Violence Must be Considered Proportionally When Compared ...

In absolute numbers, of course, civilized societies are matchless in the destruction they have wreaked. But should we look at absolute numbers, or at relative numbers, calculated as a proportion of the populations? The choice confronts us with the moral imponderable of whether it is worse for 50 percent of a population of one hundred to be killed or 1 percent of a population of one billion. In one frame of mind, one could say that a person who is tortured or killed suffers to the same degree ...

 Evolution of Lactose Tolerance

One case involves our ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk. An enzyme called lactase breaks down this sugar into the more easily absorbed sugars glucose and galactose. We are born with the ability to digest milk, of course, for that’s always been the main food of infants. But after we’re weaned, we gradually stop producing lactase. Eventually, many of us entirely lose our ability to digest lactose, becoming “lactose intolerant” and prone to diarrhea, bloating, and cramps a...

 Economic Population Control

Senator Fowler nodded. "One other little point, Charlie. Just how often do your reproductive castes breed, anyway?" It was Jock who answered. When Charlie hesitated, David Hardy watched with interest-was there communication by gesture? "When they are allowed to," the alien said smoothly. "Don't yours?" "Eh?" "You control your populations through economic incentives and forced emigration. Neither alternative is available to us, yet our reproductive drives are no less strong than yours. Our ...