Octopuses Give Eight Thumbs up for High-Def TV

Sharing a movie with an insensitive eight-armed animal may not be every woman’s perfect date. Renata Pronk did it for science, and made two significant discoveries. Her unsettling news for Christmas revellers preparing to tuck into seafood platters is that octopuses can watch television and understand at least some of what they see. Discriminating viewers, however, they enjoy only high-definition programs. In a second finding, the Macquarie University marine biology researcher resolved a long scientific debate, discovering that octopuses, despite their intelligence, lack individual personalities