Octopuses are highly intelligent, they show evidence of a memory system that can store both short- and long-term memory. Young octopuses learn almost no behaviors from their parents, with whom they have very little contact.
Octopus is often used as a metaphor for a group or organization which is perceived as being powerful, manipulative or bent on domination.
There is so many interesting informations about octopus and all of them seem to be true descriptions of The Octopus that is in my head, that lives with me, sits on my chest sometimes and chokes me, does not let me breath and scares me. Maybe I just start to understand my octopus in the same way as native hawaiians do. The Hawaiian creation myth relates that the present cosmos is only the last of a series, having arisen in stages from the wreck of the previous universe. In this account, The Octopus is the lone survivor of the previous, alien universe.

Tell me, ó Octopus, I begs
Is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, Octopus;
If I were thou, I’d call me Us.

Ogden Nash