Letters To A Spanish Youngster CCLXV

 Letters To A Spanish Youngster CCLXV

[...]

Your Honor the blessing that the gods gave to us His admirers,/Su Señoría la bendición que los dioses nos han enviado a Sus admiradores,

I will keep transcribing ibn Gabirol's poems*, my dear lord and absolute governor./Continúo transcribiendo poemas de ibn Gabirol, mi querido señor y gobernador absoluto.

These are poems to be sent to those who do not care for us despite their saying so, or for those who betray love or friendship:/Estos son poemas para enviar a aquellos a los que no importamos aunque digan que sí lo hacen, o para aquellos que traicionan el amor o la amistad:

[On his love of Yecutiel/Acerca de su amor por Yecutiel]

                                                       [El día que mi alma fue enviada

                                                        a deambular en medio de los hombes,

                                                        no encontró salvo en ti ningún sosiego.]

[Yecutiel's power and generosity/Poder y generosidad de Yecutiel]

                                                       [Con su luz, una estrella      que pisó mis umbrales

                                                        oscureció los astros de mi alba.

                                                        pasó como un relámpago en un sueño

                                                        asiendo el corazón [...]

                                                        Delicia de mi vista      y de todos los ojos,

                                                        panal de nuestra lengua,      de nuestro olfato mirra,

                                                        [...]

                                                        Te alaba el universo,

                                                        que lleno está de júbilo; y tú eres

                                                        además la escarcela de mi plata.]

[Begging pardon/Pide disculpas]

                                                      [¿No es la magnitud de mi dolencia

                                                       como la de mi angustia?

                                                       Por su ardor se me han ido      la fuerza y el vigor.

                                                       Al llamarme tu carta,      tan llena de dulzura,

                                                       mi desesperación se ha sosegado.

                                                       Para contar mis males no te escribo,

                                                       sino como expiación de mi pecado

                                                       de no ir en tu búsqueda.

                                                       Voy a ir a tu encuentro      por encima de todo

                                                       pues sé que cuando vea tu figura

                                                       entonces sanaré,      hurtándose mi daño.]

[On a friend's hardness of heart/Acerca de la dureza de corazón de un amigo]

                                                      [De tal suerte me tiene en su infortunio

                                                       un hado traicionero cautivado

                                                       que mudose mi hermano      de mi como de un traje.

                                                       Si ayer me dominaba      el ansia de mi amigo,

                                                       ¿cómo hoy su lejanía      me tiene dominado?

                                                       Me puso como sello de su brazo

                                                       y como ceñidor      me ató en su vestidura;

                                                       comprome con inmensa querencia y con deseo,

                                                       y luego me ha ventido como esclavo.

                                                       Si hubiese sido yo como un insecto

                                                       volando por encima de mi amado,

                                                       su mano me arrancara;

                                                       si hubiérame entramado como hilo

                                                       un tejedor sobre su vestidura,

                                                       con su tramar habríame apartado.

                                                       Si doliente yaciera, no vendría

                                                       a ver mi enfermedad; si me muriera,

                                                       no habría de enterrarme a su costado.

                                                       Y si yo de mi amigo      los ojos no celara,

                                                       habría de abatirme

                                                       con el dardo del celo como a caza.

                                                       No haré del corazón      fiscal para mi amado

                                                       mientras me siga dando      el nombre de ministro.

                                                       Aprendió el corazón por sus acciones

                                                       a hacer mucho más puro mi deseo;

                                                       mostrome sus cimientos.

                                                       Que pudiera sufrir      los pecados de amigos

                                                       no imaginó mi alma, pero Dios

                                                       con su misericordia me ha ayudado.]

[To someone who send him feathers/A quien le envió unas plumas]

                                                      [Como el oro al fundirse      y como el aspecto

                                                       de las esmeraldas      y como alabastro

                                                       [...] canela      con caña aromática,

                                                       cual dedos de ninfas [...]

                                                       Rutilan cual rayo [...]

                                                       [...] Tu nombre      esculpo con ellas

                                                       en una poesía      de aroma exquisito

                                                       como en el que envueltos      están tus vestidos.]

[Against those who poison friendships]

                                                      [—¿Acaso has traicionado,      amigo, en los amores?

                                                       [...]

                                                       Desde que te apartaras,      mi angustia no se aleja

                                                       y el dolor ha plantado      sobre mí sus garras.

                                                       [...]

                                                       Yo te amé y fue tu alma      para mí como el alma

                                                       del viejo para el niño      que hiciera sus delicias.

                                                       Primero me plantaste      y luego me rechazas:

                                                       ¿acaso un hombre sabio      arranca sus plantíos?

                                                       Si de los generosos      y liberales eres,

                                                       ¿cómo es que menoscabas      y evitas la amistad?]

Missing you so much, Your Honor, that I am always somber and smiles seldom appear on my face, Yours faithfully/Echándoos de menos tanto, Su Señoría, que estoy siempre sombrío y la sonrisa raramente aparece en mi rostro, Suyo fielmente

                 a. r. ante Su Señoría

--

Notes

*  Adapted from Selected Poems of Solomon ibn Gabirol, translated by Peter Cole (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 2001), & the Spanish version from Selomó ibn Gabirol—Poesía secular, by Elena Romero (Madrid: Alfaguara, 1978)

Finding that acute alcohol consumption had no reliable effect on risk-taking while gambling was consistent with existing animal research: No support was found for the relation between alcohol dose and risk-taking

Does Acute Alcohol Consumption Increase Risk-Taking while Gambling? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Tori L. Horn,James P. Whelan,Gregory T. Weil. Addiction, April 11 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15896

Abstract

Aims: To estimate the effect of acute alcohol consumption on risk-taking while gambling, examine blood alcohol concentration as a moderator, and explore possible moderators of this effect.

Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis was completed. A Boolean search strategy was used to identify studies that included (a) alcohol consumption as an independent variable; (b) a gambling or risk-taking task; (c) a control or placebo comparison; (d) human participants; and (e) English publications. Descriptive information, sample characteristics, and experimental data were extracted from each study.

Setting: Searched databases included: PsycINFO, Web of Science, Medline, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Participants: Experiments that compared the effects of alcohol and non-alcoholic or placebo beverages on risk-taking while gambling.

Measurement: Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3.3.070 was used. Standardized mean differences of risk-taking while gambling between the experimental and control conditions were calculated when studies did not report effect sizes. Random effects models were used for overall effect and meta-regressions while mixed effects models were used for subgroup analyses.

Findings: Twenty articles containing 47 alcohol versus control comparisons met inclusion criteria. The overall Hedges’ g for the difference between groups consuming alcohol and groups consuming a placebo or non-alcoholic drink control was 0.03, 95% CI [-.07, 0.12], p =.60, indicating no significant difference. Larger effect sizes were found for studies using non-alcoholic control drinks (Hedge’s g = .30, 95% CI [.01, 0.58]) compared to placebo beverages (Hedge’s g = -0.03, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.06]), Q(1)=4.67, p = .03.

Conclusions: Finding that acute alcohol consumption had no reliable effect on risk-taking while gambling was consistent with existing animal research. No support was found for the relation between alcohol dose and risk-taking. The significantly larger effect size for experiments using non-alcoholic versus placebo beverages suggests the potential role of expectancy effects.

Popular models on the threat–politics association suggest that threats cause right-wing political preferences; but failed replications got in the way

The complicated but solvable threat–politics relationship. Mark J. Brandt, Bert N. Bakker. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Volume 26, Issue 5, May 2022, Pages 368-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.02.005

Abstract: Popular models on the threat–politics association suggest that threats cause right-wing political preferences. Failed replications, crossnational variation, and examples of threats causing left-wing preferences suggest this relationship is more complicated. We introduce a model of the reciprocal threat–politics relationship that reconciles prior conflicting findings and raises new questions.

