Interesting insight from the differential aging of dogs

dog sizes All of us know the rule of thumb that says that one calendar year for a dog corresponds to seven years for a human, though the origins of the formula are unknown. But this is a very rough approximation because small dogs age more quickly early on (for the first two years it is 12.5 years per human year for small dogs, 10.5 for medium-sized dogs, and 9 for large dogs) and then age more slowly later. In other words, smaller dogs have a truncated childhood and extended adulthood when compared with bigger dogs. There is a calculator that enables you to calculate more accurately the equivalent age of your dog for a certain number of breeds.

There are two things about dogs that immediately strike an observer and those are the huge diversities in size and lifetimes within this single species. Dogs range from the tiny Chihuahua (2-6 lbs) to the massive Spanish Mastiff (121-154 lbs). Such diversity gives us a unique window to study how size affects aging. [Read more…]

Are we living in a computer simulation?

Anyone who has played even a little of modern video games would be impressed at their realistic quality. The avatars on the screen have been programmed to look almost human. Now what if the designers could program the avatars to have thoughts as well, and that we make them do things by affecting their thinking and putting thoughts in their heads. So rather than making them do things, we give them the thought that makes them do things, as if they had decided to do so themsleves. Then the avatars might think that they are real and acting on their own volition and not being manipulated by an outside agency. [Read more…]

First world whines

One of the things that really annoys me is what I like to call ‘first world whines’. These are the complaints of people who live lives so pampered that the slightest inconvenience causes them to throw a tantrum.

Take for example, airline flight. This has become unpleasant for many reasons but the one thing that does not bother me is being asked to shut off personal electronic devices (PED) during the take off and landing stages. It seems like such a tiny price to pay in exchange for reducing the chances of the plane crashing. [Read more…]

The puzzle of rising IQ scores

Nearly three decades ago, work by James R. Flynn revealed that average IQ scores in developed countries were rising at a stunning pace, of the order of 0.3 points per year or more. Later work showed similar explosive gains in developing countries and that the rise (now dubbed ‘the Flynn effect’) is still continuing. How did he find this? Recall that although IQ tests themselves have changed over time, each revision requires the IQ scores to be normed to always have an average value of 100. So does someone who scores 100 today have the same IQ of someone who scored 100 say fifty years ago, since they took different tests? Flynn found that if you give people today old IQ tests, their scores rose steadily the older the tests, suggesting that IQ tests have got harder over time. (James R. Flynn, Are We Getting Smarter?, 2012) [Read more…]