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POPSRobin Hanson on the "Great Filter" there is a "Great Filter" along the path between simple dead stuff and explosive life. The vast vast majority of stuff that starts along this path never makes it. In fact, so far nothing among the billion trillion stars in our whole past universe has made it all the way along this path.... ne or more of these steps is much more improbable than it otherwise looks. If it is one of our past steps, such as the development of single-cell life, then we shouldn't expect to see such independently evolved life anywhere within billions of light years from us. But if it is a step between here and a choice to explode that is very improbable, we should fear for our future.... Optimism (as defined here) regarding our future is directly pitted against optimism regarding the ease of previous evolutionary steps. To the extent those successes were easy, our future failure to explode is almost certain...
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POPSAnimal senses humans don't have You might think you're smart, but none of your senses rival the keenest abilities in the animal world. Animals see in the dark, sniff prey miles away, and detect electrical output from muscle twitches in hidden meals. Read on, so you don't become one of those meals.<<
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POPSWolf Spirit There are many ways that the forked animal can hide its nature. Sometimes it goes in the clothing of a wolf, but beware the disguises of the savahe biped. For myself, I would not eat, trap or harm any of my cousin animals.
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POPSSecret Sex Lives of Animals A few recent items and images clipped from Secret Sex Lives of Animals. a blog with a weekly column on the bizarre, wonderful, colourful and sometimes shocking world of animal mating habits.
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POPSIncredible World Wildlife Fund Posters From Around the World WWF’s ultimate goal is to build a future where people live in harmony with nature. Here are a couple of the messages: “Preserve your world. Preserve yourself.” “Global Warming is changing the world’s climate rapidly. Icebergs are melting, oceans are rising, nature is revolting. Act now, conserve energy and treat the planet with respect, or we’ll have a world at sea.” “Animals around the world are losing their habitats due to climate change. By choosing a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, you can help prevent this. Take action now.” “Save the world with a few coins” “For Nature, small animals are as important as the big ones.” “A single can of dissolvent, or tin of paint, can pollute millions of liters of water.” “Building a single golf course puts thousands of trees at stake.” “Where is your home?” http://www.wwf.org/
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POPSAnimal hoarding:An expert illuminates the psychology behind this behavior Hoarders often have major dysfunction in work, social and daily activities, reduced awareness of surroundings, and impaired ability to form close relationships with people. Contrary to what we originally thought, animal hoarding does not seem to be strongly associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and it is not yet defined as an independent psychological condition. Clinical evaluations indicate that it is often associated with a wide variety of psychological disorders, including borderline personality disorder.
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POPSAmur leopard cub I wonder if people will be able to see them 30 years from now; or whether future people will have to wonder about these beautiful animals, the way we wonder about the Thylacine.
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POPSDwarf Hippo fossils found on Cyprus The bones are dated around 10,000 BC Traces of Humans have been found dating from 8.000 BC, The hippos isolated on Cyprus, adapted, to the conditions, but the arrival of man seemed to lead to their disappearance. (They must have been easy to catch.)
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POPSHamster Love Sometimes a little coincidence can make for a wonderful moment. It doesn't seem to be photoshopped, does it? Absolutely adorable.