una farfalla è una farfalla è una farfalla”, proprio come la "rosa" di Gertrude Stein. Così si esprime Herman Hesse in “Farfalle”, un libro tanto gentile quanto prezioso:

“Bisogna essere ciechi o estremamente aridi se alla vista delle farfalle non si prova una gioia, un frammento di fanciullesco incanto, un brivido dello stupore goethiano. E certo ve ne sono buoni motivi. La farfalla, infatti, è un qualcosa di particolare, non è un animale come gli altri, in fondo non è propriamente un animale ma solamente l’ultima, piú elevata, piú festosa e insieme vitalmente importante essenza di un animale. È la forma festosa, nuziale, insieme creativa e caduca di quell’animale che prima era giacente crisalide e, ancor prima che crisalide, affamato bruco. La farfalla non vive per cibarsi e invecchiare, vive solamente per amare e concepire, e per questo è avvolta in un abito mirabile, con ali che sono molte volte piú grandi del suo corpo ed esprimono, nel taglio come nei colori, nelle scaglie e nella peluria, in un linguaggio estremamente vario e raffinato, il mistero del suo esistere, solo per vivere piú intensamente, per attirare con piú magia e seduzione l’altro sesso, per incamminarsi piú splendente verso la festa della procreazione. Tale significato della farfalla e della sua magnificenza è stato avvertito in tutti i tempi e da tutti i popoli, è una rivelazione semplice ed evidente. E ancora piú è divenuta, da festoso amante e splendente metamorfo, un emblema sia dell’effimero come di ciò che dura in eterno, e già in tempi antichi fu per l’uomo paragone e simbolo dell’anima.”

Un giorno, oltre un paio di millenni fa, il filosofo cinese Chuang-tzu si vide, in sogno, come una farfalla. Era una farfalla che volteggiava liberamente, e si divertiva molto. Non sapeva di essere Chuang-tzu. All’improvviso cominciò a percepire altre sensazioni, e si sentì di nuovo Chuang-tzu. Tuttavia, non sapeva se era Chuang-tzu che si era visto in sogno come una farfalla, o se era la farfalla che si era vista come Chuang-tzu. Ecco il testo della poesia in lingua inglese che scrisse un famoso poeta sull’episodio. Fa seguito la versione in italiano:

Chuang Tzu And The Butterfly

Chuang Tzu in dream became a butterfly,
And the butterfly became Chuang Tzu at waking.
Which was the real—the butterfly or the man ?
Who can tell the end of the endless changes of things?
The water that flows into the depth of the distant sea
Returns anon to the shallows of a transparent stream.
The man, raising melons outside the green gate of the city,
Was once the Prince of the East Hill.
So must rank and riches vanish.
You know it, still you toil and toil, what for?

----

Chuang Tzu e la Farfalla

Chuang Tzu in sogno divenne una farfalla,
E la farfalla divenne Chuang Tzu al risveglio.
Chi era vero? la farfalla o l’uomo?
Chi può dire la fine dell’interminabile mutamento delle cose?
L’acqua che scorre nel profondo del lontano mare
Ritorna diversa sulla superficie trasparente del ruscello.
L’uomo che vende i meloni fuori al cancello verde della città,
Era un tempo il principe della collina d’oriente.
Così finiscono ricchezze e status.
Tutti lo sappiamo e tu che leggi continui a faticare, a che scopo?

La scelta poetica della farfalla nella poesia di Li Po non è casuale. Infiniti infatti sono i simboli attribuibili ad essa: le anime dei defunti antenati che vagano in libertà. La crisalide è l’anima chiusa nel corpo e quando diventa adulta è simbolo di libertà dell’anima sulla morte. Il passaggio da crisalide a farfalla simboleggia la trasformazione. Il mutamento del baco in crisalide e poi farfalla è la maggiore trasformazione che possa avere luogo nel mondo animale. Non solo trasformazione fisica ma anche di personalità e di pensiero. Gli antichi Greci identificavano il continuo svolazzare di fiore in fiore da parte di queste farfalle alle inarrestabili mutazioni e continui turbamenti della mente umana. Non a caso la parola greca per farfalla è “psiche” da cui discende la parola “psicologia”. Nel mondo moderno il simbolo della farfalla sta per libertà, gioia, purezza e natura. Ecco alcune importanti caratteristiche così come le elenca il WWF:

ALI A SCAGLIE. Le farfalle, intese come quelle diurne, appartengono ai Lepidotteri (farfalle e falene), un ordine di insetti con più di 250.000 specie al mondo, secondo gruppo più numeroso degli inetti, dopo i coleotteri. Le farfalle sono soltanto una piccola parte dei Lepidotteri, appena il 5%. Il termine Lepidotteri significa «ali a scaglie». Sono proprio le minuscole scaglie a dare colori e disegni alla livrea delle farfalle. Senza scaglie, le ali sono trasparenti.

