Sociology // Current TV

Number of Crocodiles rises in Odisha's Bhitarkanika

In a significant development in reptile population, the number of crocodiles in... more

Kristena
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Thoughts on “Hard Core”

~~~~~~~~i married a pornographer , by Emily Southwood this - particular post, . . .... more

remanns
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Human Resources - Social engineering in the 20th century

http://metanoia-films.org/humanresources.php I just got finished watching this,... more

s_peak
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9 comments

Earth – The Insane Asylum

- Mike Shanklin talks about the insanity of the world.

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The Journey of Sex Appeal

In the last century, we began to see an outwardly, unabashed sexual revolution through... more

AwakenedAesthetic
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15 Excellent Movies for Psychology Majors

The following films offer up excellent opportunities for anyone who enjoys studying... more

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Researchers find a 'liberal gene'

Liberals may owe their political outlook partly to their genetic make-up, according to new research from the University of California, San Diego, and Harvard University. Ideology is affected not just by social factors, but also by a dopamine receptor gene called DRD4. The study's authors say this is the first research to identify a specific gene that predisposes people to certain political views.

Appearing in the latest edition of The Journal of Politics published by Cambridge University Press, the research focused on 2,000 subjects from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. By matching genetic information with maps of the subjects' social networks, the researchers were able to show that people with a specific variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be liberal as adults, but only if they had an active social life in adolescence.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter affecting brain processes that control movement, emotional response, and ability to experience pleasure and pain. Previous research has identified a connection between a variant of this gene and novelty-seeking behavior, and this behavior has previously been associated with personality traits related to political liberalism.

Lead researcher James H. Fowler of UC San Diego and his colleagues hypothesized that people with the novelty-seeking gene variant would be more interested in learning about their friends' points of view. As a consequence, people with this genetic predisposition who have a greater-than-average number of friends would be exposed to a wider variety of social norms and lifestyles, which might make them more liberal than average. They reported that "it is the crucial interaction of two factors -- the genetic predisposition and the environmental condition of having many friends in adolescence -- that is associated with being more liberal." The research team also showed that this held true independent of ethnicity, culture, sex or age.

Fowler concludes that the social and institutional environment cannot entirely explain a person's political attitudes and beliefs and that the role of genes must be taken into account. "These findings suggest that political affiliation is not based solely on the kind of social environment people experience," said Fowler, professor of political science and medical genetics at UC San Diego.

"It is our hope that more scholars will begin to explore the potential interaction of biology and environment," he said. "The way forward is to look for replication in different populations and age groups."Liberals may owe their political outlook partly to their genetic make-up, according to... more

Vierotchka
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Ken Kesey the 'Acid Christ'

Gus Van Sant is bringing Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test"... more

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The Cannibalization of America

America has become a cannibal society, devouring its best. The competent, numerically outnumbered by the incompetents, are being corralled, restrained, confined and milked like barnyard cattle. The giants who created our skyscraper civilization are now ordered to obey Lilliputian bureaucrats. Common men—who owe their jobs to uncommon men who create jobs—gang together to shackle their providers.

Americans are becoming congenital dependents. Even as loafing relatives extort a livelihood by claiming they have a “right” to your money—so today eight million homegrown moochers insist that you are responsible for their welfare! Thus, we subsidize promiscuous mothers and their illegitimate babies and lazy feather bedders and goldbricking government pay rollers…While we penalize the strong, the purposeful, the productive with disproportionate burdens of taxes, pressures, red tape.

We praise ventures which are “non-profit” and grant them tax advantages and social acceptance, yet we damn the men who make the profits which make the “non-profit” ventures possible. Americans want to keep the electric lights but destroy the generators. What if the men of brains and initiative and industry should go on strike?

It happened once. “The Dark Ages” were a period of stagnation when men of exceptional ability gave up, figured “what’s the use?” and went underground—for a thousand years. Ayn Rand, author of “Atlas Shrugged,” thinks it may have to happen that way again. Dr. Charles Mayo says, “I know of no individual, no nation, that ever did anything worthwhile on a five-day week.” Already many American industrialists are turning the keys on their corporations and going to Florida—either part-time or full-time—to become non-productive beachcombers.

Curiously, Russia is beginning to reward the uncommon men. Soviet scholar Vadim A. Trapeznikov—not without Kremlin sanction—is now referring to the Soviet system as “obsolete.” He says Russia’s economy must now rely on the “more productive profit motive.”

We, on the other hand, continue to play the democratic con-game which pretends that all men are equal and that anybody who demonstrates any inequality should be punished for it.

Any insolent beggar can wave his sores in your face and plead for help in the tone of a threat. You are expected to feel “guilty” for having more than he. Any barefoot bum from the pestholes of Asia or Africa cries out, “How dare you be rich!” And we beg them to be patient and we promise to give it all away as fast as possible.

The economic creed of “enlightened selfishness” which made our nation the powerhouse of this planet has been so maligned that now it sounds like heresy when I say:

Any man who claims you owe him a living is a cannibal.
Whether foreign or domestic, he is a cannibal.
If you choose to help him, that is one thing.
If he demands you “help” as his “right,” he is a leech,
a sycophant, a parasite.
He is a cannibal seeking to survive by consuming you.America has become a cannibal society, devouring its best. The competent, numerically... more

CitizenHill
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Science Figures Out The Keys to Sexy Dancing

Motion-capture technology allows an objective analysis of which dance moves are most... more

diode
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2 years ago
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top 5 current discussions: cuba's peace concert, obama-as-monkey again, wal-mart sued by parents, atheists mistrusted, and scandinavia fights female genital mutilation

Cuba rocks to huge peace concert Havana has hosted the biggest open-air concert... more

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3 years ago
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How to Spot a Cult [videos]

This New Zealand investigative report is long but fascinating and very well-worth... more

GrrlScientist
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3 years ago
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"The Genius In All of Us" by David Shenk

"genes do not, on their own, make us smart, dumb, sassy, polite, depressed,... more

ryan8566
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3 years ago
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"The Art of Choosing" by Sheena Iyengar, Columbia Business School

"the ability to make choices about our work and life seems to be an essestial... more

ryan8566
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3 years ago
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3 comments

"The History of White People" by Nell Irvin Painter, Princeton University

"history reveals multiple classifications of whites, ranked by power, privilege,... more

ryan8566
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3 years ago
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5 comments

The libertine’s guide to gallantry: f-ing in the ‘friend zone’

The “friend zone” is a misnomer. Plenty of women fuck their friends. Hence... more

Alfie_Creative_Loafing
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3 years ago
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"TEEN" Love Quotes

Young but Timeless,..........and not "untrue",........ANY of it:... more

remanns
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3 years ago
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6 comments

Is Violence an Innate Human Trait?

"Humans are creatures of circumstance. However, there are those respected voices... more

JaminDime
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3 years ago
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1 comment

Communication, Information or Ego?

Why are you here? Not the age old philosophical question but on this site, in... more

bluestranger
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3 years ago
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Canned Beer Turns 75

Be sure to crack open a cold one on Jan. 24, the day canned beer celebrates its 75th... more

TravG73
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3 years ago
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