Keywords: threatpolitical preferencesideologypsychophysiologycrossnationalattitudes

Economic effects of voluntary religious castration on the informal provision of cooperation: The case of the Russian Skoptsy sect

Economic effects of voluntary religious castration on the informal provision of cooperation: The case of the Russian Skoptsy sect. Vladimir Maltsev. European Economic Review, Apr 11 2022, 104109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104109

Abstract: The article examines the effects of voluntary religious castration (VRC) on the informal provision of cooperation through boycott. To do so, it analyzes the Russian Skoptsy sect, active from 1772 to 1930. The Skoptsy were outlawed by the Russian state and had to secure cooperation through informal means. To do so, the sect relied on the threat of boycott against noncooperative individuals. I argue that VRC ensured the credibility of this threat. First, VRC created a high entry cost, which screened for single-minded and patient individuals who placed high value upon repeated in-group interaction. Second, VRC created a high exit cost from the sect because of the hostile attitude of the Russian populace to castrated individuals. Moreover, the public could cheaply identify the ex-sect members and punish them because of permanent physiological changes caused by VRC. The credible threat of ostracism secured widespread cooperation among the Skoptsy and enabled the sect to support its members through a system of mutual aid and inheritance. Cooperation in the sect also allowed for a rapid creation of wealth through market collusion, making the Skoptsy one of the richest sects in Russia and abroad.

Keywords: boycottinformal governancecastrationSkoptsyRussia

Economic uncertainty appears to shift individuals into different life history strategies (pace of life) as a function of childhood social-economic status, suggesting how ecological factors & early life environment influence fertility-related decisions

Effects of economic uncertainty and socioeconomic status on reproductive timing: A life history approach. Kenneth Tan et al. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, Volume 3, 2022, 100040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100040

Highlights

• Adaptive responses to economic uncertainty depend on the harshness of early-life environment, as reflected by childhood socioeconomic status

• Reproductive timing should also be influenced by economic uncertainty and childhood socioeconomic status

• Under economic uncertainty, people who grew up in lower-SES environments reported wanting children sooner

• Under economic uncertainty, people who grew up in higher-SES environments reported wanting children later

• Reproductive timing was determined by considering the desire between reproduction and furthering one's education or career

Abstract: Why do some people have children earlier compared to others who delay reproduction? Drawing from an evolutionary, life history theory perspective, we posited that reproductive timing could be influenced by economic uncertainty and childhood socioeconomic status (SES). For individuals lower in childhood SES, economic uncertainty influenced the desire to reproduce earlier compared to individuals higher in childhood SES. Furthermore, the decision regarding reproductive timing was influenced by tradeoffs between earlier reproduction or furthering one's education or career. Overall, economic uncertainty appears to shift individuals into different life history strategies as a function of childhood SES, suggesting how ecological factors and early life environment can influence fertility-related decisions at the individual level and may contribute to the highly variable fertility patterns observed across countries.

General discussion

We examined whether variability in reproductive timing and attitudes can be influenced by economic uncertainty. Results showed that the association between people's childhood environment and their desired reproductive timing depended on economic uncertainty cues in their current environments: When facing current economic uncertainty, individuals who grew up in resource-scarce (versus resource-abundant) environments reported more positive attitudes toward earlier reproductive timing and desired to have their first child sooner (i.e., faster life history strategy). These findings were robust to two different measures of childhood SES: objective and subjective childhood SES.

Furthermore, we provided some insight as to why individuals differed in their reports of reproductive timing and replicated the key interaction between childhood environment and current economic uncertainty on life history tradeoffs. Individuals who grew up in resource-scarce (versus resource-abundant) environments reported preferring earlier reproduction to investing in education or work experience (i.e., faster life history strategy) when they faced current economic uncertainty. It should be noted that individuals with lower childhood SES still reported scores above the midpoint, indicating that they favored investing in education or work experience, albeit less strongly. Importantly, these tradeoffs regarding reproductive vs. somatic effort desire mediated the effect of economic uncertainty and childhood SES on reproductive attitudes.