PICCOLA MA BEN DIFESA! Le farfalle sembrano essere prede facili. Hanno invece ottimi sistemi di difesa. Alcune specie, per esempio il monarca, hanno un sapore disgustoso per eventuali predatori, altre somigliano a calabroni. Ci sono poi farfalle che hanno particolari disegni (come occhi sulle ali e appendici caudali che sembrano antenne) che inducono i predatori a mordere parti del corpo senza che il morso risulti letale. Specie che hanno colori vistosi in volo, possono mimetizzarsi perfettamente al momento di posarsi. Bruchi emanano spesso un odore sgradevole e i peli di alcuni producono sostanze urticanti che possono provocare bruciore e irritazione sulla pelle dell’uomo.

GUSTI PARTICOLARI. I bruchi hanno bisogno di una pianta ospite per alimentarsi. E questa diventa fondamentale per la loro sopravvivenza. Tanto che alcuni nomi di farfalla prendono proprio origine dalla pianta alimentare. Per esempio la vanessa dell’ortica, la vanessa del cardo, la cavolaia o la ninfa del corbezzolo. Ma anche la vanessa io e l’atalanta hanno come pianta ospite l’ortica, mentre la cedronella e la cleopatra si cibano delle foglie di alaterno.

CICLO DI VITA MISTERIOSO. L’affascinante ciclo della vita delle farfalle (la metamorfosi completa e cioè il passaggio dalle fase di uovo a quella di larva o bruco a quella di pupa o crisalide fino allo stato adulto) viene utilizzato in molti paesi per insegnare i segreti della natura.

FARFALLE DI CULTURA. Ci sono molti riferimenti alle farfalle in letteratura, dalla Bibbia a Shakespeare alla letteratura contemporanea, e nella poesia e nei testi delle canzoni. Le farfalle sono anche tra gli animali più rappresentati nell’arte.

LA PAGINA DEI FAN. Molti sono gli appassionati di farfalle nel mondo. Nel Regno Unito, più di 10.000 persone si dedicano a documentare la presenza di farfalle. Ci sono 850 siti che vengono monitorati ogni settimana. Migliaia di persone viaggiano ogni anno per andare ad osservare le farfalle. Si organizzano eco-tour che toccano i paesi europei e anche note mete nel mondo, come la Valle delle Farfalle in Rhodesia o i Santuari della Monarca in Messico.

An interesting and beautifully written book about horses from the dawn horse to current re-wilding projects. Not terribly scientific, but a nice gift for children or adults who love horses.

Nobody hates butterflies. They bring pleasure and fascination to everyone. Yet we know enormously little about them, even today. What we do know has been assembled by Wendy Williams in The Language of Butterflies; an unabashed fan, talking to unabashed fanatics with credentials.

Butterflies come in about 20,000 varieties. Moths come in 260,000. Butterflies are generally far more colorful, making them the objects of adoration. Moths are perceived as a pain. Such is the fickle nature of glamor.

If you've ever touched a butterfly's wing, you know there is a fine powder that stays on your hands. That powder is actually the microscopic scales that make up the colorful patterns on butterfly wings. The wings themselves are not colored; there is a covering layer of scales hanging onto them. As butterflies live their lives, they lose scales, giving them a washed out look. The scales hang on (even tinier) hooks, and the whole system looks like a tiled roof - under a microscope. The brilliant blue morpho that absolutely everyone loves, is not a product of a blue pigment. Its color actually comes from light. Its scales diffract and scatter all other wavelengths except the purest blue. As its scales fall away, it too looks old and washed out. Williams says its color is not meant to attract other morphos; it is instead a defense mechanism. It so dazzles anyone or anything seeing it, that it can fly safely away before they recover their senses and try to capture it.

