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aedens wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2026 10:57 pm Still they cannot comprehend how they do whatever it takes to control as they commit suicide.

The Psychopathic Selection Hypothesis: From Natural Selection to Symbolic Selection: Scale, Abstraction, and the Adaptive Pressures of Institutional Gameboards

by Greg Michael Elliott (Author) Format: Paperback

The Psychopathic Selection Hypothesis examines how the logic of natural selection changes when human beings begin living inside large-scale symbolic systems.

For most of evolutionary history, human adaptation occurred within environments where consequence was immediate, social life was embodied, and survival depended heavily on reciprocity, trust, cooperation, reputation, and sensitivity to others. But modern societies increasingly operate through abstract systems: corporations, markets, bureaucracies, legal instruments, financial architectures, digital platforms, political institutions, and algorithmic forms of governance. These systems do not merely organize human behavior. They create new selection environments.

This book argues that as societies scale, become anonymous, and operate through symbolic gameboards, the traits most rewarded within them can shift. Cognitive profiles associated with strategic manipulation, emotional detachment, dominance orientation, status sensitivity, risk tolerance, impression management, and low affective inhibition may become increasingly adaptive in environments where success depends less on reciprocal belonging and more on navigating abstraction, exploiting incentives, modeling others, and rewriting rules.

The central claim is not that psychopathy causes civilization, nor that all powerful individuals are psychopaths. Rather, The Psychopathic Selection Hypothesis proposes that complex symbolic systems can selectively advantage psychopathic and Dark Triad traits under specific institutional conditions.

If domination isn't an aberration but a predictable output of the game board we've built, what does that mean for how we try to fix it?

Higgenbotham wrote: Tue Sep 01, 2026 2:00 pm You can sit around in your retirement community talking about your doctor appointments and which multiple medications you are on. Maybe pop a Viagra, catch an STD, and play a little shuffleboard if you feel lucky.

What is the truth about STD rates in over 55 retirement communities?

AI Overview

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates among adults aged 55 and older have risen sharply over the past decade, though overall case numbers remain lower than those in younger age groups.

Data compiled by health organizations, such as the American Sexual Health Association, show distinct trends in older adults:

Syphilis rates increased seven times.
Gonorrhea rates increased nearly five times.
Chlamydia rates more than tripled.

Why Rates Are Rising in Retirement Communities

Older adults are living healthier lives and staying active longer. Several specific factors in retirement communities drive these numbers up:

No risk of pregnancy: Many older adults stop using barrier methods like condoms because pregnancy is no longer a concern.
Medical aids: Medications for erectile dysfunction allow men to remain sexually active into older age.
Social opportunities: Retirement homes and senior-living centers bring many single or widowed peers together in close quarters with regular social events.

The Hidden Risks and Challenges

Lack of screening: Doctors often forget to talk about sexual health with older patients, and routine tests are rarely covered by standard Medicare.
Ignorance of risk: Many seniors grew up before modern sex education campaigns and do not realize they can still contract infections.
Ignored symptoms: Physical signs of an infection can mimic other common health conditions, delaying diagnosis and treatment.

Higgenbotham wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2026 10:52 am

That wave of newcomers to the community dubbed by Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder as the "cruise ship on land," the report says, is also driving an economic boom.

"It’s like they’re at college except they don’t have to go to class and they have $3 million in the bank," Schroeder told the outlet.

Medicare on Track to Add $85 Trillion to the Natl Debt | New Cato Analysis
Medicare’s financing problems extend well beyond its hospital insurance trust fund.

August 31, 2026 • News Releases

Medicare’s financing problems extend well beyond its hospital insurance trust fund. In new analysis, the Cato Institute’s Romina Boccia and Ritvik Thakur estimate that borrowing to finance Medicare Parts B and D could add roughly $85 trillion to the national debt by 2056, including interest costs.

Medicare Debt is $85 trillion

Over just the next decade, Medicare’s doctors’ services, outpatient care, and prescription drug coverage are projected to add about $10.7 trillion to the debt, including interest, accounting for an estimated 44% of the federal deficit over that period.

The high cost of high blood pressure

Annual costs associated with high blood pressure were an estimated $219 billion in the United States in 2019.
Annual medical costs for people with high blood pressure were $2,759 higher than for people without high blood pressure in 2019.

"Surprisingly, heart disease and stroke aren't necessarily inevitable with age," said Michael Gurven, Ph.D., study author and anthropology professor and chairman of the University of California-Santa Barbara's Integrative Anthropological Sciences Unit.

Gurven's team followed 2,296 indigenous adults in 82 Tsimane villages, an area in the tropical lowlands of Bolivia's Amazon basin. Tsimane are lowland forager-horticulturalists (pop. ~11,000) subsisting on plantains, rice, corn, manioc, fish and hunted game.

"The Tsimane living conditions are similar to those of our ancestors, with greater exposure to pathogens, active lifestyle, high fertility and traditional diet. Studying chronic diseases in these populations can be very insightful," Gurven said.

Researchers found:

Per decade, Tsimane women had a systolic blood pressure increase of 2.86 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) and a diastolic blood pressure increase of 0.95 mm Hg.
Per decade, Tsimane men had a systolic blood pressure increase of 0.91 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure decrease of 0.02 mm Hg.
About 3 percent of Tsimane adults have high blood pressure, compared to 33.5 percent of U.S. adults.

Among Americans over age 40, systolic pressure increases by about 7 mm Hg per decade.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 pm It's a badge of honor in America to persevere as the shit gets kicked out of you.

Is it a badge of honor in America to persevere as the shit gets kicked out of you?

AI Overview

Persevering through extreme adversity is deeply ingrained in American culture, often celebrated as a badge of honor, but it is also increasingly viewed with skepticism. This dual perspective stems from a tension between traditional national myths and modern shifts regarding mental health and labor.

