The mouse utopia and societal collapse
Ben recounts the 'mouse utopia' experiment (Calhoun): mice given unlimited food, water, space, controlled temperature, and safety reproduced rapidly, then deteriorated — aggression, disrupted mating and parenting, abandoned young, social withdrawal, abnormal sexual behavior, collapsing reproduction, and finally a withdrawn clique of the 'beautiful ones' that only ate, slept, and groomed — until the population hit zero despite undiminished resources. The point: a society is not the sum of its bodily needs; the sinews of thriving are social norms and boundaries, though he cautions it matters who dictates the boundaries ('It's Jesus or nobody in my book'). Dan wonders aloud whether the older mice dying off was the trigger, mirroring the elephants.
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The mouse utopia experiment
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