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| Hacked E-Mail Data Prompts Calls for Changes in Climate Research Some scientists fear that public confidence in scientific conclusions on climate change has been damaged just as countries prepare to curb greenhouse gases. feeds.nytimes.com |
Seeing is believing at Vesuvius The serenity surrounding Naples, and the tectonic turmoil underneath it, is the perfect metaphor for the unreliability of our eyesThe other day I looked at Joseph Wright of Derby's spectacular 18th-century painting of Vesuvius in eruption at Tate Britain. I've been impressed before by its burst of golden light and river of pink fire surrounded by cloudy, smoky darkness. But this time, I looked at the painting a couple of days after returning from a trip to Naples and seeing the mountain itself. And the gap between the scene I saw with my own eyes and Wright's depiction of what Vesuvius is capable of strikes me as mystifying.Vesuvius is surely the most famous volcano in the world. The ancient naturalist Pliny the Elder was killed while observing the eruption in AD79 that destroyed Pompeii. His nephew described the eruption in a letter still used as evidence by vulcanologists today.For Vesuvius is an active volcano. It can still blow. It last did so in the 1940s, and an eruption is overdue. Not only that, but the entire landscape around Naples, which I flew over last week, is honeycombed with magma chambers and craters. It is on the faultline between Africa and Europe and has long been a heartland of geological investigation. In his book The Earth, Richard Fortey says the area north of Naples is even more primed to explode than Vesuvius itself.So what troubles me is – if this terrain is so dangerous, why can't we see its danger? Or more precisely, why is it so hard to imagine Vesuvius erupting when you look at it today?Gazing across the Bay of Naples, what you see is a beautiful, calm, shapely mountain framed against the blue sky. No smoke. No visible fire. And it would take a very melodramatic soul (or a clued-up geologist) to find its stillness scary, its silence sinister.I think this tells us something about looking. We believe what we see. We like to think, at the same time, that by looking hard enough we can discover the truth. But many truths are quite simply invisible. Many appearances truly are deceptive. Vesuvius, hiding its violence under a placid appearance, is a metaphor for the unreliability of our eyes.ArtHeritageGeologyJonathan Jonesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Forest plan gets the ax at UN climate talks COPENHAGEN (AP) -- A plan to protect the world's biologically rich tropical forests by paying poor nations to protect them was shelved Saturday after world leaders failed to agree on a binding deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.... hosted.ap.org |
Study: 1 in 4 female teens involved in violence WASHINGTON (AP) -- About one in four female teens is involved in some sort of violent behavior at school or at work, according to a government report.... hosted.ap.org |
Is homosexuality evolutionary dead end? Agony Aunt Carole Jahme shines the cold light of evolutionary psychology on readers' problems. This week: gay dads and punishment strategiesI will surviveFrom Joe, age 38Dear Carole, I am a 38-year-old single gay man who is perfectly at ease with his sexuality, but I have this nagging feeling that I should be making an effort to perpetuate my genes. If I die without leaving any offspring surely I will have failed as a biological entity. I don't believe in life after death, so it will be as if I never existed.Should I impregnate a friendly lesbian, or would it be simpler – and more efficient in evolutionary terms – to register as a sperm donor?Carole replies:Do you have any nephews or nieces? It has been theorised that homosexuality, which remains at a stable level in human populations of around 4% for men and 2% for women, survives from generation to generation due to a phenomenon known as kin selection. This is the evolution of behaviours that favour the reproductive success of genetic relatives and has been observed in many species, us included. Nephews and nieces share 25% of their genes with their aunts and uncles. The quarter of your genes you have in common with your sibling's offspring is second only to the half of your genes you would have in common with your own children. Thus, gay, lesbian or childless heterosexuals can increase their own reproductive fitness by behaving altruistically towards their nieces and nephews – in other words by helping to ensure their survival and future reproductive success.There are many examples of kin selection in nature. Our New World primate cousin, the endangered golden lion tamarin, is a highly cooperative breeder. Pairs of males (sometimes brothers) both mate with the same female. When the infant is born neither male knows which is the father, and yet both invest equal care in the progeny. The more carers an infant tamarin monkey has the better its chances of survival. Humans are no different in this regard. For example, a child born as the result of an alliance between a gay couple and a lesbian couple has two genetic