An active morning
Three things that occurred to me this morning (though one was in my sleep): reciprocity is essential to social functions, humans have too much time on their hands, and (1+1/n)^1>=2.
For the first one, reciprocity, it seems that all social operations are built around the notion of reciprocity. I noticed, for example, that when I pet my dog for a bit, he will pull his head away and give a few licks before allowing me to continue petting. It's certainly possible that this is some physiological response entirely independent of emotional response, but it seems doubtful to me. I believe his actions are born out of a need to reciprocate, or in other terms, show gratitude. It might be interesting to perform some studies on that, but I'm not quite sure how I would setup such an experiment yet... haven't really thought much on that.
The second point, humans have too much time on their hands, I was just noticing today that we have large amounts of extra time (spare time) and it's not uncommon to have to "find ways" of spending that time. There's nothing anyone would think abnormal about that, I believe, however when considered carefully, it seems odd. Why do we have so much extra time? Why aren't we always occupied? Well, certainly technology is responsible for at least part of this phenomenon. Thanks to technology we no longer have to migrate from one area to another with a large herd of livestock as we scrounge a living off the land. So ok, let's assume it's due to technology (or at least in large part is). That brings to question why we were even motivated to develop that technology. We take for granted that spare time is a desirable commodity, but really what is the point? I would think it has something to do with a need to relieve stress, but if that were the case then we wouldn't be here as all of our ancestors would have died due to stress. I'm naturally inclined to veer back toward reproductive advantages; in the end it seems all organisms are competing for the prize of genetic immortality. The question, then, is how does spare time enable us to be reproductively advantaged? Does it allow us to secure more resources? More easily philander? Prevent philandering? Provide more nurture for our young? Maybe some combination of all of these?
Lastly, (1+1/n)^n must be greater than or equal to two. Let n = 1 and (1+1)^1 = 2. Evaluate for n+1 using the binomial theorem and we have a sequence with (1+1)^1 + 1/n(1+1/(n+1))^(n+1). No matter how small the second expression (we'll call it x) becomes (as long as it remains positive), the minimum value for the function is still 2 + x. x must remain positive because we are only evaluating n within the set of natural numbers and, I assume, this set of natural numbers does not include 0 (1/0 = undefined).
For the first one, reciprocity, it seems that all social operations are built around the notion of reciprocity. I noticed, for example, that when I pet my dog for a bit, he will pull his head away and give a few licks before allowing me to continue petting. It's certainly possible that this is some physiological response entirely independent of emotional response, but it seems doubtful to me. I believe his actions are born out of a need to reciprocate, or in other terms, show gratitude. It might be interesting to perform some studies on that, but I'm not quite sure how I would setup such an experiment yet... haven't really thought much on that.
The second point, humans have too much time on their hands, I was just noticing today that we have large amounts of extra time (spare time) and it's not uncommon to have to "find ways" of spending that time. There's nothing anyone would think abnormal about that, I believe, however when considered carefully, it seems odd. Why do we have so much extra time? Why aren't we always occupied? Well, certainly technology is responsible for at least part of this phenomenon. Thanks to technology we no longer have to migrate from one area to another with a large herd of livestock as we scrounge a living off the land. So ok, let's assume it's due to technology (or at least in large part is). That brings to question why we were even motivated to develop that technology. We take for granted that spare time is a desirable commodity, but really what is the point? I would think it has something to do with a need to relieve stress, but if that were the case then we wouldn't be here as all of our ancestors would have died due to stress. I'm naturally inclined to veer back toward reproductive advantages; in the end it seems all organisms are competing for the prize of genetic immortality. The question, then, is how does spare time enable us to be reproductively advantaged? Does it allow us to secure more resources? More easily philander? Prevent philandering? Provide more nurture for our young? Maybe some combination of all of these?
Lastly, (1+1/n)^n must be greater than or equal to two. Let n = 1 and (1+1)^1 = 2. Evaluate for n+1 using the binomial theorem and we have a sequence with (1+1)^1 + 1/n(1+1/(n+1))^(n+1). No matter how small the second expression (we'll call it x) becomes (as long as it remains positive), the minimum value for the function is still 2 + x. x must remain positive because we are only evaluating n within the set of natural numbers and, I assume, this set of natural numbers does not include 0 (1/0 = undefined).