Intoxicating babies
New research indicates that newborn human babies emit chemicals from their scalps that affect adult human social behaviors. Courtesy of Rob Henderson’s newsletter of December 21, we learn that babies make us high.
According to the journal Science Advances, babies give off the chemical hexadecanal (HEX) known to serve as a biochemical social signal in mammals. The researchers found that it produces contrary effects in men and women. It tends to make men less aggressive while it makes women more so. Researchers used a combination of psychological test games and brain images to explore the overall effects.
According to the speculative science of evolutionary biology, babies that gave off this pheromone survived by making their fathers less likely to be violent around the family while making their mothers more violently aggressive in protecting them. It makes for a sensible story. It makes good sense. And it can now be considered science. Probably.
After skimming the study, it looks quite plausible to me, although one could argue that the participant numbers were relatively small. But the researchers found that their conclusions allowed them to predict behavior around three times in four—a pretty good predictive rate. Correct me if I’m misreading it. I’ll find an infant scalp to sniff and get over it.
"Each of us, he says, has different values. What’s more, we often disagree about our values. “So,” he concludes, “values are subjective.”"
Well, no. Our values are shaped by our experiences - our experiences with other humans. Compared to the ideals in Plato's cave, their rough particularity may not look like much but they are related. Jumping from individual perspective to disagreement to a verdict of "values are subjective", even if only to keep the group from dozing off, seems to amputate the individual from the fabric of human interactions in which that individual lives.
Sometimes people need help undestanding what they are seeing. Somewhat embarrassing story: long ago as a young engineering co-op student, I and another student were given the job of calibrating a piece of analytical equipment. Calibration was something i had never given any thought to before - a machine was made by the manufacturer and that was that, it did its thing. The idea of mere co-ops tampering with the manufactured perfection was almost blasphemous.
Humans need feedback to calibrate their understanding of other human beings, some more, some less. We need to pay close attention. We need to talk. We need to ask questions, "Hey, how come you never ask me to.....?" (doesn't need to be said in an ugly tone of voice). "I'm sorry - I wish you had explained that part, that was not how I understood your request. I certainly meant no disrespect."
We need trusted feedback: Once I was invited to watch a group of elementary students perform a dance at the end of one of their final practices before the performance. They were terrible. The performance would have been appropriate for the end of the first practice session.
Their teacher told them they did great, seemed to mean it and my heart ached for them. She let them dance but did not appear to have given any feedback on how to keep in rhythm or coordinate movements, on the visual impact of everyone holding their arm out at the same angle. It was her job to see them as they could not see themselves and, to the 10 year old still lurking inside me, she failed them. They trusted her but she, in her "enlightened" thinking allowed them to go on stage in front of the whole county and expose themselves to the unenlightened judgment of fellow fourth graders.
The therapy methods described in this article seem to have the potential to be the same type of betrayal.
We were talking about movies, and a remake of Harry Potter, etc.
In case anyone might be interested, my husband got me started on a wonderful series, “The Thursday Murder Club.” I’m about halfway through the second one, and it might be better than the first. I’m sure any of them would make a fantastic movie IF there was a good producer.
It probably appeals to me because it’s a group of “oldsters” who are into solving crimes, and they’re delightfully good at it. Very clever, fun read. And very uplifting for us older folks, although young people could enjoy them too.