A meta-analytic summary

The effect of economic uncertainty on reproductive timing was consistent across differing samples and varied measures of childhood SES. Nonetheless, due to sample size limitations and differing effect sizes, we sought to test the robustness of our effects. We conducted an integrative data analysis (IDA; Curran and Hussong, 2009), a technique that allows for primary or secondary analyses of data from multiple samples, in order to increase power and provide an overall test of hypotheses across datasets. To conduct the IDA, we standardized childhood SES within their respective sample, removing sample-level mean and variance differences, and controlled for study sample. We focused on the outcome variable of desired age of first child as that was the same construct across both studies.

There was no significant main effect of economic uncertainty, b = 0.16, t(3851) = 1.28, p = .20; 95% CI [-0.09, 0.41], no significant main effect of childhood SES, b = 0.02, t(385) = .17, p = .87; 95% CI [-0.24, 0.28], but a significant main effect of study, b = -0.61, t(385) = -2.22, p = .03; 95% CI [-1.15, -0.07]. Most important, consistent with hypotheses, there was a significant childhood SES × economic uncertainty interaction, b = 0.30, t(385) = 2.30, p = .02, R2 = 0.30; 95% CI [0.04, 0.56].

Among participants in the economic uncertainty condition, those with higher (versus lower) childhood SESs desired children marginally significantly further in the future, b = 0.32, t(385) = 1.72, p = .08; 95% CI [-0.04, 0.69]; among participants in the control/economic certainty condition, we did not detect an association between childhood SES and desired reproductive timing, b = -0.8, t(385) = -1.53, p = .13; 95% CI [-0.64, 0.08]. Test of simple slopes at high (+1 SD) and low (-1 SD) levels of childhood SES revealed that individual simple slopes indicating an effect of economic uncertainty was not significant for low-childhood SES individuals, b = -0.12, t(385) = -.69, p = .49; 95% CI [-0.48, 0.23] but was significant for high-childhood SES individuals, b = 0.46, t(385) = 2.57, p = .01; 95% CI [0.11, 0.81]. In summary, the aggregated analysis show evidence in support of our predictions.

By examining economic uncertainty, we build on past work examining the effects of mortality cues and reproductive timing from a life history perspective (Griskevicius et al., 2011). Like mortality cues, economic uncertainty represents unpredictability and harshness in the environment—in this case, stemming from the lack of resources (Ellis et al., 2009). Both economic uncertainty and mortality threat manipulations are extrinsic stressors that signal current environmental threat, and although they have been shown to have similar effects across some outcomes such as impulsivity and risk-taking, this has yet to be examined for outcomes related to reproductive timing (Griskevicius et al., 2013; Griskevicius et al., 2011). Moreover, developed East Asian countries are facing especially low fertility rates, and modernization might make mortality cues less salient compared to economic uncertainty cues. Indeed, some research has shown that economic endeavors are especially prioritized over reproductive effort in developed East Asian countries (Yong et al., 2019). Hence, the current findings provide novel insights beyond past work, regarding the effects of economic uncertainty on whether and why people reared in wealthier (versus poorer) environments have children earlier versus later.

