13
submitted 8 months ago by King@lemy.lol to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

I understand when people speak about the ethical problems with eating meat, but I think they do not apply to fish.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

We do know octopi, for example, can solve complex puzzles

[-] toastus@feddit.de 6 points 8 months ago

Just to be the super-nerd, octopus is not a regular latin word.
I think it is actually a greek loan word in latin.

So the plural is either octopodes to follow the original greek or octopuses in regular english.

[-] Susaga@ttrpg.network 7 points 8 months ago

The correct plural is whatever word you say that people understand as meaning more than one octopus. That's how language works.

[-] IvanOverdrive@lemm.ee 5 points 8 months ago

If enough people make a language mistake, it becomes a rule.

[-] toastus@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

I mean I get your point and for all intents and purposes I don't even necessarily disagree.

I just wanted to add this little factoid, since I think using "octopi" instead of the at least equally as correct "octopuses" shows that one tries to follow the etymology of the word.
And if you try to do that, the etymologically correct plural is "octopodes".

Then again I hesitated even answering you, since I am by no means one of those weirdos that has a problem with language changing.

For all I care we can talk about octopussies and octopiarians or whatever, but as someone that had to learn latin as a child, the use of octopi just kind of itches my brain.

But it is all good, I get what you are saying and my first post was never meant as a negative critique of OP and more as a fun fact.

[-] PP_BOY_@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

That's true, and a lot of westerners take issue with octopus as food

[-] Drusas@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago

'Octopi', interestingly enough, is a result of people assuming that the word 'octopus' comes from Latin because it ends in -us, which would mean that the correct plural drops the 'us' and replaces it with an 'i'. But, trickily enough, it does not come from Latin; it comes from Greek. As a result, if you're trying to be super technical, the correct plural would instead replace the 'us' with 'odes'--octopodes.

Of course, almost nobody actually uses that term unless they're doing it for fun. The most commonly used, correct plurals for octopus are 'octopuses' and 'octopus'.

I hope you enjoy that little tidbit as much as I did when I learned it.

[-] livus@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

@ozymandias117 octopuses can also teach puzzlesolving to others and also display altruism.

[-] Chuymatt@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago

They will also punch fish they hunt with if they are frustrated with them, which is hilarious.

[-] livus@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago

@Chuymatt totally hilarious!

When I first saw footage of them hunt that way I thought it was an equal partnership like fish have with eels, but the punching makes it clear that's not how the octopus sees it.

[-] tubbadu@lemmy.kde.social 0 points 8 months ago

They also are very good with olives and potatoes

[-] Devi@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago

The Octopuses solving puzzles is actually overblown a bit. I used to work in an aquarium and had to teach an octopus to open a jar to get its food out. They can do this, but they're not that smart so you need to break it into tiny steps. Even 'your food is inside the jar' was a difficult lesson.

this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2024
13 points (63.3% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26734 readers
1465 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS