Experiments conducted at the National Institute of Mental Health by behavioral researcher, John B. Calhoun, began in 1947 with the Rockville “Rat Colony” experiment in which a quarter-acre outdoor enclosure was built to house wild Norway rats. The rats were protected from predators, had access to fresh air and sunlight, and were provided enough food, water, and nesting material for a population of five thousand. Up until the experiment was ended in 1951, the colony maintained a population of around two-hundred. The rats were all still behaving as natural healthy rats maintaining the same sort of violent equilibrium that they do in the wild. During the “Rat Universe” experiment of 1958 to 1962, where the enclosure was indoors and built much smaller, John Calhoun coined the term, “behavioral sink,” as the phenomenon that occurs when rats become over-crowded, they begin to socially withdrawal, turn homosexual, and act more aggressive. From 1968 to 1972 they ran the “Universe 25” experiment for mice. A 9-by-9-foot metal enclosure was constructed, built to hold about 3800 mice with unlimited food, water, and nesting supplies. The enclosure was climate controlled and none of the mice had to be concerned with predators or disease. “Universe 25” started with 4 breeding pairs of mice on July 9th, 1968, and during the first year, the mice thrived. The population doubled about every 2 months until it peaked on day 560, and for the next two years the population declined. During this two year decline, the behavior of the mice changed. Alpha males who were initially dominant became passive and no longer defended their territory. Other males became hyper-aggressive and attacked without provocation. And many of the males fell into the category known as, “The Beautiful Ones.” These males exclusively spent their time alone, avoiding all social and sexual behavior. They obsessed over grooming themselves and appeared to be the most physically healthy. Overall, the males lost interest in having sex with females, and the females lost interest in being mothers. They began showing aggression toward their offspring, including killing and eating them. And their bodies began miscarrying. Even though the population dropped and the living space increased, the mice did not recover. Calhoun interpreted the reason for this collapse to be the result of a “spiritual death,” which then directly led to a physical death. He wrote that the first death is that of the spirit. Their spirit has died. They are no longer capable of executing the more complex behaviors compatible with species survival. Calhoun was saying that if you diminish a creature’s spirit, it will lose its survival instincts. He saw how this would effect life for humans, and said that the establishment would have to change in order to avoid social breakdown in crowded human environments. “We need a better establishment to allow interrelationships, to protect us from too many contacts, but to allow us for those contact which we do engage in, to be more meaningful for our own lives and more meaningful to others in a compassionate sense of each of us being involved and helping the other to fulfill his role. We have many more roles, and this is where the notion of compassion comes in and is helping... each of us helping others to fulfill their program for development.” ~ John B. Calhoun Studies have shown that people who live in large cities are less happy and have less meaningful lives than those who live in small towns. For many of us, it is no surprise to learn that living like pets in large crowded cities is unhealthy for humans. But for the establishment, it’s big business. Studies in China and the USA show that residents living in more populated areas spend more money and consume more products. This is because most social interactions become comparative and competitive, more about having the same things as your neighbors, and less about meaningful friendships. The 15 minute cities will grow, but so will small community as many humans are learning to reject the establishment and take responsibility for their own lives. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gregreese.substack.com/subscribe