We found inconsistent effects in fertility expectations in our comparison conditions across both studies. Specifically, in Study 1, individuals who were raised in different childhood environments showed no differences in reproductive timing when facing economic certainty, replicating previous research suggesting that benign and safe environments might not elicit SES effects on life history strategies (Griskevicus et al., 2011; 2013). However, in Study 2, individuals raised in different childhood environments showed opposing effects in the control condition compared to the economic uncertainty condition. One possible explanation might lie in how risk preferences might change as a function of childhood environment and economic uncertainty (Nettle, 2009). Prior research shows that individuals raised in wealthier childhood environments express greater appetite for risks when there is no immediate threat (Griskevicius et al., 2011). It might be that, for our participants in the control condition, those raised in wealthier environments felt better able to risk earlier reproduction and cope with subsequent child rearing, whereas those raised in poorer environments preferred slightly less risk and focused on investing in somatic effort, especially so in a developed and urban environment such as Singapore. Future research could examine this idea more thoroughly. Regardless, what is key is that economic uncertainty elicited divergent life history strategies in terms of reproductive timing.

Implications

The current research has implications for various literatures. For instance, the findings help substantiate an evolutionary life-history mismatch perspective on reproductive decisions (Li et al., 2018). According to this perspective, humans have evolved mechanisms that take in environmental cues related to harshness and uncertainty and process them according to decision rules that produce output in the form of attitudes and behaviors regarding reproductive decisions. Although these decision rules, on average, led to adaptive decisions in the ancestral past, they are now processing evolutionarily novel inputs that may not have the same implications for reproductive fitness.

Importantly, because resource uncertainty may have had life-or-death consequences for offspring throughout human evolutionary history, mechanisms may have evolved to adaptively adjust reproductive strategies in response to cues of resource scarcity and uncertainty. As the current work suggests, even though the modern world is relatively safe and abundant, such mechanisms may nonetheless still be processing cues such as economic uncertainty. Combined with other evolutionarily novel features found in modern societies that may be similarly processed by reproductive mechanisms, such as enormously large population densities (Sng et al., 2018) and the insatiability of social status in an increasingly global world (Li et al. 2015; Yong et al., 2019), such cues may lead to a maladaptive slowing down of fertility to the point where local populations drastically shrink. Future research may benefit from investigating the extent to which these and other evolutionarily novel modern conditions (e.g., a lack of exposure to elements of nature that might signify safety and resource abundance in ancestral times; Li et al., 2018) may be contributing to the ultra-low fertility found in all East Asian countries, parts of Southeast Asia and Europe, and an increasing number of other modern societies.

Limitations and future directions

Although we consistently found moderating effects of economic uncertainty cues on the relationship between childhood SES and desired reproduction timing, there were minor limitations regarding our manipulations in Study 1 (i.e., status uncertainty and negative affect) that we tried to address in Study 2. It could also be noted that in spite of our Study 2 manipulation being adapted from prior research (e.g., Griskevicius et al., 2010), the focal manipulation was about a contextual manipulation of uncertainty (unemployment) whereas the control condition was about an individual manipulation of uncertainty (losing one's wallet). Even though we are confident in the validity of our manipulations and results, future research could utilize more robust manipulations of uncertainty and ensuing comparisons to gain a better understanding of the effects of uncertainty on life history strategies.

Furthermore, the range of childhood SES from which we sampled was limited. University students typically are young and often come from middle- or upper-level SES backgrounds. Sampling from a wider range of childhood SES may uncover more powerful effects of childhood environment on reproductive timing. Nevertheless, the fact that we repeatedly found the moderating effect of economic uncertainty on the effects of perceived childhood SES suggests this effect may be quite robust in this population. Similarly, we sampled from a limited range of ages. Even though life history decisions in terms of reproductive timing are likely highly relevant to college-aged people, recruiting a sample that varies more in participant age might reveal potential boundary conditions of our effects. It should also be noted that our participant sample was largely female, but we did not find any gender main effects nor interactions with any of our findings. Importantly, our results regarding gender are consistent with prior life history research that examined the effects of mortality cues on reproductive timing and risk-taking, where mortality cues influenced men and women similarly and there were also no potential sex differences found on the main effect of reproductive timing as well (see Griskevicius et al., 2011; Griskevicius et al., 2011;). Nonetheless, we might not have had enough power to detect gender interactions because of our sample; future research should ensure a more equal representation between the sexes, even though we are relatively confident regarding the results that there are no potential sex differences.

