by Mircea » Sun 27 May 2007, 18:04:04
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Denny', 'W')hat is it about America's inner cities, the families and the education of people, that so many have lost the ability to fend for themselves, or plan ahead?
Once upon a time, there was a cage with lots of rats inside. Within the cage, conditions were unpleasant - it was crowded, dirty, and the food was of poor quality. Rat fights were common.
Fortunately, there were exits. Any rat smart enough to navigate the maze could get out, and enter a better area. Over time, many did. So the smart rats, along with some lucky rats, got into the better cages. Cages that were cleaner and had more room and better food. Some even had exercise wheels!
Alas, that meant that the less intelligent rats stayed in the bad part of the cage. And so the situation persisted, as countless generations of rats were born, lived, and passed to their ratly reward.
But the smart rats, along with the lucky rats, also enjoyed a persistent state of affairs. They passed on their genes, their ways of doing things, their version of rodent culture. And in doing so, their offspring were consistently able to survive and prosper.
Oh well. Humans and rats are so very different. I rarely see a human twitch its nose effectively.

It reminds me of another experiment with the common white laboratory mice. Two males and two females were placed in a 6' x 8' x 4' cage, in a sterile room at optimum temperature and humidity. The mice were given all the food and water they needed. The experiment was recorded using time-lapse video.
The population grew slowly at first, then exploded and rapidly rose to reach a peak were it leveled off. Then something bizarre happened.
The mice began exhibiting anti-social behavior. Despite the fact that more than ample food and water were available, the parents killed their young. Groups of mice attacked and killed other mice. As the population rapidly declined, mice isolated themsevles from other mice and failed to breed.
The experiment ended when the last mouse died, which if I remember correctly was about 2- 3 months into the experiment. The experiment frightened the lab team. The were stunned and never expected something like that to happen in a mouse colony.