tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post5265419809529118355..comments2023-10-21T03:54:12.029-04:00Comments on A Gift Universe: Review: The Better Angels of Our NatureSheilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-59648636724862834402016-11-25T23:43:14.320-05:002016-11-25T23:43:14.320-05:00There is no way in heck that the infanticide rate ...There is no way in heck that the infanticide rate prior to the legalization of abortion was equivalent to the current abortion rate. That is unbelievably preposterous. Fifty-eight million abortions in the U.S. since 1973; 1.72 billion world-wide. No way is that a net zero. <br /><br />Also, this is unrelated, but I made both of the recipes you posted recently, and they were great! I used half white flour and half oat flour (oatmeal that I put through the food processor) in the pumpkin muffins. And the cabbage chili was so nutritious that I didn't feel the guilt I normally would have felt about heaping the top with Fritos and grated cheese. I added a pint of homemade chicken stock and doubled the recipe. Thanks for posting those! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-90537232355161391702016-09-17T10:49:20.727-04:002016-09-17T10:49:20.727-04:00Right; I'm frustrated by the deficiencies of s...Right; I'm frustrated by the deficiencies of science on that issue, but of course they do make sense. I know there have been studies showing that cortisol is elevated some time after experiencing a stressor (being left to cry alone for a few minutes, for instance) and there have been attempts to show that this effect is permanent, but ... the sort of trauma big enough not to get lost in the noise of all the many stressful things kids naturally experience is abuse and would never be inflicted by scientists. But any non-randomly-assigned study always gets put down to genetics -- of COURSE this abused child turned out to be trouble, they have all the genes of their abusive parents!<br /><br />But genetics should be ruled out when it comes to these rapid changes in violence, because on this short timescale genes can be assumed to be pretty constant. (Pinker does examine claims that humans have evolved to be less violent in recent times, but doesn't find any support for them.) It's *got* to be something else. I've read in several places (always with a negative slant) that men's testosterone has been going down recently, and the book didn't mention this. Which is odd because it seems it would have a massive effect on violence, seeing as men do most of the violence in the world, and we know men with high testosterone are more aggressive. The thing is, we have no idea WHY testosterone is going down, so it's just another mystery.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-79574180557948189172016-09-11T19:17:47.119-04:002016-09-11T19:17:47.119-04:00About two things...
I'm not convinced Homer (...About two things...<br /><br />I'm not convinced Homer (whether he's one poet with two styles or two poets...) intends us to think Odysseus a <i>good</i> person; <i>hero</i> needn't mean <i>decent fellow</i>, or someone you'd like to sit about drinking with him. He's a notable, and an exciting tale, but you likely wouldn't want to be him. (I seem to recall hearing also that Homer explicitly mentions <i>not understanding</i> some custom his heros practise, something to do with trading armour...)<br /><br />And about science of neurobiology of stress... science gets trickier when the best controlled experiments can't get ethics approval; and I can't see a study getting ethics approval that purposedly puts some random human brains-in-formation into extended stressful environments. One can <i>look for</i> brains in formation <i>already in</i> stressful environments, but that's already accepting less control over the situation than the science will want; and you'll also want a deep long study, which probably means generational observations. Eeep!Belfry Bathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00514867101036143597noreply@blogger.com