Science Memes @mander.xyz fossilesque @mander.xyz 1w ago

brain blowing orgasms

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16221078/

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-close-in-on-why-octopuses-tragically-destroy-themselves-after-mating

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According to the article the females don't fare any better either.

I didn't know this about octopi, what's the point, evolutionarily, to self destruct after reproducing?
- what's the point, evolutionarily, to self destruct after reproducing?
  
  There is no point, evolution is about successful reproduction and everything else is just random chance.
  
  If a evolutionary tweak happens that gives your off spring better chances, but your arms fall off after sex then it'll probably perpetuate.
  
  Just goon forever
  
  everything else is just random chance.
  
  nope, then you'd see some of same species showing the behaviour, others not.
  
  No that's absolutely not true, every part of evolution happens for a reason and those we don't know, we research until we find out why
  
  Wouldn't it make them easier to he hunted by prey or just die from not being careful
  
  People with dementia can end up getting themselves fatally injured so I don't see an octopus can't
  
  So I don't see how it's beneficial to help them survive
- Essentially their entire mating cycle is what causes this. They've got a gland behind the eye that puts them into mating mode and once it starts it never turns off until they overdose on sex hormone.
  
  Most cephalopods are voracious hunters that eat and eat to grow big and then once mating mode switches on they just focus on mating, which results in a shit ton of babies. Every step of that cycle has an extremely high mortality rate resulting in strong selection pressures for the best of every phase. When they do something, they go big.
  
  Holy shit what a way to go.
  
  Get horny > have sex > orgasm > keep orgasming > die of too much orgasm
  
  I wonder what would happen if you removed the gland? How long could they live and how big could they get?
- There's a specific life history strategy called semelparity, which is what you're describing (breeding once then dying). To my understanding, this is incentivized if the chances of getting a second attempt to breed are too low, and so it becomes more evolutionarily advantageous to simply go all out on the first attempt
  
  Thanks, one solid answer! It could be that it used to be an advantage at some point and now it's just perpetuated
  
  Semelparity: “Fuck it, I’m gonna nut to death”
  
  A bit similar process in sea-dwelling salmons: migrating from salt water into fresh water (quite a big metabolic challenge in itself), traveling up rapids to suitable spawning places (often a long and arduous journey)... after they've accomplished that, their chances of returning alive are quite low. So they mostly die. But their close relatives, river-dwelling trouts spawn many times in life, because their migration isn't as costly.
  
  I would suspect that something in how octopuses reproduce has an element of "return being costly" - it could be a metabolic return to the feeding and growing state instead of a physical return.
  
  That makes sense, if there is an organism that is a very good predator, and the chances to breed a second time are too low, then if the organism doesn't die it will be consuming the resources of those who can breed. Natural selection must prioritize having descendents over long living, because not having descendents is extinction.
- Not everything in evolution ends up having a point. So long as a problem does not impact the propagation of children it can end up moving forward to the next generation.
  
  I would guess that if there is an Evolutionary reason, it's probably that octopi with this drive reproduced More than octopi that didn't.
- Evolution doesn't care what happens to you after reproduction because you've already passed on your genes at that point
  
  I mean, yes, but if you're not a vegetable afterwards, you will have more chances to reproduce. Therefore passing on your genes more
  
  Take that point and explain humans living to about 100 after breeding from 20 to 40, and kids taking ~15 years to become good enough
  
  Human tribes doing well is good for making children successful, old women have much better skills in finding whatever plant matter they're gathering, old men are better at tracking and stalking prey. The old people teach the young.
  
  We evolved towards longer lifespans because groups that live longer survive and continue better
- whatever works...
- Reproduction is the goal. It could be as simple as giving the young a chance to out compete their r****ded parents for limited food.
This is how biologists interpreted ghosting
This happened to me. No joke. I lost half a standard deviation from my iq for each child i had. #dunceLife
- Are you sure it's not because of chronic exhaustion for several months in a row instead of the sex?
  
  I can keep it up for a good while, but several months is excessive.
The literal version of "man has enough blood to operate his brain or his penis, but not both at once."
What?
- Octopuses didn't get post nut clarity.
  
  or maybe they do and it's unfathomable to the rest of us
If a human has sex with an octopus will the same thing happen to them? Asking for a friend.
- wcgw
Same tbh
- yep. now i’m a dad!
Good. They deserve it. Octopuses are dicks. They keep demanding you to call "octopi." Sure. When you start calling me and my homies squidi, I'll start calling you guys octopi.

But no, they can't see past their octopus privilege. As if having two fewer arms made them superior.
Post nut catastrophe :/
So Timothy was lying

70 comments