Ferri Tales

Merry Mithra-mass, Merry Horus-mass, Merry Ra-mass, Merry Baal-mass, Merry Sol-mass, Merry Helios-mass, and for the new kid on the block (around 350C.E.) Merry Christ-mass. JLF .

In the December 9, 2011 issue of Science, researchers from the University of Chicago placed pairs of rats in plexiglass pens, one pair per pen, with one of the rats trapped in a smaller cage within the pen. After about a week of apparent consternation, prodding, and testing, the unrestrained rat eventually figured out how to open the inner cage door and free their mate. In another test, a second inner cage containing bits of chocolate -- the rat’s favorite snack -- were added. The unrestrained rats first freed the caged rats, then shared the chocolate with them. Further tests showed that the rats had no interest in opening empty cages, or cages containing toy rats, indicating that their goal was to help a cage-mate in distress. Mason and Bartal, the UC researchers, concluded that rodents are far more altruistic that previously thought. I would like to propose similar experiments using humans rather than rats. Experimental protocols would use liberals and conservatives as roommates w...