You know how in textbooks, the authors like to make really stupid examples and metaphors so that even an infant could understand the point? In case you don’t remember this textbook trait, I am going to give you the example that I had the great pleasure of reading last night in my Psychology: Themes and Variations textbook:
“If you have ever visited an aquarium, you may have encountered one on natures’s more captivating animals: the octopus. Although this jellylike mass of arms and head appears to be a relatively simple creature, it is capable of interesting behaviors. The octopus has highly developed eyes that enable it to respond to stimuli in the darkness of the ocean. When threatenedm, it can release an inky cloud to ward off enemies while it makes its escape by a kind of rocket propulsion. If that doesn’t work, it can camouflage itself by changing color and texture to blend into its surroundings. Furthermore, the animal is surprisingly intelligent. In captivity, an octopus can learn, for example, to twist the lid off a jar with one of its tentacles to get a treat that is inside.” (Keep in mind this is a psychology class with a psychology textbook.)
(Here comes the good part. This is actually the next sentence in my book).
“Despite its talents, there are many things an octopus cannot do. An octopus cannot study psychology, plan a weekend, dream about its future, or discover the Pythagorean theorem.”
Yes, this is the example my textbook chose to tell me about the biology of the brain in this chapter on brain function. And imagine how sad I was to learn that an octopus can’t plan a weekend or dream about its future. And imagine how many tears I shed at the thought that this majestic creature can’t live the ultimate dream of discovering the Pythagorean theorem. I mean, I know I think of my life in terms of what happened before and what happened after that bit of math knowledge came into my world. And the octopus will never know the glory of A squared plus B squared equals C squared. Oh, the horror! Let’s all take a moment of silence in honor of this sad, sad tale truth….
I’ll be sure to keep you updated on any other gems of wisdom that come my way from my classes. And if the first paragraph of chapter 3 is anything like the rest of the book, I think there will be many.
