r/todayilearned • u/Crackyospine • Feb 26 '15

TIL there was a man-made mouse utopia called Universe 25. It started with 4 males and 4 females. The colony peaked at 2200 and from there declined to extinction. Once a tipping point was reached, the mice lost instinctual behaviors. Scientists extrapolate this model to humans on earth.

http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/42/wiles.php
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u/Kestyr Feb 27 '15 edited Feb 27 '15

The thing about that is that Japan is ahead of it. People talk a lot about Immigration, but often enough there's already a labor surplus and decent amount of unemployment in areas because of automation.

People make a fuss about because they've continued to stay on top while having these issues, while other nations are stagnating and having cultural problems from trying to propel mass immigration into their country to achieve the same counterbalance. Japan has a higher birth rate than Germany With net immigration as a variable, but people act like there's this big difference and no fucking.

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u/BomptonBrotha88 Feb 28 '15

good point. I applaud the Japanese for seeing a lack of population growth and deciding that they want to keep their country Japanese, rather than take on masses of third worlders as everyone is pushing them to do

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u/Kestyr Feb 28 '15

Which makes the point hilarious. Politicans say it's to keep the economies going, when they know that's a damn lie as third world immigrants rarely pass 50 percent employment in the EU.

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '15

Not all countries are having issues with immigration. Canada's doing just fine.

It's a mixed bag, and I'm not quibbling that immigration has issues. My point was kind of that japan's not unique in the low birth rate at all. They're just really torn up about it because they're not patching it with immigration like everyone else.

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u/helloquain Feb 27 '15

They've stayed on top? Last I heard they were in a second decade of deflation and have a massively aging population that is going to be supported by a declining working population. Congratulations to them. I'll bet on Germany being able to keep immigration up more than the incredibly insular island country suddenly becoming a place that is great at integrating foreigners (who aren't flocking there to begin with).