Category Archives: Books

Dinner and a Date with a Twist

Organisms lie, exaggerate, and scam their way to food, to territory and to sex. In one species of firefly, females can dine on the males of another species if they send a phony mating signal. The duped male becomes dinner rather than a date. Because of this threat, males will approach females with caution. SometimesContinue reading “Dinner and a Date with a Twist”

Cow Pox and the Propaganda of the 19th Century’s Anti-Vaccine Society

In June 1802, James Gillray published the Cow-Pock or “The Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation!”  a publication of the Anti-vaccine Society.  It used bald-faced lies and misinformation to discourage people from taking the first vaccine in European medicine.  In his classic propaganda cartoon, he implied that vaccinations would cause people to become more bovine,Continue reading “Cow Pox and the Propaganda of the 19th Century’s Anti-Vaccine Society”

Tough-Guy Elk

Many species of animals use deception to gain an advantage. The elk that signals dominance with a long bray needs to fight less often than the elk that does not signal a tough-guy attitude. With a good bluff, he can usually avoid a costly fight. Learn more about the art of lying in the naturalContinue reading “Tough-Guy Elk”

The Lying Fiddler

Everything lies. For virtually every species, lying and lie detection are essential survival skills. Fiddler crabs that have lost a claw will re-grow a bigger but weaker claw. When challenged by a smaller crab, the weak-clawed fiddler will bluff. It will display a fighting stance that tells the smaller crab that a confrontation would beContinue reading “The Lying Fiddler”

Plastics and Their Role in Silent Consent

A recurring theme in Silent Consent by Circa24 is the damage done to the future generations from the plastics that made much of the carbon era so remarkable. Plastics, as we know them, have become rare strategic materials in the Founder’s States of that book. People seek antique plastic products from the 20th century asContinue reading “Plastics and Their Role in Silent Consent”

The Braggart Goldenrod

Golden Rod and Vespid wasps (Ptera Hunter, Salem IL, 2006). Yellow attracts many pollinating insects, including these vespid wasps.  Bees and wasps have trichromatic vision (three pigments), but they are not the same visual pigments (opsins) that we have. They can see farther into the ultraviolet but less well in the reds.  Their clue toContinue reading “The Braggart Goldenrod”

File It Under Duh: People Will Fight for a Society in Which They Feel Invested

It should be self obvious, but people are more likely to work for or fight for a community in which they feel invested. Yet too many high-status people seem to forget this basic point of human nature. Societies and institutions that forget this point risk paying a hefty price. Humans, like their chimpanzee cousins, commitContinue reading “File It Under Duh: People Will Fight for a Society in Which They Feel Invested”

Some Paint Choices That Can Cut Your Carbon Footprint and Reduce Your Chemical Usage.

Silent Consent looks at a dystopian world where easy access to energy and power has become part of our past.  Although fiction, its prediction of a polarized world is very plausible.   A caste system with a few powerful elites have controlled many of the pre-carbon era civilizations.  The many others, who serve as their energyContinue reading “Some Paint Choices That Can Cut Your Carbon Footprint and Reduce Your Chemical Usage.”