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Tom Levenson. Krakauer, Hannah Lauren Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing MIT Program in Writing & Humanistic Studies 2013-01-07T21:24:06Z 2013-01-07T21:24:06Z 2012 2012 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76139 821900994 Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2012. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 24-26). Octopuses are extraordinary creatures: Despite their numerous biological divergences from humans, they display impressive intelligence. Aquarists and scientists alike have noted instances of octopuses having what appear to be personalities, and some (Roland Anderson and Jennifer Mather) have gone so far as to propose that octopuses are just as capable of having personalities as humans. There has been significant push-back from ethologists (Roger Hanlon and David Sinn) who instead say that this is the result of projection, and that animal behavior science ought to take a more quantitative and experimental approach to studies of behavior. The case of the octopus is a valuable opportunity to consider how we as humans go about observing animal behavior. The contentious debate over whether to apply human terms like personality to animals may ultimately tell us more about the nature of humans as observers than the animals themselves. Octopuses provide a philosophical mirror by which we can consider our propensity to look at the world through a decidedly human lens. by Hannah Lauren Krakauer. S.M. in Science Writing 26 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Graduate Program in Science Writing. Interview with an octopus Thesis application/pdf Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="f63d76de-b73a-41bc-a113-6679f7490fff"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Interview with an octopus</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2012</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Krakauer, Hannah Lauren</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Graduate Program in Science Writing.</Keyword> <Abstract>Octopuses are extraordinary creatures: Despite their numerous biological divergences from humans, they display impressive intelligence. Aquarists and scientists alike have noted instances of octopuses having what appear to be personalities, and some (Roland Anderson and Jennifer Mather) have gone so far as to propose that octopuses are just as capable of having personalities as humans. There has been significant push-back from ethologists (Roger Hanlon and David Sinn) who instead say that this is the result of projection, and that animal behavior science ought to take a more quantitative and experimental approach to studies of behavior. The case of the octopus is a valuable opportunity to consider how we as humans go about observing animal behavior. The contentious debate over whether to apply human terms like personality to animals may ultimately tell us more about the nature of humans as observers than the animals themselves. Octopuses provide a philosophical mirror by which we can consider our propensity to look at the world through a decidedly human lens.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>