iii. About the Cover

Although pufferfish look like the cutest little squeezable stress balls in the sea, they’re nothing you would ever want to cuddle up next to. Most pufferfish contain toxins to protect themselves from predators; one pufferfish alone can contain enough toxin to kill 30 humans — with no known antidote. James Bond knows this all too well.

But we didn’t feature the pufferfish because learning about advanced architecture is toxic; rather, pufferfish are one of nature’s great architects. During spawning season, using nothing but their fins, male pufferfish create stunning geometric patterns in the sand on the seabed as potential nesting sites for females.

These structures can be up to seven feet in diameter and take the males anywhere from seven to nine days to build. It’s not certain if the structure serves to attract the females, or if the females are simply drawn to the soft sand the male stirred up in the process.

So when you’re getting frustrated with Xcode or Swift, just be thankful that you have better tools to architect with than a pair of fins!

For an extra-cool view on how the male pufferfish architects his “software,” check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1PID91sEW8.