[Seminar] "Can I talk to a squid? Cephalopod behavioral ecology as a comparative model for understanding visual communication"

Moleculare Genetics Unit (Rokhsar Unit) would like to invite you to a seminar by Prof. Ryuta Nakajima from University of Minnesota Duluth

Title: "Can I talk to a squid? Cephalopod behavioral ecology as a comparative model for understanding visual communication"

Abstract:
The quest of modernity has come to its final phase in the form of postmodernism. Many past attempts to define “individualism” and “self” encountered the wall of linguistics structure and categorization, the governing principals of the human consciousness. Postmodernism tends to recycle the façade of pre-existing methods and theories, thereby creating fragmentation and dislocation. Simultaneously, computer technology is rapidly reshaping our visual culture, by offering more streamlined production and distribution possibilities. Considering this environment, it is essential to investigate its effects and implications on the visual culture by asking existential questions such as: Why do we make images? Where do they come from and what is their primary function? In order to pursue these rather difficult questions, my work focuses on the adaptive coloration of cephalopods’ (squid, octopus and cuttlefish) as comparative models that can code and re-map visual information. The genetically and evolutionary pure empirical data of the squid and cuttlefish not only uncover certain key information needed to understand the origin of visual communication, but also function as a catalyst that can redirect our culture away from the over-stimulated hyper-reality. This in turn can create an invaluable interdisciplinary platform to discuss the current trends in both art and science.