Much of the book is given over to monarchs, which are the focus of extreme passions all over the continent. All kinds of people have implemented tagging programs, asking finders to contact them so the flight path of the butterfly can be elaborated. The tagging itself is a bit of a miracle, as monarchs without tags weigh less than a paper clip, Williams says. Some migrate from as far as southern Canada to northern Mexico. Others stay put. Some of the migrants lay eggs while making that pilgrimage. Most don't. Unlike other butterflies, monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed. No milkweed, no new generations. Monarch caterpillars ingest the poisonous latex that gives milkweed its name. It makes monarchs poisonous to birds, so birds leave them alone.

The proboscis of a monarch is not a sipping straw for nectar. It is more like a paper towel, sopping up the fluid in the flower by laying in it. Sucking it up would take more energy than the nectar would provide. Monarch antennae are not just for touch purposes. Monarchs actually smell with them.

Though their brain is the size of a pinhead, butterflies can learn. Given the right nectars, they will go to imitation flowers, even if they're painted green, which would normally mean nothing to a butterfly. In other words, they're trainable.

Women have played an outsized role in understanding butterflies. Two notables, Maria Sybilla Merian in the 1600s, who studied them and painted them in all their stages of life and habitat, and Miriam Rothschild, the world expert in them in the late 1800s, are the subjects of deeper profiles in the book. Both women were denied an education, being just girls. Merian was the first to connect caterpillars to butterflies. Until that time, less than 400 years ago, everyone "knew" they were two different animals, one pretty, one disgusting, and no connection between them. The women went on to earn the respect of the scientific community, publishing world-beating books and scientific papers. Another woman, in Colorado, is responsible for the singularly most amazing fossils of butterflies ever found. She supplied endless examples to scientists everywhere, saving them decades of work.

Among the legions of fans, some have understood far more than others. Kingston Leong of California has figured out what makes an attractive and successful wintering area for monarchs. The requirements are complicated, requiring a long period of study of the elements that might go into it. He has helped businesses implement them, such as golf courses and even a housing development, which now attracts thousands of them every winter. It has made itself successful by marketing that feature, even putting monarchs on bathroom walls to reinforce the connection.

Some caterpillars are worshipped by red ants. The ants carry the caterpillar back to the nest and feed it. When it comes out of the chrysalis as a butterfly, they carry it out again and launch it on its way. Why? The caterpillar mimics the smell of a queen ant, and has even mastered the sound she makes. This subterfuge doesn't work with all varieties of red ant. If the ants realize their error, the caterpillar provides a lot of food for the colony.

People can actually help cover for the loss of habitat that is making it nearly impossible for butterflies to migrate. They will stop at apartment balconies and backyard gardens that present flowers and especially milkweed, hopping from charging station to charging station on their route south or north. Putting out the proper attractions is very rewarding for butterfly fans. It's a win-win. It also means huge conservation areas are not necessary. An acre here and an acre there are sufficient to keep butterflies healthy.

However, it also takes a lot of research to do it right. Williams gives the wonderful example of a conservation area, strictly fenced off from interfering cattle. It attracted no butterflies. The reason: the cattle kept the grasses in check, allowing the local wildflowers to thrive and be noticeable. Without the cattle, everything else grew too big and dense for butterflies to work the field.

There is so much more as well. Williams' book is an easy read. She is a storyteller, and has involved herself in her stories. What with the automatic prejudice in favor of the subject matter, The Language of Butterflies is a pleasure to read.

David Wineberg

This book is really interesting. It talks about the aid that cephalopods such as squid, octopi and cuttlefish have offered modern medical science and whatnot with their similar neurons and eye structures. Some species of squid have a really massive neuron that can be removed from the body and practiced on by neurosurgeons.

Initially it mentions that such creatures were misunderstood since we didn't really go into the depths of the sea back in the day, so there were many scientists that denied the existence of the larger species of squid, and thought of them as monsters.

We sure have come a long way, but there is much more to learn from the sea.

As an equestrian, I picked this book up as a little indulgence. I love reading about horses, so much so that it is often difficult for me to learn anything new from "epic" catch-all books like this. However, I was delightfully surprised by Wendy Williams' book, which taught me several new things about the way equine brains work.

