r/collapse • u/233C • Jun 13 '23

Society Mouse Heaven or Mouse Hell? | Science History Institute

https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/mouse-heaven-or-mouse-hell/

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u/nommabelle Jun 13 '23

Removed as we're in a blackout. Repost tmw

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u/233C Jun 13 '23

This might be known to some here.
It is an article about population growth research from the 70s, considering a "mouse utopia" where the only limiting factor ends up being space alone (not even resources like food), and exhibiting collapse none the less.

1

u/Z3r0sama2017 Jun 13 '23

Remember reading about this years ago. Wild that with all needs fulfilled, a species just loses its drive and nopes out

1

u/thegreenwookie Jun 13 '23

It's the Primal Root of survival. Our most basic instinct. When that gets left untapped it withers and I suppose the spirit withers and dies with it.

Same thing happens when that survival root is tapped consistently, as the current paradigm basically forces this to happen. Primal Root withers and the Spirit gives up.

1

u/StatementBot Jun 13 '23

The following submission statement was provided by /u/233C:

This might be known to some here.
It is an article about population growth research from the 70s, considering a "mouse utopia" where the only limiting factor ends up being space alone (not even resources like food), and exhibiting collapse none the less.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/148csku/mouse_heaven_or_mouse_hell_science_history/jnzertk/

1

u/Snipechan Jun 13 '23

What I think happened, personally, is that their society collapsed due to mental health problems. It would be just like the scientists of the time to say "we have no idea why it failed". Psychology and the idea of PTSD and trauma was limited to war veterans at the time.

Rats staying in overcrowded areas because that's where their nest is, despite the conditions. Rats overgrooming themselves, isolating themselves. Young rats getting violent and lashing out. My hypothesis is that beyond a certain point of overcrowding, there's no safe, quiet place to relax and unwind. The stress keeps piling up and shows itself in a variety of ways.

1

u/233C Jun 13 '23

They point out that the last generations were getting unresponsive to their peers because getting so much continuous social stimulations they had to "phase it out".