When I read things like this, I can't help but feel like we're approaching The Behavioral Sink. When I first read about John B. Calhoun's work, I thought it was interesting but sort of moved on. For some reason, it stuck in my mind though, and it rises to the surface often when I read news about the world.
For those who don't know, Calhoun's research was around the impact of population growth. He found that mice in a closed environment, among other behaviors, became anti-social, violent, strangely obsessed with grooming and stopped breeding once the population reached a certain size, even disregarding the wellbeing of the young that are born.
Obviously we're not in a situation as bad as all that, but it's an interesting light to view today's world in.
For those who don't know, Calhoun's research was around the impact of population growth. He found that mice in a closed environment, among other behaviors, became anti-social, violent, strangely obsessed with grooming and stopped breeding once the population reached a certain size, even disregarding the wellbeing of the young that are born.
Obviously we're not in a situation as bad as all that, but it's an interesting light to view today's world in.