parents and two "alloparents". With four adult carers this infant is better placed to succeed in the game of life than a child born to a heterosexual pairing. In answer to the second part of your question: yes, as a sperm donor you could fulfil your fitness potential, potentially fathering several children (assuming women chose your sample – would you declare your sexuality when donating?). And so long as any resulting progeny do not try to find you later in life, you would have done so without incurring the potentially heavy costs of parenthood. Those costs would be met by sperm recipient and her partner. Tempted?Zhang, Y, Xiao, Y, Bales, KL (2009) Primate social systems, scent-marking and their applications in mobile and static sensor networks. International Journal of Sensor Networks; 5 (4): 210-222.  Buss, DM (1994) The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating. Basic Books.Wilson, EO (1975) Sociobiology: The New Synthesis; Abridged edition (1980) Harvard University Press.Crime and punishmentFrom Nicholas, no age givenDear Carole, When I am coaching my football team, how can I best motivate them? Specifically, if somebody is late for training should I, a) punish that player, b) punish everybody, or c) not punish anybody, or d) something else? What if a player commits a foul in an actual game, should I punish them for that too?Carole replies:A successful coach needs to be an alpha male, the team is your troop and to survive intact they must cooperate with one another and obey the rules and strategies you teach. To punish them all will lead to dissension in the ranks. Can you risk this? It would also mean punishing the late player twice over due to the resentment of the other players. You ask whether you should punish a foul. The answer may depend on whether the foul leads to a goal, or to a penalty and the other team scoring. Many humans are Machiavellian, so their double standards will mean they silently overlook a foul that brings benefit, but raise the alarm over the ones that cause damage. You mention, "d) something else" – one novel approach is called "spite", in which you punish yourself and "cut off your nose to spite your face". If you were a highly respected coach and had a bad leg, for example, you could make the punishment a physical exercise that obviously pains you. Your team would be distressed to see you suffer and would resent the tardy player. You might hope his guilt would make his timekeeping better (Kevin Costner attempts this strategy in The Guardian). But a spiteful strategy frequently backfires. If you are not a highly respected and loved coach your team might think you an idiot for making yourself suffer. Your status could fall and your team's faith in your leadership evaporate. Your captain might challenge your authority, even ousting you and assuming the alpha role, at least temporarily, while a new coach is found. In fact, a lack of respect for the alpha may have contributed to the original tardiness.Strategy "a)" may be the best option. Status is a great motivator (as are money and sex). Pull rank, punish the player for lateness and make his status fall. As you break your dilemma down into game theoretic options I'm guessing you already have the answers you seek. But let's be honest, solutions found in textbook theories are not always applicable to real-life situations. There are always exceptions to rules, because the social realm is invariably complex. For example, the player in question may be the most gifted in the squad, and a club further up the league table would love a chance to poach him. Perhaps he was late for training because on his way he took time to help a blind stranger across a busy road. With this additional information is option "a" still your best course of action? The systematic punishments found written in dusty, draconian rulebooks are frequently unjust. Listening to and empathising with your players will help you accommodate all these social intricacies. Smith, V (2004) Economics as a laboratory science. Journal of Socio-Economics; 33 (1): 15-28.Gintis, H (2009) The Bounds of Reason: Game Theory and the Unification of the Behavioural Sciences. Princeton University Press.You can email your questions to Carole by clicking here. Please put "Ask Carole" in the subject line.Terms and conditionsPlease say whether you wish to be named in connection with your enquiry and if so by what name. We reserve the right to edit questions. If you mail us a question, you agree that your email may be published on the site.We regret that Carole cannot answer all the mails we receive. We cannot provide urgent advice and suggest that if you need such advice you seek it immediately without waiting for a response from Carole. With regards to legal, medical or financial issues, we recommend seeking the advice of a listed professional. We will not be held liable for any loss, damage or injury you incur as a result of using this site or as a result of any advice given. We will not enter into personal correspondence via email.Carole is UK-based and as such any advice she gives is intended for a UK audience only.EvolutionBiologyParents and parentingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |