"The "Universe 25" experiment is one of the most terrifying experiments in the history of science, which, through the behavior of a colony of mice, is an attempt by scientists to explain human societies. The idea of "Universe 25" Came from the American scientist John Calhoun, who created an "ideal world" in which hundreds of mice would live and reproduce. More specifically, Calhoun built the so-called "Paradise of Mice", a specially designed space where rodents had Abundance of food and water, as well as a large living space. In the beginning, he placed four pairs of mice that in a short time began to reproduce, resulting in their population growing rapidly. However, after 315 days their reproduction began to decrease significantly. When the number of rodents reached 600, a hierarchy was formed between them and then the so-called "wretches" appeared. The larger rodents began to attack the group, with the result that many males begin to "collapse" psychologically. As a result, the females did not protect themselves and in turn became aggressive towards their young. As time went on, the females showed more and more aggressive behavior, isolation elements and lack of reproductive mood. There was a low birth rate and, at the same time, an increase in mortality in younger rodents. Then, a new class of male rodents appeared, the so-called "beautiful mice". They refused to mate with the females or to "fight" for their space. All they cared about was food and sleep. At one point, "beautiful males" and "isolated females" made up the majority of the population. According to Calhoun, the death phase consisted of two stages: the "first death" and "second death." The former was characterized by the loss of purpose in life beyond mere existence — no desire to mate, raise young or establish a role within society. As time went on, juvenile mortality reached 100% and reproduction reached zero. Among the endangered mice, homosexuality was observed and, at the same time, cannibalism increased, despite the fact that there was plenty of food. Two years after the start of the experiment, the last baby of the colony was born. By 1973, he had killed the last mouse in the Universe 25. John Calhoun repeated the same experiment 25 more times, and each time the result was the same. Calhoun's scientific work has been used as a model for interpreting social collapse, and his research serves as a focal point for the study of urban sociology.
There are serious criticisms of his studies, but even casting these aside, this does not imply anything about human society. Our problem is not overabundance but dramatically inequal distribution on a global scale.
The Univserse 25 experiment was more about overcrowding as there was a limit on space “The only scarce resource in this microcosm was physical space”. Some comparisons to humanity derived from the experiment suggest “personal space is essential to prevent societal collapse”. So, it may be comperable to containing society (or pet of it?) in a cage or prison and may signal warnings to avoid overcrowding more broadly. I have more faith in society to fear our demise any time soon.
The experiment studied the effects of overcrowding on populations. It has been reinterpreted as a social commentary. If you want to read how his work was recommunicated have a look at this paper: https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22514/1/2308Ramadams.pdf
Once space/territory becomes an issue, weaker/older animals either look for pastures new or are forced to. This basic societal pressure release mechanism was constrained in these experiments. At best, these findings could only be applied, in a human context, to a luxury unisex prison with no guards from which nobody is ever released, that is run by the inmates and their offspring, where their offspring are also incarcerated for life from birth as are all future generations, until the last inbred inmate dies after multiple generations, over centuries - not much hope of putting that to the test.
It was repeated 25 times because he didnt have enough space. It was aboit lack of physical space not the abundance of needed resources for survival. This study has been misinterpreted too many times
Does anyone see the parallels to the crude societal theories of the Nazis? It’s an interesting experiment. Yet deriving conclusions or even specific action for human societies has nothing to do with science. We’ve seen where this could lead in the Germany of the 1930s. The line between science, pseudo-science and ideology is getting more and more blurred - especially with the science-skepticism on the rise lately.
The previous one was organic reach. Both Work; Network Centrality and Impression count. It is a manipulation of feed inventory. Feed algorithm pops them up more often, if other engagement metrics support it. No free meals :-) Nonetheless, it serves the interests of all the parties, LinkedIn included. I have written context for other Masters, Master Foo. I would like to invite you too, but it will be a no-fight club.
How does this translate to the human society? I don't see a parallel here ??
This aligns with other studies that show there are optimal levels of stress. The Yerkes-Dodson law?is a model of the relationship between stress and task performance. It proposes that you reach your peak level of performance with an intermediate level of stress. Too little or too much stress results in poorer performance. This experiment seems to correlate with the "no stress" version and is perhaps a cautionary tale on the idea that we want to maximize wealth in order to maximize leisure/pleasure. Perhaps what we really need is to maximize purpose.
EV Technology and Strategy Lead - Shaping the Future of Mobility at Kia Europe
1 个月The 'beautiful ones' described in the 'Universe 25' experiment were mice that withdrew from social interaction entirely. They avoided mating, fighting, or engaging with the group, instead focusing only on grooming, eating, and sleeping. There is no mention of homosexuality in the study, and linking this behavior to such claims reflects a misunderstanding of the research or biaises. Moreover, the findings of this experiment do not apply to human societies, as humans possess complex cultural, social, and psychological mechanisms far beyond what mice can exhibit.