Apr 22
Scientific American, February:
Money is an incentive to work hard, but it also promotes selfish behavior. Those conclusions may not be surprising, but psychologists at the University of Minnesota recently found that merely thinking of money makes people less likely to give help to others.
The researchers got people to think about money by showing them words related to money, having them handle play money, or revealing a poster with pictures of money on it. They then got the subjects to perform tasks which had nothing to do with money, but assessed social behavior. The result: people who think about money are less helpful and also less likely to seek help from others.
Science, November 17. [Link]
Apr 22
We now have 3 female squirrels visiting us who are either pregnant or nursing. Today one was feeding when a second turned up with two young squirrels in tow. The latecomer was chased off, and the youngsters proceeded to spend most of the rest of the afternoon playing in the treetops.
I seem to have started an interspecies conflict, however. One of the doves has worked out that there’s often sunflower seed to be had on the rear deck. On Friday I saw a squirrel being chased along the fence by an angry dove.
I’m going to have to come up with some kind of seed dispenser that’s dove-proof but not squirrel-proof. Maybe a plastic container with some smallish holes in, attached to the mat with some wire.
Buster has also returned. I’m going to try to get a good photo.