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heard of mouse utopia?
At first, everything seemed perfect. But as the mouse......
Happy Tuesday, folks!
Welcome to This Week in Engineering (formerly Engineer’s Espresso).
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🥁 Don McDaniel 🥁
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“A circuit bridge (Wheatstone bridge or impedance bridge)
Power lines “running” from pole to pole
Wind turbine”
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Back in the 1970s, John Bumpass Calhoun, a researcher with the National Institute of Mental Health, created a literal “utopia” for mice to study the effects of overcrowding.
The setup? A sprawling apartment complex with 256 units, dining halls, and fountains - a perfect paradise for mice.
The Grand Experiment
Calhoun’s goal was to explore how overcrowding affected behavior.
With food, water, and shelter provided, the mice should’ve thrived, right?
At first, everything seemed perfect. But as the mouse population exploded, things quickly went south.
The Collapse
Instead of thriving, the mice began displaying disturbing behaviors.
Males lost sexual drive, and females stopped caring for their young.
Social structures began to break down, leading to violence and withdrawal.
Some mice, called "The Beautiful Ones," became obsessed with grooming and eating, but showed no interest in socializing.
The Behavioral Sink
Calhoun coined the term "behavioral sink" to describe this breakdown in social behavior.
As overcrowding continued, normal social structures collapsed, causing dysfunction and apathy in the population. Calhoun argued this could serve as a warning for human societies facing rapid population growth.
The Impact
Calhoun’s experiment caught the attention of scientists and the public alike.
His findings were seen as a warning about the potential dangers of overpopulation - echoing the concerns in books like The Population Bomb.
While Calhoun was alarmed by the parallels, he also believed in finding solutions, advocating for smarter population control, urban planning, and managing density to avoid similar breakdowns in human society.
A Lasting Legacy
Though Calhoun’s work faded from scientific circles, it had a significant cultural impact.
His idea of a utopia turned dystopia influenced science fiction, including Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Tom Wolfe’s The Pump House Gang.
Even the character Ratcatcher in Catwoman drew inspiration from Calhoun’s work.
In the end, Calhoun’s “Universe 25” was a reflection on human society.
His warnings about unchecked growth and social decay are as relevant today as they were in the 70s, making his findings timeless.
fascinating enough? |
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Facilities Crane Engineer - Boeing
Because keeping things from crashing isn’t just for pilots.Process Engineer - Hitachi Careers
Optimizing processes so humans don’t have to think too hard.Electrical Engineer With PCB Design - Actalent
Designing circuits that fry components - hopefully not your career.
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