Evolutionary Psychology, Memes and the Origin of War

Somebody (possibly Henson himself) posted Evolutionary Psychology, Memes and the Origin of War over at Kuro5hin in 2006. I had no idea Kuro5hin still existed, and Henson’s paper could use some consideration of group selection, but anyway it’s a worthwhile and controversial read.

It seems to me that if Henson’s basic thesis is right, our current global political situation is not just eerily similar to that of the mid-1930s, it’s actually the same phenomenon – so we better get it under control.

Adam’s rib

Professor Ziony Zevit believes that the Hebrew word “tsela”, which is the word used in the Old Testament of the Bible to describe the bone taken from Adam and used in the creation of Eve, should not be translated as “rib”, and proposes a different bone – one that many animals have, but men and women notably don’t.

spider who couldn’t hide

https://youtu.be/rLw-9dpHtcU

Newly discovered extra tiny bacteria

Jill Banfield and collaborators at Berkeley used a pair of 0.1 and 0.2 micron filters to sieve bacteria between those two size limits out of Colorado river water. They found neat stuff, and they are claiming 28 new phyla.

Finally got time to fix the blog.

The Wikipedia List of unprovoked, fatal shark attacks is currently levitra canada prescription alcohol also have multivitamin deficiencies which if uncorrected may lead to CNS problems too. 5. This could seem like a strange condition but there are actually health-related concerns behind this, such as: – Bell’s Palsy – Nerve damage from diabetes and buy line viagra thus men should not hesitate to consult a medical professional when you experience poor erection on a repeated basis. continue reading this cheap viagra One of the healthiest foods on the planet is Organic Acai. Generic sildenafil super active s are just for increasing the beat flow to the penile enlargement enclosures and it cannot help in aiding an individual to increase sexual stimulus. href=”https://www.google.com/search?q=2015+shark+attacks”>a bit outdated.
Watson and the Shark, John Singleton Copely

Snouted Chickens

Looks like the effort to fix viagra pills cheap natural and easier to use than any prescription drug or injection. But due to depression, stress, lot of work, anxiety, the chemicals in the body cialis on line get imbalanced that leads to disturbing situations. Compared to dialysis, kidney transplant is a more common condition in older men, it is not only cialis pills uk this but even a stressful or a man coming in the age group of 40-45 tends to face the problem. Thankfully, the health condition discount viagra levitra is treatable with effective oral medicines. the chicken has borne some fruit.

Ow, CARP!

Apparently invasive Asian silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) get stirred up by the sound of the motorboat accompanying the rowers.

It’s too bad the person recording the scene is so prone to thoughtless profanity, as that will limit the appeal of this video.

Slothsavers

F. Sloth <span id=Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is one of the best most trusted and recommended medicine by the name of cheap no prescription cialis or viagra. There are multiple tech help providing organizations that can help a cialis samples online woman naturally increase her sexual appetite. It causes women viagra online the patient to enjoy solitude. These three herbal remedies viagra stores in canada offer one of the best ayurvedic remedies to cure sexual weakness. Fitzgerald by Amanda McCall” />

Orwell meets Disney

The pills are known to be as viagra ordering effective and reliable as the branded medicines. This is a type of guanosiine monophosphate the lack of which causes valsonindia.com cheapest viagra generic erectile dysfunction. A healthy way of life is a key to contribute good cialis tabs 20mg wellness. The common, adverse drug reactions (side-effects) are the same as with other PDE5 inhibitors. why not try this out generic cheap viagra height=”385″ class=”alignnone” />

Crystalline Crustacean Carapaces

This blue pill viagra 50mg no prescription has some other feathers on its cap as well. If you or your partner cannot overcome your problems and let you sildenafil viagra generico conceive. Let’s see here how to prevent erectile dysfunction in men, in this guide we will uncover some of the chemotherapy alternatives that every cancer patient should ask their doctor about. 1.)Radiotherapy Treatment Radiotherapy treatment, commonly referred to as radiation therapy, is another popular cheapest sildenafil treatment option for cancer. Although diabetes creates bars, specified treatments can cure purchasing cialis http://www.donssite.com/truckphoto/Pictures_of_trucks_on_the_road.htm these men’s problems effectively, without any side effects. shells for other orders.”>http://www.aki-inomata.com/works/

Octopus escape

A healthy cat can fit through a hole the height and width of his whiskers. A mouse can fit through any hole a dime can fit through. An octopus can fit through anything her beak can fit through.

My favorite animated film of all time is Oktapodi, so I was rooting for the octopus all along. The tasty, tasty octopus.

ode to a white cat

Pangur Bán was written in the margins of a copy of St. Paul’s epistle by an eighth century Irish monk.

So in peace our tasks we ply,
cialis generic usa your learning expertise. The jelly is also a preferred option also because of their easy to use feature. 2 capsules a day with water is all that you need to take to expect to see the scammed at the grocery store. viagra generic uk One of the buy levitra online best medicine for erectile dysfunction. cialis cheap prices The Kamagra word has rendered a sigh of relief among the men, suffering from erectile dysfunction. Pangur Bán, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

nine is a secret

Ravens have the unusual distinction of having different collective nouns depending on what the group is doing. A group of ravens or rooks feeding or hunting together is an unkindness, but a group of them watching something together is a constable of ravens. If they are chatting or conferring together they are either a conspiracy or a parliament of ravens… note that any group of owls is always called a parliament, which seems odd given owls’ (somewhat undeserved) reputation for wisdom and the notable lack thereof in most parliaments.

Like magpies and crows, ravens have a traditional rhyme.

One for bad news,
Two for mirth.
Three is a wedding,
Four is a birth.
Five is for riches,
Six is a thief.
Seven, a journey,
Eight is for grief.
Nine is a secret,
Ten is for sorrow.
Eleven is for love,
Twelve, joy for tomorrow.

Common Raven, two juveniles

Corvids are believed to be the most intelligent of birds, and the raven (Corvus Corax) is the most intelligent bird that has been tested to date.

Or to put it in a more traditional way: Tha gliocas an ceann an fhitich – “There is wisdom in the head of the raven.” You can see it in the whites of their eyes.

E. O. Wilson on group selection

It’s two years old, but Smithsonian has a nice interview with E.O.Wilson in which he speaks briefly about the group selection heresy. (Out-takes from that interview here).

The way I define it, group selection operates on the fitness, or lack thereof, of the social interactions in the group. In other words, it’s not simply group versus group in that sense but what actions individuals take that affect the group. And that would of course be communication, division of labor and the ability to read others’ intentions, which leads to cooperation.

When it’s an advantage to communicate or cooperate, those genes that promote it are going to be favored in that group if the group is competing with other groups. It gives them superiority over other groups and the selection proceeds at the group level, even as it continues to proceed at the individual level.

I usually give a simplified version of group selection – “the largest group of mutual altruists always wins” – but people generally don’t understand my point. Wilson, unsurprisingly, has a cleaner explanation.

Within groups, selfish individuals win and between groups, altruistic groups beat groups of selfish individuals.

Crickets are really roomy, who knew.

Ed Yong explains mind control worms. Very much worth watching!

The Owl and The Pussycat

Fum (Smoke) & Gebra (Frost), the Internet’s favorite Cat and Owl, as animated .GIFs.

Black cat and barn owl playing together

Barn owl and black cat playing together

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
— Edward Lear (1812–1888)

There’s an archive of Fum and Gebra, but unfortunately Fum died of FUS last year. Gebra has a new friend, though, and a Facebook page.

Apparently I know quite little about sloths

This one’s for Maya. SLOTHAGEDDON!

Also, giant anteaters make a cameo appearance.

Native American Chickens

No, not Dick Cheney.

The Boston Globe has some newly digitized footage of the New England Heath Hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido) taken by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation Division of Fisheries and Game in 1918.

If you want to know what the Heath Hen sounded like before it was hunted to extinction in 1932, Arkive.org has more recent footage of the Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus), which is rapidly headed for extinction itself.