Williams begins by detailing the evolutionary process of equines. Though there's nothing too enlightening in the essence of what she has to say (anyone who's read a Big Book of Horse Facts probably gets the gist of equine evolution), her little details add something interesting to the discussion. "I...never really understood why scientists considered those strange little beings horses," she says, speaking of Hyracotherium and Mesohippus, hitting upon a concern any non-biologist might have. "Why ISN'T it a dog?" A fair enough question, for which she has a long and specific answer. I was even more delighted to learn the practical applications of this evolution, such as the fact that horses only see shades of blue and green.

In addition to the color images and black-and-white reproductions of horses (including everything from cave art to anatomical renderings to modern day horse-human relationships), the book has pleasing access features. A glossary, index, and extensive footnotes reveal the thoroughness of this book's production. However, one complaint I have is that "training" (arguably the most applicable topic of equine research to the modern day reader) was not listed in the index. Another complaint is the lack of formal bibliography and sometimes shaky use of research. For a writer who insists often that there is a big difference "between anecdote and research," she relies at least equally upon the two to draw her conclusions, calling upon stories of successful horsemen and women without necessarily illustrating the supporting research.

Though this book was right up my alley, I can't see your average, non-horse person finishing it--unless they happen to be a particularly voracious and omnivorous reader.

interesting and we'll written

A lovely, easy-to-grasp overview of squid and why they are so important to us. Could it have used more pictures? Sure. Could it have talked about more types of squid? Of course. But for the author's purpose—showing us how the study of squid has directly benefited humans—she covered the right bases. Heck, she even interviews a professor from my alma mater (Dr. Purdy, for all you curious SU alums), who I had no idea was studying cuttlefish (it was regular fish when I was in school).

To sum up: squid = awesome (although more pictures = awesomer).

A number of the reviews for this book suggest that it is not just for 'horsey' people, but also for the general reader. Speaking as a non horsey person, that felt like a bit of a stretch. The first two thirds are about the evolution of the horse, from the first mamals to the different kinds of horse around now. There was perhaps more detail than felt necessary, but it did hold my interest. Then came extensive sections on the relationship between man and horse, particularly in pre-history and the evidence of cave art in Europe.

I certainly feel that I have more real knowledge of horses now than I did before reading the book, but the writing style made it uphill work much of the time. Sentences and paragraphs are often poorly structured, to a surprising extent in such a widely recommended book. The author also seems to be trying too hard throughout to convince us of the uniqueness of the relationship between man and horse, which may well be the case, but the insistance undermined the assertion.

Very interesting

This was an interesting book, but it sure wandered far from its center. I had some trouble with the fact that the author called female subjects by their first name and males by their last. This may have been an error in the editing, but I thought these scientists should be treated equally. There were interesting side trips into jellyfish, cuttlefish and octopuses. And long portions dedicated to the axon and its variety of uses in research, which led to the workings of our brains and what constitutes intelligence. Lots of fascinating material, well researched. Just not as much about squid themselves as I was expecting. I thought Soul of an Octopus did a better job of sticking to the subject. It was also more entertaining reading. Very small print in this copy.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! Oh, err, ahem, sorry, you were expecting a review? Well then, Kraken is a popular science book about cephalopods, more commonly known as squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish. It covers all the things you might expect from a zoological science book, like cephalopod intelligence and behavior, reproduction, hunting techniques, and so forth, but there is also a large focus on neuroscience. Octopuses have neurons (brain cells) in their tentacles, and the fact that they can lose an arm (one of their brains, essentially) and then regrow it is very fascinating for neuroscientists.

My only major issue with Kraken is how disorganized it feels. Though I expect authors to occasionally go off on tangents from time to time, there are times when a 2-3 page section in a chapter will feel utterly out of place, and there is no reason it wouldn't have fit better elsewhere. For example, at the end of the chapter about Cephalopod reproduction there is an inexplicable 3 pages dedicated to how scientists dissect their stomachs to discover what they have been eating, and the trouble identifying some of the things they eat. It's interesting, but why was it there of all places? It literally had nothing to do with the subject of the chapter, and it would have worked fine had it been placed in the chapters that discussed their diets or hunting practices.

Nevertheless, I did learn a lot about squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish. It's light, breezy, and informative, which is exactly what I wanted when I went into it. If you are interested in the subject and want a quick and easy read, this is certainly suitable.

Love this book! Great evolving 'storyline', easy to follow and had lots of trivia bits to add to my collection of 'useless' knowledge! Fascinating!

I like cephalopods. I volunteer at an aquarium, even. This book did teach me a lot, and I did interrupt my husband's bedtime reading to tell him a lot of interesting facts I read in this book.

