The Purple Koolaid Playtime Show!

America The Hypomanic?

Here's an interesting article courtesy The American Enterprise Online that examines the link between entrepreneurship and hypomania, a temperament variant genetically associated with manic-depression:

Excerpt:

Energy, drive, cockeyed optimism, entrepreneurial and religious zeal, Yankee ingenuity, messianism, overflowing confidence—these traits have long been attributed to an “American temperament.” It is quite possible that these national characteristics have been encouraged by our rich concentration of hypomanic genes.

If a scientist wanted to design a giant petri dish with all the right nutrients to make hypomanic genius flourish, he would be hard-pressed to imagine a better natural experiment than America. A “nation of immigrants” represents a highly skewed and unusual “self-selected” population. Do men and women who risk everything to leap into a new world differ temperamentally from those who stay home? It would be surprising if they didn’t. “Immigrants are unusual people,” wrote James Jaspers in Restless Nation. Only one out of a hundred people emigrate, and they tend to be imbued “with special drive, ambition and talent.”

Could it be in the blood? Various theories abound as to what we've inherited from our risk-taking ancestors who chose to leave their homelands and sail across the Atlantic for the promise of the unknown.

On a similar note, borntoexplore.org examines "Attention Deficit Disorder", a probably-overdiagnosed "disorder" that may have actually been a useful personality trait during the days of the pioneers. In fact, this is a personality trait that has also been associated with some of the more famous and successful explorers, inventors and creative people.

Considerar Esta

Non-Mexican illegal aliens set U.S. record

excerpt:

Some 65,000 non-Mexican illegal aliens crossed the U.S. border last year -- 644 from "countries of concern," Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar told a House committee recently.

A record 119,000 non-Mexican illegal immigrants have been apprehended so far this year, a number that could hit 150,000.

"We are not protecting Americans against the next terrorist attack," former immigration agent Michael Cutler said. "There are so many holes in the system."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If the current administration is really that concerned about terrorism, wouldn't sending the troops to secure our own borders be a higher priority than sending them thousands of miles overseas?

Dove Update

Let's take a look in on Papa Bird and the chicks again.

.

1. July 20th. Hmmm, now it appears there are only two chicks total in the nest. I don't know if I miscounted (since at their youngest stage they're kind of lumpy and all one color, so it might have looked like there was an additional one), or one got pushed out of the nest -- as often happens with birds where there's only supposed to be a "set" number. In the case of the latter, it would have been too late to see if that's what indeed happened, since any of a number of other critters most likely would have found it before I did. Not sure if this is Daddy bird, either, since you can't see the neck feathers. In any event I have yet to see both adults at the nest, although I'm sure they must change guards at some point in the day!

2. July 21. This is a nice shot.

3. July 22. Daddy feeds the chicks. As you can see, the chicks are growing quite fast, and it's due to the rather unique way they're being fed, which National Public Radio has been helpful enough to explain.

4. July 23. It's been quite rainy the past couple days, and here we see what birds do when it storms. ...They sit on their branch and wait it out...

5. July 24. The chicks are about a week old, and their wing-plumage is already half grown in. At this stage, they're homely little things, looking more like miniature turkeys with their fat bodies and bald heads.

New Words And Phrases

...to know and learn. Tell all the other kids! :)

Mediocracy: me-di-o-kre-se (n) [L, fr. neuter of medius, middle + Gk kratikos (AFAIK, first published Web appearance by Yours Truly in the year 2000.)

An election-based system of government in which the mass media is linked to the power structure and plays a major role in influencing the thoughts and opinions of the electorate.

See also: mediocrity

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hype-ocracy: hip-o-kres-e (n) a system of government which advertises (or "hypes") itself as promoting certain values and ideals at the expense of the very values and ideals for which it purports to represent.

See also: "Orwellian"; George Orwell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Patellar logic: (n) [der. fr. patella = kneecap]: a hasty and reactive response, thought or opinion, usually in which one's subjective perceptions, emotions, prejudices, etc. are substituted for thinking, gathering facts, etc. ; syn. "KNEE-JERK REACTION"; "JUMPING THE GUN", etc.

See also: "The Blind Men and the Elephant"

A Primer On Meme Receptors

Memes are called "mind viruses" because, like viruses, they require "receptors" to enable their replication. What we've inherited in our genetic makeup makes us suggestible to ideas that appeal to the various instincts and behaviors that have proven successful over time. This model roughly corresponds to the triune brain theory, -- although here, I'm making a distinction between the lower primate and human tendencies.

