Clothes

Have you ever wondered why we wear them? There is the obvious reason – to protect us from the elements of nature, but animals have no such need. Well, there are two main purposes. Firstly, hygiene.  The general disgust we feel towards bodily excretions coming from, um, our covered areas, is pretty sound – it stops the spread of disease and generally keeps a more sanitary environment. That should get some ladies reevaluating the length of their skirts and the seats that get in contact with their bare asses as a result. Secondly, humans dress out of modesty. Why does that matter? There are some pretty compelling advantages, and yes, they are mostly surrounding sex. Wearing more clothes results in less sexual availability, and therefore more selective breeding. It means you are not ready to get on with just anybody, or maybe at all. Not making babies all the time leaves us with more time for the important stuff - like taking care of the ones we already have. This is a more necessary thing in humans than in any other animal, since we take the longest time to develop our brain and be able to take care of ourselves. In the end, it all makes sense. So next time you are putting some clothes on, please, cover the essentials.

Monkeys pt.2

Upon second glance:

Some people may differ from this story based on a number of flawed assumptions, both tangible and philosophical, and therefore it may teach the wrong lesson. Consider this question: If, at the end of the story, a monkey tried to climb the ladder, how do you know whether the scientists would soak the monkeys with cold water or not? Answer: You don't. However, the author has assumed that the scientists would not, and used that to imply that the monkey's actions were pointless. However, there is no data to support that assumption. In fact, historical data strongly indicates the opposite assumption, and that the cultural wisdom the monkeys inherited from their predecessors was indeed valuable. As for the philosophical question of whether it makes sense to continue a behaviour when you don't know the reason behind it, I ask the opposite question: Does it makes sense to change a behaviour when you don't know the reason behind it? All things being equal, it makes most sense to continue on with the behaviour that is currently working for you. Unless there is data showing current behaviour is no longer the best approach, or the change has a clear opportunity for a benefit and we're willing to take a calculated risk, continuing the current behaviour helps us avoid paying for the same wisdom a second time. For those who still disagree, I give you one final argument: When raising your kids, when you told them not to do something, did you always provide a solid reason, or did you sometimes fall back on "Because I said so"? In those cases, shouldn't they have been able to do what they wanted because they didn't know the reason not to? Of course not, and that's my point: Wisdom is there for a reason, and while sometimes we need to go against it, we should be very cautious when we do.

Monkeys pt. 1

Here is a nice science experiment that I would like to share with all of you:

A group of scientists placed 5 monkeys in a cage and in the middle they place a ladder with bananas on top. Every time a monkey went up the ladder the scientists soaked the rest of the monkeys with cold water. After a while every time a monkey went up the ladder the other ones beat up the one on the ladder. After some tome no monkey dare to go up the ladder regardless of the temptation.

Scientists decided to substitute one of the monkeys.  The fist thing this new monkey did was to go up the ladder immediately. The other monkeys beat him up. After several beatings the new member learned no to climb the ladder even though he never knew why. The second monkey was substituted and the same occurred. The monkey participated on the beating for the second monkey. A third monkey was substituted and the same repeated; the fourth was substituted and the same result; finally the 5th monkey was replaced.

What was left was a group of 5 monkeys that even though never received a cold shower continued to beat up any monkey who attempted to climb the ladder.

If it was possible to ask the monkeys why they would beat up all those who attempted to go up the ladder, their answer would be:

‘ I don’t know, that’s just the way things are done around here’ Does this sound familiar?

1 stotinka*

What would you do for one stotinka? Some would not even bother to bend down and pick it up. It should be eliminated, and here’s why:

1. It costs more to create than its nominal value (25% more to be exact).

2. It costs more to be counted every time at the cashier than its nominal value (that is, in working hours)
This means that you pay more to your workers to count, transport and generally care for your one stotinka coins then the value you would get from keeping them.

3. It has no real purchasing power.

There is nothing you can buy for one stotinka at the store, and vending machines don’t even take them since they have realized it increases costs too much.

If you are worried about the effects it might have on economy, or how we will pay if our bill is 1.99, then don’t. Payment will be rounded up to the nearest five stotinki, so for 1.96 you will pay 1.95, and for 1.99 you will pay 2.00. At the end with multiple transactions it all evens out.  Many countries have already applied this to their own currency: Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, and others as well, some of which are from the Eurozone. This is basically a no-brainer, and should be implemented without debate.

*all of this applies to the coin for 2 stotinki as well

Daylight savings time

In only 8 short days we will get our annual sleep-deprived Monday. On that day, there will be great loss of productivity, an increase in the instances of heart attacks and suicides. International communication will become a bit more confusing for some time, especially if you deal with people in the other hemisphere, where they will leave daylight savings as we enter into it.

All of this trouble was introduced in Bulgaria in 1979 with the main goal of extending the day an hour more past working hours, in order to get people spend more time outside and use less electricity for lighting. However, with the invention of the air-conditioner and the preference of many people to avoid outside heat and stick to the climate-controlled inside areas in the summer, this could be creating more energy cost, rather than saving it. Various studies show different results, with some saying it will save, and other saying it will cost. But they all agree on one thing – the difference will be extremely miniscule.  So is there a point to go through this March madness every year? And then again in November? Not really.

Controversial Issues #2: Alcohol

Alcohol. You probably have seen members of your family have it with every dinner (or sometimes even lunch), and in excessive amounts on special occasions, which is sometimes defined by “the weekend”. Everyone thinks it’s fun, but how many actually know what happens in your brain when you get drunk?

Here’s a video to explain the scientific part of alcohol intake:

Not exactly what you expected? I personally never thought alcohol is a depressant, I thought it was supposed to cheer you up when you are depressed…but I guess there is a lot I have been wrong about.

Because alcohol inhibits the background thoughts in your brain, you become more impulsive and less likely to doubt your instincts – your animal instincts that is. You are more likely to sleep (or make out with) someone, if the background thought of your spouse waiting at home is blurred out. You are more likely to do something stupid, if your brain is not reminding you of the consequences. Also, multiple researches show that you are more likely to behave aggressively and violently, not only in a club environment but also in the form of domestic violence.  It is also what makes you unfit do drive, as well as unfit to realize you shouldn’t be driving.

When looking at the scientific point of what alcohol does, it suddenly strips down the “cool” social factor and presents it plainly and practically – it is pointless and dangerous. 

Controversial Issues #1: Relationships

Every society accepts certain things as a given – we know that stealing is bad, loving is good, it is normal to eat fast food (even though we know it’s bad) etc. You believe this and almost everyone you know believes this. It is only when you encounter an outsider, someone from a different culture where bad and good are different, and what is normal might seems strange and even barbaric – like eating bugs would be to us, but not to someone from Thailand – that you get to evaluate your own beliefs and find the logic (or lack of it).  

To our current society it is now widely accepted for people to have multiple relationships – to try out several partners before they decide that they want to settle. And if they find that they have not settled with the right one, they leave them in search of a better one. This fits into a culture of avoiding problems rather than solving them, of people relying on their feelings rather than their reason to make decisions. Because of these feelings now people don’t find the need to restrain themselves and think before they act. If you feel hungry – eat whatever you want. If you feel horny – have sex with whoever you are attracted to. The animal inside has taken over and we have a society full of people who are obese from overindulging in food and who are unable to maintain a relationship because they are used to ending it at the first sight of trouble. So take the time and realize if you are hungry yet, or you could wait some more, and think about what is good for you before you put it in your mouth. Same goes for relationships – wait and think, and only if you know that the person will be worth fighting for, you should commit yourself to them and stick to it in spite of any troubles. It’s called marriage.