Inborn inclinations

Scientific American has an article on the continuing debate, His Brain, Her Brain. An excerpt:

Several intriguing behavioral studies add to the evidence that some sex differences in the brain arise before a baby draws its first breath. Through the years, many researchers have demonstrated that when selecting toys, young boys and girls part ways. Boys tend to gravitate toward balls or toy cars, whereas girls more typically reach for a doll. But no one could really say whether those preferences are dictated by culture or by innate brain biology.

To address this question, Melissa Hines of City University London and Gerianne M. Alexander of Texas A&M University turned to monkeys, one of our closest animal cousins. The researchers presented a group of vervet monkeys with a selection of toys, including rag dolls, trucks and some gender-neutral items such as picture books. They found that male monkeys spent more time playing with the “masculine” toys than their female counterparts did, and female monkeys spent more time interacting with the playthings typically preferred by girls. Both sexes spent equal time monkeying with the picture books and other gender-neutral toys.

Because vervet monkeys are unlikely to be swayed by the social pressures of human culture, the results imply that toy preferences in children result at least in part from innate biological differences. This divergence, and indeed all the anatomical sex differences in the brain, presumably arose as a result of selective pressures during evolution. In the case of the toy study, males–both human and primate–prefer toys that can be propelled through space and that promote rough-and-tumble play. These qualities, it seems reasonable to speculate, might relate to the behaviors useful for hunting and for securing a mate. Similarly, one might also hypothesize that females, on the other hand, select toys that allow them to hone the skills they will one day need to nurture their young.

Gathering of Nations

A terrific Gathering of Nations photo from The Albuquerque Tribune. Well worth a click.

The Gathering of Nations is North America’s largest powwow.

Yosemite photos

Here’s a few of the photos NewMexiKen was able to snap at Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite April 2005

Muir’s Scribble Den

This is the study, or “scribble den,” where John Muir worked from 1890 until his death in 1914, producing some of the classics of American nature writing.

Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation?
 
 
 

The metal cup on the desk, easily hung on a belt, was a badge of membership in the Sierra Club, which Muir co-founded in 1892.

In the bowl on the mantle were balls of dried bread; Muir’s snack food.

I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it …

John Muir National Historic Site

This photo was taken last week from the attic of John Muir’s home, directly above his study, or what he called his “scribble den.” Muir lived in the home in Martinez, California, from 1890 until his death in 1914. Most of his most important work was done while living and working here, though of course he travelled widely.

The service station appears to be a more recent addition to the neighborhood. One imagines that the conservationist would appreciate the convenience of being able to walk across the street for a half-gallon of milk or a Slushee, or to fill up the family SUV.

(The photo was taken through a window pane.)

John Muir National Historic Site

Calamity Jane

Martha Jane Canary was born on this date in 1851 or 1852 or 1856.

In June of 1876 Calamity Jane returned to Laramie from the second Crook expedition. She celebrated with the soldiers and was jailed for drunkenness. Colorado Charlie Utter’s wagon train stopped at Laramie on the way to the Black Hills, and it was suggested they take Calamity Jane with them. Her most illustrious fellow traveler on the train was Wild Bill Hickok. It was perhaps their first meeting. It is likely that Wild Bill and Calamity Jane were acquainted but they were not romantically involved. Hickok was a recently married man, and Calamity Jane’s companion on the trip was Charlie’s brother, Steve Utter.

Upon arriving in Deadwood in July of 1876, Hickok and others set up camp, but Calamity Jane went downtown and became a dance hall celebrity, frequenting E.A. Swearengen’s Gem Theater. She worked as a prostitute and dance hall girl in Deadwood and briefly managed a house of her own. Despite the fact that she was a coarse woman, adept at profanity, and drunk a great deal of the time, Calamity Jane was also known for her kindness. Deadwood’s Dr. Babcock referred to her as “brave” because she helped nurse the ill during the 1878 smallpox epidemic. She was reported to donate food to the needy as well.

Calamity Jane stayed in the Black Hills for three years following Wild Bill’s death. After 1880 she spent most of her time in Wyoming and Montana, visiting the Black Hills again briefly in 1885-86 and finally returning in 1903. She died in Terry, a small mining town near Deadwood, from complications due to alcohol poisoning on August 1, 1903. She is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery next to Wild Bill Hickok.

Adams Museum & House - Calamity Jane

WARNING: COFFEE IS HOT labels make so much sense to me now

The top 20 stupid client stories.

For example, “A client called for help because ’someone shook the box the computer was in when we moved, so all the icons got shuffled out of place.’”

And: “I just printed out the pdf file you sent me, and all the pages printed upside down! How am I supposed to read this?”

Link via Discourse.net

Game time

Play Guess-the-Google

Two years ago today