Some people seem to think that octopi have some form of "intelligence"........

[jonnythan]

I kinda like the James Bond version.

EW!

 

[DrSteve]

I just remembered a memorable quote from one of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy books:
Man viewed himself as the dominant intelligence on the Earth, because he had civilisation, wars and digital watches.
Dolphins assumed they were the dominant intelligence on the Earth as they didn't have those things Man did.

 

[lilycat]

According to the dictionary both octopuses and octopi are acceptable plural forms. Dictionaries don't always list the same form first, so it is up for debate as to which is "more" proper.

In my experience, scientists and engineers around here make up words to fit their needs all the time -- we writers have to decide which ones need to stay and which ones need to be replaced by a proper word. That's why we get paid the big bucks.

Merriam-Webster

octopus
One entry found for octopus.
Main Entry: oc·to·pus
Pronunciation: 'äk-t&-p&s, -"pus
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -pus·es or oc·to·pi /-"pI/
Etymology: New Latin Octopod-, Octopus, from Greek oktOpous
1 : any of a genus (Octopus) of cephalopod mollusks that have eight muscular arms equipped with two rows of suckers; broadly : any octopod excepting the paper nautilus
2 : something that resembles an octopus especially in having many centrally directed branches

 

[radinator]

I've heard that since the word octopus comes from the greek , that the proper plural should actually be octopodes (oct-o-pode-ees) where the 'pode' rhymes with 'node'.

 

[archman]

I've heard that since the word octopus comes from the greek , that the proper plural should actually be octopodes (oct-o-pode-ees) where the 'pode' rhymes with 'node'.

Yeah, that's what I try to use.