From Consciousness Explained by Daniel C. Dennett (Little, Brown and
Company, Boston, 1991):
- The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable
rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task it
has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds it's spot and takes root, it
doesn't need its brain any more so it eats it. It's rather like getting
tenure.
In a footnote, Dennett writes:
- The analogy between the sea squirt and the associate professor was first
pointed out, I think, by the neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinás.