[UA] Crosswords and Blue Teets

[R. Menzi]

---- Greg Stolze holycrow at mindspring.com wrote:

> Oh, and also -- a rational explanation might 
> be that when people solve a crossword, they are 
> unconsciously reminded of the vocabularly words 
> it contains and are more likely to use them in 
> their everyday speech, therefore "passing on" 
> the word.

     The study actually worked with crosswords from
non-local/foreign publications, so to have that impact
of secondary contact and word-reminding required
filter through the an international population within
3 days becomes less and less plausable.


> Yeah, well, steam engine time.  Sometimes a 
> confluence of factors occurs quickly enough 
> that an idea that was previoulsy unthinkable 
> suddenlybecomes almost obvious.

     Perhaps.  Then again, the living conditions of
the 3 calculus inventors were not comparable, as they
came from several different cultures.  I can't go over
my old notes (as they are back in NYC), but I can try
to look up the names so I can be more specific in this
conversation.




---- Andrew Andrew at Ducker.org.uk wrote:

> Actually, if I remember correctly, I read a 
> piece in a Susan Blackmore book (possibly The 
> Meme Machine) which covered this.  Blue tits 
> sit on available surfaces and automatically 
> peck at any soft area (it's a natural action 
> for them).  This happens to make them encounter 
> milk under certain circumstances, but it's not 
> a learned action, merely the consequences of an 
> instinctive reaction in unusual circumstances.

     This position then begs the question of why they
did not getting into the cream bottles as soon as they
started deliveries in the first place.  There was a
good period where the British could get their dairy
cream without having to worry about some flying
vandal-theif-breast Picts coming along and stealing it
right off thier doorsteps.

     According to the research, it was not a change in
any design or features of the bottles or caps
themselves.  It is simply a behavior that was
invented, passed around, and then stopped.  Even after
all its participants and all of their children died
off, the behavior remains.

     Unless they had some sort of developed language
and storytelling culture, there must be something else
at work here.  Without a major pressure (say, killing
off all blue tits that don't drink milk) the pace of
evolution would never favor bottle-openers over
non-bottle-openers.  Besides, as it was a behavior
that spread through a non-related population, it would
not have had any instinctual base to grow from.


Regards,
- R. Menzi

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