There is Hope for Conservatives (Rats Display Altruism...)

[FedUp_Queer]

University of Chicago neuroscientist Peggy Mason and psychologists Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal and Jean Decety placed pairs of rats in pens. One rat was caged in the middle of the pen, whereas the other was free to run around. In this experi­ment, 23 of 30 rats liberated their peers by head butting the cage door or leaning against the door until it tipped over.


To actually test the rodents’ selflessness, Mason placed rats in pens with two cages: in one was another rat; in the other was a pile of chocolate chips. The unhindered rats could easily have eaten the chocolate themselves. Instead most of the rodents opened both cages and shared the sweets. “In rat land, that is big,” Mason says. This is the first study to show altruistic behavior in rodents.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=will-you-rat-me-out

[denverbill]

1. You overestimate the humanity of conservatives.

Many conservatives I know would grab the chocolate chips and sit on the other cage and eat them all just to further torture the other person. They'd eat every chocolate chip even if it made them sick just to deny chocolate to someone else.

[meow2u3]

2. Conservatives aren't rats--they're snakes

Snakes are cold-blooded and selfish; so are conservatives.

[Enrique]

3. now try it with honey badgers

maybe honey badger does care?

[FedUp_Queer]

4. Can I help I'm trying to find SOME goodness there?

[Odin2005]

7. I don't get why people think mice and rats are repulsive.

I find them cute. heck, I find most rodents to be cute for some reason

[FedUp_Queer]

8. You ever had one crawl over your feet in the subway?

[Odin2005]

9. I've never been in a subway.

I'm a working class stiff from the sticks, I don't have the money to travel, so sue me.

[FedUp_Queer]

11. Oh, puh-leeze.

Don't play the class card with me. Subways are not "travel." I take the subway to work...as a working stiff. Your travel to work certainly costs more than my subway trips.

[monmouth]

5. Chocolate chips you say?...n/t

[Odin2005]

6. Stuff like this is why I have faith in Humanity.

If other species can show such behavior in a cruel, Darwinian world then so can we.

[n2doc]

10. Rats (pet ones) are wonderful creatures

And wild ones have their place in the food chain. Which is more than I can say about most conservatives.....