Number 16 (spider)

Spider longevity and biology

• Many are struck by a spider living 43 years; some argue this may not even be exceptional given sampling bias (we only tracked one of many).
• Others note most spiders have high offspring mortality, so average lifespans are likely short even if maxima are long.
• Discussion of why spiders can outlive most insects: spiders keep molting (no wings), while insects’ adult wings can’t molt, limiting lifespan.
• One view: the spider likely died of old age or post‑molt weakness, given decades of successfully resisting parasitic wasps.
• Someone claims species lifespans could in principle be mathematically predictable; others treat this as opinion, not established fact.

Study design and ethics

• Commenters admire the discipline of not feeding the spider a birthday mealworm to avoid confounding the long‑term study.
• Debate over using a numeric ID (“Number 16”) versus a personal name:
  • Pro‑number: clearer for data, avoids ambiguity and “non‑serious” tone.
  • Pro‑name: many research animals get names; seriousness and good science are not incompatible with humanizing labels.
• Some argue naming vs numbering is practically irrelevant to the scientific outcome, others say even small deviations from rigor matter.

Innate behavior and intelligence

• Several discuss spiders’ complex, apparently unlearned behaviors (webs, trapdoors) as evidence of rich, hard‑coded instincts.
• This is used to argue humans also have substantial innate cognitive structure, contra strict “blank slate” views; language and social skills are cited.
• Others caution about over‑generalizing from spiders to humans, and note the nature‑versus‑nurture debate is unresolved in detail.
• Examples are given of infant feeding behaviors and “breast crawl” as partially hard‑wired, plus speculation about genetic predispositions to fears, interests, or “criminal behavior,” with concern about eugenic implications.
• Broader discussion touches on how to define and measure “intelligence,” especially in an era where computers excel at tasks once used as proxies for it.

Human reactions and anecdotes

• Readers share emotional reactions to the article’s ending and to Alzheimer’s disease, including a detailed personal story.
• Desert anecdote about accidentally standing over a field of trapdoor spider burrows illustrates how common and cryptic such spiders can be.
• Some wonder whether ambush predators like these experience boredom.

Related media and references

• Multiple recommendations for spider‑themed or related science fiction novels; opinions range from “10/10” to “cool ideas but weak writing.”
• Links shared to a detailed research article on the spider, an Onion parody about lifetime specialization, and other fauna (e.g., a long‑lived tortoise) as lifespan comparisons.