1. Reptilian Receptors = basic survival/preservation instincts.

-Physical Functions
-Reproduction
-Eating/Drinking
-Aggression
-Response to Sensory Stimuli

2. Paleomammalian Receptors = appeal to the more emotional behaviors and instincts that first evolved
in lower mammals. Among these:

-Joy
-Anger
-Sadness
-Fear
-Disgust
-Surprise
-Jealousy
-Play
-Bonding
-Competition
-Conditioned Response
-Reward Behavior
-Protecting Family
-Nurturing of young
-Territorialism
-Challenging
-Acting As Sentry
-Favoring the Bigger/Stronger/More Attractive
-Addictive Behavior (gambling, collecting, etc.)
-Pleasure-seeking
-Herd Mentality
-Value Judgments/Intuition
-Social Rank (generally, more fit over less fit; male
over female;sense of superiority/inferiority)
-Curiosity
-Masculinity/Femininity
-Novelty
-Learning/keeping mind active
-Danger alertness

3. Primate-level receptors: thought to have their origins in the higher social primates. Many of these
have to do with social strategy and ways to obtain rank and power.

-Social Heirarchy
appeasement/acceptance/approval of higher-ranking individuals
drive to attain higher rank
-Familialism
-Manipulative/sociopolitical maneuvering
(flattery, making friendships, etc.)
-Extended Childhood
("my elders will provide for and protect me")
("I am the center of the world")
parental approval
-Curiosity about others
-Mimicry
-Ego
-Adolescent Rebellion
-Humor
-Teasing/provoking
-Tribalism
connectivity/bonding/seeking "belonging"
("us vs. them")
-Unify against enemy
-Sense of Inequity
-Sense of winning/losing
-Suspicion
-Guile

4. Hominid Receptors = innate behavioral/survival tendencies which seem unique to humans. Many are symbolic/abstract concepts thought to be tied into the development of language and/or have their origins in more "primitive" receptors:

-Tradition
-Ritual
-Self Awareness
-Sense of Justice
-Sense of Morality
-Sense of Good vs. Evil
-Sense of Order
-Higher Learning
-Altruism
-Empathy
-Love
-Hope
-Individuality
-Personal Growth
-Seeking Identity
-Finding meaning to life
-Finding "purpose"
-Spirituality
-Evangelicism
-Faith
-Rationality
-Music Appreciation
-Style/Fashion
-Nostalgia
-Collecting
-Defining/Categorizing
-Guile over gullible (suspicion; skepticism)
-Shame/embarrasment

Historically, mass political movements and ideologies tended to be founded on one or more of the more
primitive meme-receptors (many if not most of them utilizing the "us vs. them" receptor in some way).
Nazi Germany, for example, was a horrendous example of "us vs. them" paired with certain reptilian-based receptors. Socialism, on the other hand, utilizes the "extended childhood" receptor to its advantage. Political agendas that purport to be "for the children" exploit the 2nd-level "nurturing of young" receptor, and so forth.

As humans, we do have the advantage of being intelligent and adaptable enough to learn how *not* to
fall into the more irrationally-based behavior patterns, and to use our free will to make choices in
our lives. Through education, it's possible to inoculate ourselves from falling prey to harmful and
irrational ideas.

Local Current Events

First Fluff: Well, it didn't take me long before making a completely off-topic post. ...Or perhaps not so off-topic if this will get more people to check out the site. (Actually, I'd intended to have this blog up sooner, but projects and deadlines got in the way).

In the final days of June, I was awakened in the early hours by clatter near the bedroom window and the squeaky wings of mourning doves. I figured they'd found the finch feeder and were trying their best balancing act. ...But they had other designs in mind.

While the nest was still under construction, I took a piece of cardboard big enough to fit in the window and cut a hole in it, just big enough to fit a camera lens through. (These pictures were taken with a Nikon D70 digital camera using a Sigma 18-50mm lens.)

The second picture was taken yesterday (Sunday). I don't know how long it takes for dove eggs to incubate, but this is the first glimpse of the baby chicks that I saw. There are at least two that I can see.

What appears to be a warm scene of maternal devotion is in all probability paternal devotion; according to this site, the male bird sits on the nest during the day. Since baby birds do not nurse, parental care among birds can be more interchangeable. More on this later... (Update: this morning the nest was momentarily sans a sitter, and it seems there are three chicks total. Unfortunately my camera was not at hand!)

It's All About Memes*

What is a "meme", you might ask? ...Simply put, it's a term coined by Richard Dawkins to describe an idea that can be passed from one individual to another. These essays will attempt to further examine the particularly contagious and often irrational variety ("mind viruses") that our ancestral/evolutionary heritage might make us susceptible to. This link provides a good overview: About Memes

I chose the title**, originally the working title for a panel cartoon idea I had some years back, as a cautionary reminder of the kind of power memes can have over humans. For those old enough to remember, it alludes to the untimely demise of 900+ cult members who fell under the influence of a charismatic authority. (Interestingly, this metaphor has popped up into recent popular lexicon. ...Synchronicity?)

Memes can be seductive, but they don't always lead us down the right path. Who are today's Pied Pipers, and how do they work their magic?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(*...actually, it'll be about any ol' thing that might cross my mind, although memes will be a recurring theme here. ...And maybe I'll post a cat picture occasionally.)

(**technically, it was really Flavor-aid, but Koolaid is part of the "common knowledge" mythos. Plus it just sounds catchier. :-)