Within each of our minds, the activity of billions of neurons gives rise to a conscious experience — and not just any experience, yours, right here, right now. How does this happen? There’s still so much we don’t know … and that’s an amazing thing, says cognitive neuroscientist Anil Seth PhD.

How many unresponsive patients actually have some consciousness of what’s occurring around them? Possibly up to 20 percent, according to neuroscientist Adrian Owen, who is determined to give them a voice.

By examining the eight-armed marine creature and the peculiar way it engages with the world, we can get a glimpse into different ways of existing and being, says cognitive neuroscientist Anil Seth.