Jeremiah Tolbert has been having a good day on teh intrawebs. He has produced this excellent analysis of what went wrong PR-wise for Amazon over the weekend, but he also tweeted referencing a very interesting post on National Geographic.
Most people will, I suspect, view the use of discarded shells by hermit crabs as something other than “tool use”, because we humans don’t like to think other animals can be smart. But it is smart on the part of the crabs. It definitely helps them survive. And it is fascinating to find out that other marine animals may have been doing similar things 300 million years ago.
I regard it as something other than tool use, and not because I want to deny that crows, otters, chimps and octopodes do use tools.
I regard it as the first invention of clothing. Unless there were caddis fly larvae analogues back then.
Thanks for the link, Cheryl. It has indeed been a good day.
Alan, how is clothing not tool use? Clothing is use a tool to protect your body from the elements.
But they think the shells were not used for protection, but as a breathing supply. Land SCUBA, if you will.
Oh no. I just had the most horrible mental picture of an octopus crawling up on land with its head stuck in a discarded fishing float full of seawater. With a portable supply for breathing, nothing will stop them.
We must do everything we can to prevent this technique from falling into their hands. I mean, tentacles.
Alan, how is clothing not tool use? Clothing is use a tool to protect your body from the elements.
I think you’re using a circular argument there, even though I can sympathise with the argument.
My instinctive definition of tool (which appears to be shared by dictionaries) requires the element of manipulation – a tool is something that does something, it’s an active agent. If it is also manufactured, so much the better.
Clothing, on the other hand, is passive. It may be constructed, but then so is a bird’s nest. To include all of these as tools is, I think, to overly broaden a definition.
(Hmm, manufactured clothing. Silk clothing. Coocoons as clothing. I didn’t think of those.)
As for your octopus, oh dear! Are you sure you’ve not been reading War of the Worlds too much recently? On the other hand, water being heavier than air, it would have to have the old Eight Arms in it, with just her tentacles sticking out the top. Given the potential friction of float against ground, a skate board under it would be a useful addition.