The Love Hormone
A mouse š that has recently given birth takes care of pups, even if they arenāt her own. However, female mice who have never given birth (called virgins) not only neglect pups, but sometimes EAT them. Neuroscientist Bianca Marlin gave oxytocin - the love hormone - to virgin mice. Not only did they stop eating the pups, but they even interpreted their crying differently.Ā
I often wonder how human parents in cults can do such horrible things to their own kids. Iāve even come to doubt the existence of the paternal instinct (questioning it recently in my episode about abusive YouTube mom Ruby Franke).Ā
Oxytocin appears to prove that a maternal instinct does exist (at least in new mothers). So why do so many people treat their children terribly? A lot of it owes to cognitive biases and cult dynamics as well as psychopathy.
But I wonder: do some parents just need a serving of the love hormone?
Thanks for the idea Locals member @ellieisnotcool
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40 Days & 40 Wives in the Desert
When you think of polygamy, parodies like South Park and The Book of Mormon come to mind, (as do swingers and grisly bowls full of keys š). But there might be serious evolutionary drives behind polygamy, and reasons why it thrives in harsh environments (such as the beautiful desert state of Utah).Ā
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In environments with high infant mortality, there may be a premium on producing more offspring to ensure that some survive to adulthood. Polygamous arrangements, especially polygyny (one man marrying multiple women), can potentially increase the reproductive output of a group.
There are also (depressing) economic explanations: wives and children can help tend to the farm. Higher mortality for men (hunting, warfare) can also make polygyny a viable social arrangement. The religious doctrine of Mormonism then just becomes the rationalisation for what biology + harsh terrain created.Ā
Iām seeing Book of Mormon next week, by the way! Catch last weekās episode with Ceci Hendrickson, an FLDS (extreme Mormon) member who had to look after 21 kids.Ā
Thanks for the idea Locals member @indigo_xD!Ā
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Good Paedophiles?
In my interview (on Locals) with 18-year-old paedophile Silas, I was amazed to hear his concept of good paedophiles and bad paedophiles. His point is that, although the āafflictionā is thought to beset 1% of men (and far fewer women), the majority of them never abuse children or watch child sexual abuse material.
You can choose whether to believe them about the latter. Or former.Ā
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I once offended a forum of German paedophiles. I had announced myself as a journalist, and it took months to build trust. But after Christian BrĆ¼ckner was linked to the Madeleine McCann kidnapping, I asked if any of the paedophiles in the forum knew this particular paedophile.Ā
I posted the question, and went about my day, before forgetting about it. The next day, I remembered to check, and found a list of countless replies. All of them were angry. I had made the mistake of identifying BrĆ¼ckner as a paedophile - like them. In their minds, he was categorically not a paedophile, but rather a āpaedo-criminalā. An abuserā¦a bad paedophile.
But what do you think about Silas and the forumās theory? Is there such a difference? Let me know below, and give me your thoughts on polygamy, the love hormone...and on the 3 Things I Learned weekly!