![]() The most infamous of the experiments was named, quite dramatically, Universe 25. John B Calhoun set about creating a series of experiments that would essentially cater to every need of rodents, and then track the effect on the population over time. As we use our resources and the climate crisis worsens, this could all change – but for now, we have always been able to produce more food than we need, even if we have lacked the will or ability to distribute it to those that need it.īut while everyone was worried about a lack of resources, one behavioral researcher in the 1970s sought to answer a different question: what happens to society if all our appetites are catered for, and all our needs are met? The answer – according to his study – was an awful lot of cannibalism shortly followed by an apocalypse. As it happens, advances in farming, changes in farming practices, and new farming technology have given us enough food to feed 10 billion people, and it’s how the food is distributed which has caused mass famines and starvation. Some – the Malthusians – even took the view that as resources ran out, the population would “control” itself through mass deaths until a sustainable population was reached. Throughout this time, concerns have been raised that our numbers may outgrow our ability to produce food, leading to widespread famine. ![]() Surprise surprise, prisons make animals (including humans) go crazy.Over the last few hundred years, the human population of Earth has seen an increase, taking us from an estimated one billion in 1804 to seven billion in 2017. These experiments show what happens what you put a species in a mind-numbing PRISON, no matter how comfortable. These experiments don’t show what happens when you put a species in utopia, because this was not a utopia in the slightest. There is no indication that there were any interesting structures for them to climb on, or any new things for them to chew on–I doubt there was even any food ever offered to them besides the same lab block day after day, which is not a “perfect” life for such an omnivorous and opportunistic eater like our own species! They did nothing but eat, groom and sleep or turned to fighting because there was literally nothing else to do! Keeping them in an enclosed space means they can’t travel so there was no novelty in their lives–no new experiences no curiosities to examine, nothing to try out. NOTHING I’ve ever read about these so-called “mouse utopias” indicates that there was ever anything resembling any form of ENRICHMENT for the (very intelligent!) rats (and later mice). What about the inbreeding? Maybe should of started with 100 couples, and also “things to do” like wheels, games, etc. I followed the link to the transcript, and read the comments there a couple were, I think, particularly insightful: As I have no idea why it does that, I thought I’d revisit it to try to figure out a reason for it. This post is one of the wibblettes here that appears to have lasting appeal it keeps popping up in the ‘popular posts’ widget. Despite going out of his way to ensure the inhabitants of his perfect mouse society never wanted for anything, within 2 years virtually the entire population was dead. Calhoun built what was essentially a utopia for mice that was purpose built to satisfy their every need. In 1968, an expert on animal behaviour and population control called John B. ![]() Courtesy of a comment on …and Then There’s Physics I present a fascinating video that reveals what happens when a society has no barriers to growth:
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