In a simple experiment, researchers at the University of Chicago sought to find out whether a rat would release a fellow rat from an unpleasantly restrictive cage if it could. The answer was yes.
The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive — which is a lot to expect of a rat.
The researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was empathy — and apparently selfless behavior driven by that mental state.
“A New Model of Empathy: The Rat” by David Brown, Washington Post
bbies ;__;
That’s awesome.
Kind of confused about what’s happening right now but those wings are awesome.
(via larosson)
Consider this your call to action.
I know that we all love this site as an expression of our individuality, but the fact of the matter is, we are under attack. And what we do is distracting us from that fact.
The American government now has all the…
Please. The government is going to first go after the major problems, like the ACTUAL SITES that provide the material that people are downloading. They are going to attack and fine people who upload the content before they go after the downloaders. And honestly if I had access to the stuff I download legally sooner then the months to years that I have to wait then I fucking would.
Start making your content avaliable OUTSIDE your own fucking country. I don’t care if I have to pay for it just MAKE IT AVALIABLE! That’s your problem. Take a look at what you are so against. It is clearly WORKING and working better then what you are supplying. There will always be pirating because people want something for nothing but maybe if you provided an easier way for us to get what we want there would be less of it. Instead of locking these people away get them to help you improve your distribution of your content.
Thank god cause I’m sorry but the whole incest thing was creepy and weird.
And now, with kids shows, we’re afraid to touch on subjects like death, divorce, and homosexuality, lest the parents phone up and throw a bitchfit. Television was educational not in that it taught us how to count by twos or what the word indigenous meant, but in the way it taught us life lessons in a way we were able to see, understand, reference and relate to. Television shows like this were guidebooks for parents, good tools to use when having a talk with kids about the death of a family member, friend, or even a pet. Saying things like “remember how Chuckie found that picture of his Mommy, and his Dad showed him all the things she used to have, and the poem she wrote for him?” gets the kid in the right mindset- and now?
Now we’ve got shows based on “randomocity”, slapstick humor without purpose, and full thirty minute slots packed tight with mindless one-liners and lessons in how to catch jellyfish with a net if you live underwater as a yellow sponge.
I’m not saying we didn’t have our set of shows like that, with silly nothingness, but there were so many more shows with valuable lessons than there are today. That’s why shows like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, are receiving such volumes of attention: they are heading in the right direction, brushing subjects that other kid’s cartoons neglect for fear of backlash.
(via hannahisawful)
wtf what do 3/4 of my followers do because they sure don’t reblog or like my posts
seriously what do you guys do
are you waiting for something
what are you waiting for
(via spumonis)
(via emantaleb)
