Snowshoe Pajarito

Los Alamos, a city filled with history, science, and an odd assortment of people. Many postdocs here feel the social scene is limited. If you feel this way, snowshoe.



You don't need friends to snowshoe, only snowshoes. You may also ski, if that's your thing. The advantage of snowshoes is they don't require special boots, bindings, or poles; they hug whatever closed shoes you have and protect you. When times are hard and your social circle either doesn't exist or collapses, you still have yourself and the mountains.

Bad things are happening in Kenya, Bill Richardson dropped out of the race (well, we knew his chance was slim), people in Los Alamos suffer from depression, gossip, and loneliness. Embrace your isolation; the ski hill sits quietly, a beautiful bird waiting and welcoming. And vote. Donate money to causes you care about, and start a project: volunteering, learning Spanish, or perfecting cupcake recipes.

Everything bad is good, er, right?

Finally, confirmation that violent movies reduce crime! According to two economists (economist=psychologist), young men aced to wreck havoc and mayhem on society may get their yayas by watching violent movies instead of actually committing violent acts. During the weekend of violent movie premiers and in the few days after, there is a dip in reported crime. So not only do violent films keep these scoundrels off the streets, it pacifies them for awhile. There is some logic to this, as undesirable no. 1 cannot be in two places at once (at least not without some polyjuice potion). The conclusion of the article is to find other ways to keep young men entertained, perhaps with seductive older women, funding more Adam Sandler films, or distributing passes to hear Mike Huckabee. Keep danger off our streets!

Baboons

This great article highlights how baboons have a social hierarchy of which each baboon is distinctly aware. Male baboons who move up the social ladder often kill the previous alpha male's babies to send the female back into estrous so she can get pregnant. A female baboon with good social contacts is more likely to keep her baby with a previous alpha male than a female with better social standing. It's not who you are, but who you know.

In psychology, the theory of mind is the ability for us as humans to recognize that other people have their own minds and may know and believe different things than ourselves. Do animals have this ability? Apparently baboons do not. Some people have little of this ability. We should learn from the baboons and develop good social connections to protect ourselves from disasters, and also develop our theory of mind and recognize that other people are not us and have their own thoughts and desires.

It's definitely worth registering for the NY times to read the article on baboons.