It apparently goes back further than mankind itself. The New York Times reports the first observed case of monkey prostitution:
Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys’ true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)
It apparently goes back further than mankind itself. The New York Times reports the first observed case of monkey prostitution:
Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys’ true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)
It apparently goes back further than mankind itself. The New York Times reports the first observed case of monkey prostitution:
Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys’ true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)
In discussing AIDS drug prices, Derek Lowe notes that:
I’ve known some pretty good Brazilian scientists, but the country isn’t up to being able to discover and develop its own new ones. (Very few countries are; you can count them on your fingers.)
I’d never thought about this, but I imagine it’s true. There’s a reason that so many countries send students to the US (and the UK, and few other places) for their education. I recall a chapter in one of Feynman’s autobiographies, in which he described the state of physics education in Brazilian universities. It was basically rote memorization, with no apparent comprehension of the actual meaning or applicability of the formulas. It would be interesting (and sad) if that remains the case.
In discussing AIDS drug prices, Derek Lowe notes that:
I’ve known some pretty good Brazilian scientists, but the country isn’t up to being able to discover and develop its own new ones. (Very few countries are; you can count them on your fingers.)
I’d never thought about this, but I imagine it’s true. There’s a reason that so many countries send students to the US (and the UK, and few other places) for their education. I recall a chapter in one of Feynman’s autobiographies, in which he described the state of physics education in Brazilian universities. It was basically rote memorization, with no apparent comprehension of the actual meaning or applicability of the formulas. It would be interesting (and sad) if that remains the case.
In discussing AIDS drug prices, Derek Lowe notes that:
I’ve known some pretty good Brazilian scientists, but the country isn’t up to being able to discover and develop its own new ones. (Very few countries are; you can count them on your fingers.)
I’d never thought about this, but I imagine it’s true. There’s a reason that so many countries send students to the US (and the UK, and few other places) for their education. I recall a chapter in one of Feynman’s autobiographies, in which he described the state of physics education in Brazilian universities. It was basically rote memorization, with no apparent comprehension of the actual meaning or applicability of the formulas. It would be interesting (and sad) if that remains the case.
Amy Wellborn has an interesting discussion about evolution and ID among Catholics (it’s interesting because this is usually a fundamentalist Protestant issue). As usual, the same flawed and ignorant arguments about “lack of intermediate species in the fossil record” keep cropping up. I’ve probably already said all I have to say on this subject for now.
…to be successful in business? Here’s an interesting article about your boss, the potential psychopath:
…cynics might say that it can be an advantage to lack a conscience. That’s probably why major investors installed Dunlap as the CEO of Sunbeam: He had no qualms about decimating the workforce to impress Wall Street. One reason outside executives get brought into troubled companies is that they lack the emotional stake in either the enterprise or its people. It’s easier for them to act callously and remorselessly, which is exactly what their backers want. The obvious danger of the new B-Scan test for psychopathic tendencies is that companies will hire or promote people with high scores rather than screen them out. Even Babiak, the test’s codeveloper, says that while “a high score is a red flag, sometimes middle scores are okay. Perhaps you don’t want the most honest and upfront salesman.”
…to discover that women can fake org@sms. I found this part interesting:
When women genuinely achieved an org@sm, areas of the brain involved in fear and emotion were deactivated. Those areas stayed alert however when women were faking it.
The researchers also found that the cortex, which is linked with consciousness, is active during a fake org@sm but not during the real thing.
Sounds like fun research for all involved. You have to wonder, though, if some of the response is influenced by the experimenters. I’d think that it would be kind of hard for people to do what comes naturally when they know they’re being observed. Sort of a variation on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
[Update on Monday evening]
At the risk of alienating a large (perhaps, even likely, intelligent) portion of my readership, I nonetheless feel compelled to ask, is this why blondes have more fun?