06: Snails are Weird
ZOOLOGY
You’ll look deep into the eyes of a snail, and see yourself staring back at you. You’ll hear the stories of Aristotle and Carolus Linnaeus, learn about the perils of being alive, and that one time snails ruled the Earth.
The five lessons
Lesson 1
What's the biggest snail? The fastest? The most dangerous?
This is the twenty-sixth official lesson of our 180-lesson Big Course. Along the way to the answer, you'll learn about multiple kinds of horrible worms, an interesting predilection of the Roman Army, and a jet engine.
This is a free preview.
Lesson 2
How does a snail smell, see, breathe, poop, and eat?
This is the twenty-seventh official lesson of our 180-lesson Big Course. Along the way to the answer, you'll learn about... well, honestly, about those things. This is one of those lessons that doesn't so much uncover the deep weirdness of reality as go HOLY CRAP THESE THINGS ARE SO WEIRD, JUST LOOK AT THEM.
Lesson 3
What was a snail to the namer of all life?
This is the twenty-eight official lesson of our 180-lesson Big Course. Along the way to the answer, you'll learn about the end of medieval Europe, binomial nomenclature, and how a weird sentence about a king's cough can make all of biology make more sense.
Lesson 4
What's a "mollusk"?
This is the twenty-ninth official lesson of our 180-lesson Big Course. Along the way to the answer, you'll learn what a slug is, what a clam is, and what an octopus is.
You'll also learn what Linnaeus missed, and the REAL reason he missed it.
Lesson 5
How's a sea slug so smart?
This is the thirtieth - woo-hoo! - official lesson of our 180-lesson Big Course, and the final one of Year One. Along the way to the answer, you'll learn what a sea slug is, the story of the guy who figured out what THINKING is, and understand how LEARNING works through an insanely convoluted metaphor.
You'll also learn, well, something really important about how to learn better - and (kind of ) what you ARE.
Secret Sixth
How smart is an octopus?
Our final FINAL lesson o' Year One - and it's off the books! Along the way to the answer, you'll learn why "the octopus" isn't "an animal", which way an octopus is facing, and something intriguing about modern military organization.
You'll also learn why you are not an octopus.