Can something be known and yet not at the very same time?
It's not a parlor game or a riddle. And "yes" is the answer, of course. Look not further than our oceans, which are constantly under our scrutiny yet which constantly surprise.
Look no further than the so-called "Monster Squid," a tentacled creature of gargantuan size. It, like us, inhabits this planet, and yet our imaginations run rampant at its very nickname.
Dr. Edith Widder is one of the most prominent experts on all things squidian, monster or otherwise, and she'll be bringing that expertise to the Aquarium of the Pacific on Tuesday night, Aug. 27. The deep-sea explorer will not have a sizable squid in tow, as far as we know, but she will arrive with stories of going beneath the waves on her quest to learn more about the planet's most prodigiously sized cephalopods.
Tickets for "The Kraken Revealed: The Story Behind Finding the Giant Squid" are five bucks -- notably less than a trip to the bottom of the ocean -- and you'll learn more about how Dr. Widder employed bioluminescence to attract the creature.
Cool stuff for the science maven, the ocean lover, and students of squidology. (That's all of us, right?)
A striking deep-water photography exhibit tied to this talk is on view at the aquarium through Saturday, Aug. 31.
