When octopuses were subjected to behaviorist experiments, they reacted with less interest than did rats and pigeons. The octopuses seemed to understand that they were in a made environment and wished to pass judgement on their predicament.

In one case, an octopus tried to break the machine, then raised itself out of the pool to squirt water at the experimenter. From this behavior, the human scientists concluded that the octopuses were not rational–a conclusion that suggests their own mental limits.

(Timothy Snyder, On Freedom 2024)