This animal forces us to ponder the nature of intelligence itself. They are running incredibly complex software on unbelievably small hardware: Their brain could fit on the head of a pin, and yet their sensory processing and strategizing abilities rival those of the smartest animals on earth.
Jumping Spider
Species
Macken Murphy
4.8 • 606 Ratings
🗓️ 7 April 2019
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Look closely at the photo above, and you will count eight eyes. This spider-hunting spider can see in all directions at once, stalk and deceive their prey, seduce them with false siren calls and manipulate them like a puppet master. Like a brilliant martial artist, this animal out-maneuvers and out-thinks their victims, risking their own life in the process.
Join us, today, and glimpse the unsettling depths of the spider's mind.
Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11KiGGAiD1wiW4BiMZblFHqskHfQKyLfyBJJZk-hWL3w/edit
Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11KiGGAiD1wiW4BiMZblFHqskHfQKyLfyBJJZk-hWL3w/edit
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What would it be like to be able to see in all directions at once? |
| 0:05.5 | I think this is a good imaginative exercise, because as humans, it is not just our bodies that are structured for forward-facing binocular vision, but our brains as well. |
| 0:16.6 | We process the world as if we are looking into a box that contains only the items that happen to be in front of us. |
| 0:24.8 | But this isn't actually the normal manner of being out in the world. |
| 0:29.6 | Plenty of animals look into the world with a much wider lens. |
| 0:34.9 | If you're not driving, take a quick look around the room or space that you're in, make |
| 0:41.1 | note of your surroundings, and now, sitting comfortably, close your eyes. Try to conjure up a 3D image of the |
| 0:51.8 | space you just saw, the space that you're still in. |
| 0:56.3 | Think about what you know is behind you. |
| 0:59.9 | Build up that image in your mind without changing your orientation to it. |
| 1:04.6 | Don't imagine you are seeing it in front of you. |
| 1:07.7 | Imagine seeing it behind you. |
| 1:16.6 | And now slowly rotate that mental camera around and start to build a 3D rendering of the room in your mind. What shapes and colors exist to your right? |
| 1:24.6 | What items lie in front of you? What will you see when you open your |
| 1:30.0 | eyes? What about to your left? While you do this, while you scan the area, try to hold on to the |
| 1:39.2 | entire space at once. For example, when you draw your attention to what is to the right of you, try to hold on |
| 1:47.1 | to what is in front of you and to the left of you and behind you as well. You might be surprised how real |
| 1:54.5 | this experience, this 3D experience begins to feel, but I want you to make note of the fact that |
| 2:00.6 | your brain is trying to let |
| 2:02.5 | go of the mental view from the angle you aren't currently focusing on. This is just how your brain |
| 2:09.7 | is designed. Your neurons are conspiring against this effort, because they are used to looking |
| 2:16.3 | in one direction at a time. |
... |
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