Have a good weekend.
Immune Responses During Pregnancy Linked to Schizophrenia Among Offspring. This is a known association, but the interesting point is that there may be conditionalities to the response based on genetics. That would explain the heritability.
‘Fused’ People Eager to Die and Kill for Their Group, Research Shows. I believe that an individualist-rational focus in explaining this sort of behavior is probably not going to lead anywhere fruitful. Rather, there are group-level dynamics which are derived from psychological predispositions such as conformity. Starting with methodological individualism is necessary, but not always sufficient, to explain a human social phenomenon.
Book Review: The Invisible Gorilla. “If there is one book that every human should read, it is The Invisible Gorilla, by Chris Chabris and Dan Simons.” I have a copy of the book and plan on reading & reviewing it, but Jason Goldman’s high opinion has moved it a bit up the stack.
Indian Forces Face Broader Revolt in Kashmir. When I have suggested to Indians that they should just evacuate the Vale of Kashmir and simply hold onto Ladakh and Jammu, the response has been explosive. Though I know that there are logistical issues with retaining Ladakh while abandoning the Vale, I am to understand that those are being rendered irrelevant in the near future. So instead there are the old gems that there is going to be a positive-feedback loop of separatism if Kashmir is let go, etc. Perhaps with increased wealth Indians will have more to focus on than nationalistic concerns. Though I guess that hasn’t quite worked out for China….
Fertility vs. gross national income per capita (purchasing power parity & log-transformed) for selected Muslim nations + Finland:
