Say Cheese

Relax. You’re not going to be required to consider your own behavior and there’s no need for your own thoughts to get involved. This isn’t about you. It’s about rats. These rodents are so self-absorbed and easily manipulated that, after just a little bit of training, they will enter a behavior loop in which they endlessly take photos of themselves. I know, pathetic right? In fairness, it’s not entirely clear whether the rats in a recent study were narcissistic or whether they were just easily addicted to consuming sugar and obsessively pressing buttons. Either way, what a species! A photographer trained two rats to take photographs of themselves. They didn’t want to stop. NYT (Gift Article). (And don’t worry, your irresistible urge to click this link doesn’t say anything about you.) Our Rodent Selfies, Ourselves. “Maybe being able to keep ourselves busy pressing buttons is its own reward. In a 2014 study, scientists concluded that many human volunteers ‘preferred to administer electric shocks to themselves instead of being left alone with their thoughts.’ Maybe we would rather sit around and push whatever levers are in front of us — even those that might make us feel bad — than sit with ourselves in quiet contemplation. But that’s precisely the sort of thing that might be too uncomfortable to sit around and contemplate. Especially when there are rat selfies to marvel over.” I wish I could see the look on your face when you see these photos. (Not really…)