That being said, this book was kind of all over. I guess I just didn't expect to be reading so much about the science we gained from squid as opposed to about squid themselves. I also have read a lot about neuroscience etc. so some of that was review.

More pictures would have been nice.

And I know it talks about squid in the subtitle, but I did find myself waiiiiting for the octopus until they finally showed up. I know more about them so it was great to learn about squid, but I guess I am just an octopus girl. It was fun to read this then go see the nautilus in action a few days later at my aquarium, though.

I enjoyed this book but found it spotty. The author was too present, too intrusive. I think her style may be influenced by Mary Roach, and a little of that goes a long way with me. I learned a lot about cephalopods, and I really, really, really wish I could have cromatophores.

I flat-out loved the neuroscience chapter. I think I need a good pop-sci neuroscience book right away.

Enjoyable, but not terribly enlightening.

This was essentially interesting, because hi, it's about cephalopods. And there was plenty of good information about octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish. They're really neat.

As far as pop science writing goes, this was a little weird. Some of the analogies used to explain scientific phenomena were harder to follow than the actual science. Squid says what?

I was also a little disappointed with the poor quality of the (too few) photographs used to illustrate this book. Yes, I get that there aren't a lot of high def pictures of cephalopods in the wild, but even the photographs from aquariums looked awful and it was hard to discern what you were supposed to be looking at. Additional sketches and diagrams would have gone a long way, given how much of the book was devoted to the freaky anatomy of these mofos.

Still, it was a grand plan to read this concurrently with the Kraken novel, it really enhanced the whole experience.

Grade: B-
Recommended: Well, there isn't that much about cephalopods out there, relatively speaking, so it's decent enough in that sense.

I think cephalopods (a category that includes squid and octopuses) are fascinating creatures. They're wonderfully alien and surprisingly intelligent, and I felt like I didn't know anywhere near enough about them. I was hoping this book would rectify that for me, but, while I did learn quite a few things, it's not really an organized exploration of what we know and don't know about squid and their relatives. It's more about the experience of studying these animals, with a focus on how research on them has lead to more general discoveries in science and medicine. Which is fine, but it's not quite what I was hoping for.½

Themes: science, research, fishing, weird critters, evolution

I love the ocean. I just can't swim. (And actually, I hate the water. I have tried to learn to swim, but it's this phobia thing I just can't seem to master.) So I have to get my underwater fix from documentaries and books.

And the giant squid is like the coolest sea creature ever! I mean, it eluded scientist for hundreds of years, but sailors knew better. It is legendary. So a whole book about it was just impossible to resist.

Turns out the book is not just about the giant squid, but about cephalopods in general. They're all here - nautilus, cuttlefish, octopus, and of course, squid. It's full of wild and weird facts you never knew, info on the latest cutting edge research. (And since a lot of in involves dissection, that can be taken literally.)

If you ever loved those films by Jacques Cousteau, I can absolutely recommend this book. It's not perfect. I wish there were better pictures. But it is cool and weird. The chapter on squid sex was the funniest thing I've read in a long time. However, when I tried sharing some interesting facts of life with my teenage daughter all she did was squeal, "Ew!" About 40 times. So avoid that chapter if you have a weak stomach or are especially fond of calamari.

4 stars.

This is not only a beautifully designed book, it's one that's very informative about cephalopods, and the ways they fit into and have helped modern science.

I still am more interested in how they think, just as I am w3ith corvids.

For the most part I found this book to be highly enjoyable, very informative and entertaining and easy to read. I really enjoyed the look at both the various cephalopod families and our long history with them as we've learned more and more over the years. The last couple of chapters got a bit hard to read, especially the one about neurobiology and it's study, I can understand why it's in there considering how important cephalapods have been in the understanding and study of neurons, but it got long and very hard to read at that point.
With the exception of that chapter the rest of the book was a breeze to read and amazingly informative for such a small book.

This was a fascinating, fun, and amazing book. I learned so much and love cephalopods so much more for it. My only critique is that it's very prejudiced toward 'what nature can do to serve humanity', and mentions a handful of incidents or experiments that make me feel vaguely ill. Other than that, however, there are wonderful quotes, references to amazing research, and comparisons to surprising bits of pop culture (there's even a dragonball z reference--I'm not even kidding!) that make the awe-inspiring cephalopod traits even easier to understand.