r/natureismetal

I have been thinking/researching a lot about octopodes (OC-TOP-UH-DES) recently and can’t help myself from making the connection to GT, and they have become my favorite species for that reason. Some of the most advanced real time strategies are happening on the ocean floor because they are soft-bodied meaning their survival is dependent on out thinking the board.

Here are 3 ways octopodes apply GT principles to survive:

1. Mixed Strategy

If you play the same way in poker every time, others will catch on. You have to randomize your actions to be unpredictable. Octopodes do this via camouflage. They don’t just change color to match a rock, they evaluate a predators visual angle of them, how they would be spotted, and shift their texture and pattern on the fly. By randomizing their appearance they create asymmetric information where the predator thinks they’re something else, while the octopus holds all the information about their predator.

2. Sequential Payoffs

In a sequential game, your optimal move depends on your opponent’s profile. The Mimic Octopus is a master at this. It assesses who is threatening it and deploys a specific counter strategy. If attacked by a damselfish, the octopus will display two of its arms to mimic a banded sea snake, the damselfish’s primary predator. It can bluff, intimidate, or vanish, the evolutionary equivalent to playing the player, not just the cards.

3. Constrained Optimization

The Veined (or Coconut) Octopus will find coconut shells, clean them out, and carry them across the ocean floor to make into a shelter later. Walking in the open ocean floor carrying heavy shells increases the amount of energy used and vulnerability (high risk). However, the long-term payoff is a mobile, protective bunker in an environment filled with predators. The octopus can calculate the cost-benefit matrix before deciding to move the shell around.

Octopodes are doing advanced tactical sequencing everyday to stay alive and it just amazes me how intelligent they are for their relatively short lifespan.

Makes me wonder what other examples of high-level strategic modeling are hiding in plain sight in nature. Curious to know of any other examples as well.