Their intelligence has evolved for very different reasons than ours did, which makes them particularly difficult to understand.

Over at Orion magazine, Sy Montgomery has an incredible, in-depth article about what it's like to know octopuses (io9 linked to it) — and perhaps, what it's like to be one. He interviews scientists who work with these invertebrates, and eventually befriends an octopus named Athena.

To read the rest of io9's article, click here.