The Case for "The Badge of Honor"

For generations, American society has idealized the individual who thrives under intense pressure. This sentiment is rooted in several core cultural narratives:

The Grit Mythos: Rooted in the concept of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps," American identity heavily rewards resilience, stamina, and outworking the competition.
The Underdog Narrative: From sports movies to corporate folklore, the standard American hero arc requires taking immense punishment before achieving a triumphant comeback.
The Overwork Ethic: In professional settings, enduring toxic conditions, long hours, or demanding environments is frequently worn as a status symbol, signaling loyalty and superior capability.

The Case Against "The Badge of Honor"

In recent years, a significant cultural counter-movement has challenged this mindset. Critics argue that celebrating suffering can be counterproductive:

Glorification of Burnout: Younger generations of workers and mental health advocates increasingly view "hustle culture" not as honorable, but as a path to severe burnout and exploitation.
The Boundaries Movement: The rise of concepts like "quiet quitting" and a heightened focus on mental well-being reflect a growing belief that walking away from toxic environments is healthier than enduring them.
Systemic Critique: There is a growing awareness that "grit" is sometimes used by institutions to shift the blame onto individuals, rather than fixing systemic problems or abusive structures.

Higgenbotham wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 12:54 pm

Higgenbotham wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2026 11:15 pm Unlike Stacking in all its ugly forms that proliferate today like multiple gig jobs, side hustles, growing children compromising their health by getting 5 hours of sleep a night, empty refrigerators in homes that can afford food but don't have time to buy it, etc., Stacking at first seemed to follow a somewhat logical trajectory.

The fundamental idea being this behavior and others are not based on information. They are based on late Industrial Age sociological herding as a result of Stacking.

sociological herding

AI Overview

Sociological herding, or herd mentality, is the phenomenon where individuals adopt the behaviors, beliefs, or actions of a group, often overriding their own independent judgment. Driven by a desire for social acceptance and the fear of missing out, it heavily influences everything from viral trends and mob violence to financial bubbles.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 3:23 pm If the large and highly centralized governments in this industrial civilization were to collapse, followed by important decision-making being made at the town level, I believe there would be improvement in the quality of decisions being made. Probably not uniformly, but at a minimum in isolated pockets, and those pockets of good decision-making will be the areas that will prosper and become models for other places to follow as they try to regain their footing.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 pm

In 2023,...By life stage,...93.0% (representing 55.7 million) of older adults had 1 or more chronic conditions...

Why do people accept that employers have a right to work people to death and that poor health is inevitable?

AI Overview

People accept extreme work conditions and poor health because of deep economic pressure, cultural myths about merit, and a lack of collective power to change the system.

Economic Survival

Tied survival: Basic needs like healthcare, housing, and food depend directly on having a job.
Scarcity mindset: Workers fear losing their income more than they fear gradual physical decline.
Debt pressure: High living costs and personal debt trap people in demanding jobs.

Cultural Myths and Ideology

Meritocracy myth: Society teaches that hard work always leads to wealth and status.
Moralizing labor: Suffering at work is often framed as a virtue or proof of good character.
Individual blame: Systemic exhaustion is blamed on a person's poor time management rather than unfair workloads.

Normalization of Overwork

Hustle culture: Media and corporate messaging glamorize sleep deprivation and round-the-clock availability.
Gradual shift: Standards get worse slowly over time, making abnormal stress feel normal.
Peer pressure: Seeing coworkers sacrifice their health creates an unspoken rule to do the same.

Power Imbalances

Weakened unions: Labor unions have less power to protect workers than in past decades.
Legal frameworks: Employment laws often protect corporate interests and profit margins over human well-being.
Learned helplessness: People feel powerless against massive global corporations and accept mistreatment as unchangeable reality.

Higgenbotham wrote: Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:42 am I became close with the 52 year old guy in later years. One day, I asked him why he had those serial affairs with the young women in the office (there were several, one right after the other, all Xers). He said it was because of the stress he had been placed under and when he transferred out the affairs and the drinking completely stopped cold turkey. I asked him who instigated the affairs and he said the Xer women did and told me the details. The details sounded believable based on what I knew about these women (they were bad news). His wife was aware of all of it and stood by him. She was a very nice woman. The stress from the job gave him acid reflux and caused his esophagus to deform (Barrett's disease) but he's retired now and his life is completely normal.

Results

In 2023, 76.4% (representing more than 194 million) of US adults had at least 1 of the 12 selected chronic conditions, and 51.4% (representing 131 million) of US adults reported MCC (Table 1). By life stage, 59.5% (representing 43.7 million) of young adults, 78.4% (representing 94.8 million) of midlife adults, and 93.0% (representing 55.7 million) of older adults had 1 or more chronic conditions and one-quarter (27.1%; representing 19.9 million) of young adults, 52.7% (representing 63.8 million) of midlife adults, and 78.8% (representing 47.2 million) of older adults had MCC in 2023 (Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, and Figure 1).

Trends in chronic conditions

During 2013–2023, the prevalence of 1 or more chronic conditions increased among young adults (52.5% to 59.5%) and remained stable (no meaningful significant trends) among midlife and older adults (Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, and Figure 1). The percentage of BRFSS respondents with MCC followed similar patterns: we found an increasing trend among young adults (21.8% to 27.1%) and stable trends for other groups. We calculated that 5.2 million more young adults had any chronic disease in 2023 than in 2013 and 3.8 million more young adults had MCC.

This meaningful increase in 1 or more or MCC among young adults no longer remained when the 2 most common conditions (obesity and depression) were excluded, based on sensitivity analysis using data in Table 2.