Location: Underway to Dominica
I have recently been thinking about consciousness. A newfound interest sparked from a spur-of-the-moment decision to pick up a book, The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. The first three chapters have drawn me into a world I have rarely thought about. In just the first paragraph, the author tells us that the plural of Octopus is in fact not Octopi, but instead Octopuses. This is because the word Octopus is derived from Greek, and the suffix -i is a Latin ending, which you cannot end a Greek word with. While this little fact was not the true catalyst of my thoughts these past few days, the notion that a word that many of us have used as a way to increase our perceived intellect socially is, in fact, wrong, went on to shape the rest of the book’s dive into the mind of an Octopus. Sy, the author, begins her journey into the minds of these alien creatures by joining in an embrace with a female Octopus named Athena. Sy feels Athena’s many suckers and arms move up her forearms and softly examine her skin, as if kissing her up and down. What Athena was actually doing was tasting her, and feeling her pain, her happiness, her mind. They shared a moment in this dance, locking eyes and looking into each other’s souls. Reading this experience, I was instantly transported to that tank in the aquarium and felt as though I could understand something I had no connection to. Sy continues her narrative about Octopuses examining their mischievous natures, their personalities, and their brain size. No two octopuses are the same, something that has taken scientists ages to agree upon when discussing an invertebrate that has genuinely no comparable attributes to ourselves or other mammals. Why can I not stop thinking about a slimy Octopus?
Maybe today I found my answer. Watch team 3 came onto watch at 0800 this morning, tea and coffee in hand, ready to take over the watch. All went smoothly, we did some morning jobs, assigned boat checks and helmspeople, and decided to cast a line under some Sargassum (do they have a conscious? I thought to myself). Within minutes, Matt was battling a Mahi-Mahi back to Argo, until finally he flopped it onto the deck. I immediately held it down and got my knife out. You probably know what happened next. I believe that while I was performing the task, like so many others who fish or hunt, I regressed to a simpler way of thinking. A living being was in my hands, and yet I carried out what had to be done without thinking twice. What if Athena the Octopus was looking up at me?
While Teo and Bryson fried up the fish I sat back in the cockpit with Rachel and looked out over the blue waters of the Atlantic wondering what was happening inside the mind of that Mahi. Recollecting past fishing experiences I have had, I never remember feeling a certain way towards the circle of life; I have never shied away from the relatively humane way to find a meal. But now I wonder how consciousness allows us to differentiate between life and death on the food chain. Will I ever order Octopus?
I understand that reading this with your morning coffee, or after a long day at work, you may have some questions. I welcome those. To experience life on a 112-foot dot, in the expanse of the world, is to experience thought on the frontier of our minds. Becoming a teacher (of sorts) has been one of the most rewarding adventures I have taken. I have lived my life always fascinated by understanding those around me. A SeaMester trip is a crash course in this pursuit of understanding with so many different personalities, backgrounds, and thought patterns. Why have we always understood humans to be different from one another, yet the school of Mahi we interrupted this morning is one and the same? Perhaps our consciousness is not as real as the fish that knows who its neighbours are.
With all of this in mind, you are likely curious about the goings on aboard Argo at the moment. As usual on a day in the Atlantic, things are slow; slow is good. With the exception of Aidan and Samantha, these two fools have taken it upon themselves to walk an entire marathon on the deck of Argo. Starting at 0400, they walked for 8 hours until noon, and now they are continuing their walkabout post lunch and class. I believe they are closing in on 24 miles as I type this. I wonder if Athena would willingly choose to walk a marathon on Argo?
In a moment of tenderness on Argo, Samuel Ode plucked fresh Sargassum grapes off the vine and delivered them into the mouth of a hungry Luca, reminiscing on the beginning of our journey in the glorious city of Rome.
The rest of the gang had a really well-done leadership presentation from Alexa and Teagan. How do we enact change in a community? How do social pressures influence developments on large and small scales? These are the many questions that the nav masters, oceanographers, and breadmakers of Argo discuss under the masterful mediation of Mr. Shmoney.
In marine biology, they discussed whaling in Bequia. The whaling tradition was debated by students in four groups. Those being, the Sea Shepherds, the Bequian, the International Whaling Committee, and Greenpeace. It became quite lively and engaged different perspectives on the sustainability of fishing practices. If you are an avid blog reader, you may remember my previous blog discussing the Moroccan fisherman of Essaouira. Argo was again put face-to-face with a topic many shy away from. We all love whales, even the bequians love whales, these majestic creatures of otherworldly proportions. We understand the struggles their populations face, and much like somebody taking a dog’s life, many of us cannot fathom taking a whale’s. But what if your people have survived on whale harvests for a millennium? Would you feel differently?
I hope that you have had as enjoyable a time reading this blog as I have had writing it. Being out on Argo causes you to think beyond, will you?
Special note from Maria!
Happy b-day to my not-so-little brother Isaiah, I hope you are enjoying your sweet sixteen! I got my second helmsona on the 12-4 watch this morning to celebrate, Max Helmstappen 🙂 Sending lots of love from the Atlantic!