Would a 9 lb sapient spider producing 1/10 lb of silk a day suspend your disbelief?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Utterly harmless.

So similar to being scared of a daddy long legs or mosquito hawk, and less sensible than being scared of a gopher snake, which at least can deliver a bite, though it's not poisonous or particularly inclined to bite.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Anthony

So similar to being scared of a daddy long legs or mosquito hawk, and less sensible than being scared of a gopher snake, which at least can deliver a bite, though it's not poisonous or particularly inclined to bite.

Yep, we have both the long legs and the crane flies (known to some people as pterodactyl skeeters), and they tend to weird the same people out. It seems to be the legs.

We don't have gopher snakes, but we do have some sort of (non poisonous) black water snake, and of course garter snakes, both of which have little tiny teeth but will nip if harassed. And unfortunately both seem to drive seemingly-sensible people into "Kill the snake" hysterics.

[blacksmith]

I have one point here, what is the genre? Hard biopunk? No way would I buy this, too energy intensive. Fantasy, well it is much less unlikely that creatures of living fire or some such.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

It's creepy, crawly, and disgusting.

You think so? I think they are kind of cute. I let them crawl on my hands, which bothers my wife. She's grossed out by them.

EDIT- I'm referring to the house centipede, not the desert centipede.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by pyratejohn

I seem to recall that coconut crabs can get to be pretty freaking huge too.

Put de lime in de coconut and drinkum bowl up!


http://dailystupid.net/wp-content/up...ats-humans.jpg

I can haz trash!

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Well it could have a better respiratory system and still say visually spider to people. They don't have anything like the nervous system needed to sentience either so why doesn't that bug you?

I did comment 'whatever they use for a brain' to contrast the lack of such in real spiders. Brain tissue, at least in mammals, is metabolically expensive, so if the sapient spider-like entity used something similar, that would be an added oxygen cost atop the added cost of the larger body.

[roguebfl]

It should be noted the larger arachnids are all (IIRC) hunting spiders not web layers.

But that being said "That scream in the dark is either some who just discovered a large harry spider crawling up their leg, or just discovery they are crawling up the leg of a larger hairy spider." (now i wish i remember where i heard that)

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

I did comment 'whatever they use for a brain' to contrast the lack of such in real spiders. Brain tissue, at least in mammals, is metabolically expensive, so if the sapient spider-like entity used something similar, that would be an added oxygen cost atop the added cost of the larger body.

Make them telepathic hive minds, call it say 10 spiders per IQ point, so a brood of 100 9 lbs spiders has IQ 10.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Brain tissue, at least in mammals, is metabolically expensive.

In non-mammals too. And given that arachnids have the metabolic rates of exotherms, a sapient brain would have several times the metabolic cost of everything else put together.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Put de lime in de coconut and drinkum bowl up!


http://dailystupid.net/wp-content/up...ats-humans.jpg

I can haz trash!

*grabs a flamethrower and a 10-lb bowl of butter*