REVIEW published: 13 June 2018 doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2018.00020 Cephalopods Between Science, Art, and Engineering: A Contemporary Synthesis Ryuta Nakajima 1*, Shuichi Shigeno 2†, Letizia Zullo 3, Fabio De Sio 4 and Markus R. Schmidt 5* 1 Department of Art and Design, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, United States, 2 Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy, 3 Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology (NSYN), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy, 4 Department of the History, Philosophy and Ethics of Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany, 5 Biofaction KG, Vienna, Austria Cephalopods are outstanding animals. For centuries, they have provided a rich source Edited by: Tarla Rai Peterson, of inspiration to many aspects of human cultures, from art, history, media, and spiritual The University of Texas at El Paso, beliefs to the most exquisite scientific curiosity. Given their high esthetical value and United States “mysteriously” rich behavioral repertoire they have functioned as boundary objects (or Reviewed by: Karen M. Taylor, subjects) connecting seemingly distinct thematic fields. Interesting aspects of their being University of Alaska Fairbanks, span from the rapid camouflaging ability inspiring contemporary art practices, to their United States soft and fully muscular body that curiously enough inspired both gastronomy and Emily Plec, Western Oregon University, (soft) robotics. The areas influenced by cephalopods include ancient mythology, art, United States behavioral science, neuroscience, genomics, camouflage technology, and bespoken *Correspondence: robotics. Although these might seem far related fields, in this manuscript we want to Ryuta Nakajima
[email protected] show how the increasing scientific and popular interest in this heterogeneous class of Markus R.