In addition, our samples are from Singapore—a nation that is at or near the lowest nationwide fertility rate in the world and constitutes a cultural departure from typical psychology samples that examine Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) participants (Henrich et al., 2010) . On the other hand, college students in Singapore do fall into the categories of E, I, and R. Future research could collect more culturally diverse samples to extend the generalizability of our results. Finally, given the limitations of our student samples, it remains unclear the extent to which our outcome measures that focus on intentions (i.e., desired age of first child, reproductive timing attitude, reproductive vs. somatic effort desire) generalize to actual reproduction timing and behavior. After all, most young undergraduates have little to no experience with reproductive decisions, and intentions to reproduce might not translate to actual reproduction behavior in the general population. However, meta-analytic data suggest that intentions strongly predict actual behavior, in spite of an intention-behavior gap (Sheeran and Webb, 2016). Furthermore, given that reproduction is costly both biologically and in terms of opportunity for increasing embodied capital, it would be adaptive for one to first have reproductive intentions to aid planning and preparing for the arrival of future offspring. As such, we believe that reproductive timing intentions are frequently a precursor to actual reproductive behavior. Nonetheless, future research should prospectively examine the association between childhood SES, economic uncertainty, and actual reproduction behaviors.

We did not fully examine the proximate psychological processes underlying these divergent effects. Future research is needed to examine other possible mediators, such as sense of control. Recent research points to sense of control as a psychological driver of behaviors associated with different life history strategies (Mittal and Griskevicius, 2014), and so may help explain why environmental uncertainty alters the association between childhood environment and reproductive timing, as well as other related concepts such as risk-taking and valuation of quantity versus quality (Griskevicius et al., 2013; White et al., 2013). Given that conditions of uncertainty are associated with less control, fast strategists may respond by prioritizing immediate reproductive efforts, which includes taking more risks for larger immediate payoffs and having children sooner (Mittal and Griskevicius, 2014). Conversely, slow strategists may respond by prioritizing somatic effort in an effort to regain the sense of control they are used to. Sense of control might also be related to optimism or confidence about abilities to deal with economic uncertainty, and results in the adoption of faster or slower life history strategies (Mittal and Griskevicius, 2014). Future research is needed to ascertain if sense of control or optimism are indeed mediating variables in the relationship between economic uncertainty and reproductive timing. One might also examine mortality thoughts that could arise from economic uncertainty, as resource scarcity could represent cues of unpredictability and harshness in ancestral environments (Griskevicius et al., 2013).

Finally, the link between economic uncertainty and fertility is particularly relevant in current times, given the coronavirus-19 pandemic and its influence on economic uncertainty and instability (see Fernandes, 2020). Future research can fruitfully investigate how variables such as disease prevalence—which has been shown to be linked adaptively to cross-cultural differences in personality traits (Schaller and Murray, 2008)—and economic uncertainty interact and influence reproductive timing mechanisms.

While caloric resctrictions (CR) & intermittent fasting improve lifespan in diverse mice, we observed no enhancement of working memory or contextual fear memory on this feeding, & 40% CR to be damaging in the context of long-term memory

Life-long Dietary Restrictions have Negligible or Damaging Effects on Late-life Cognitive Performance: A Key Role for Genetics in Outcomes. Andrew R. Ouellette et al. bioRxiv Apr 10 2022. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.09.487742

Abstract: Several studies report that caloric restriction (CR) or intermittent fasting (IF) can improve cognition, while others report limited or no cognitive benefits. Here, we compare the effects of 20% CR, 40% CR, 1-day IF, and 2-day IF feeding paradigms to ad libitum controls (AL) on Y-maze working memory and contextual fear memory (CFM) in a large population of Diversity Outbred mice that model the genetic diversity of humans. While CR and IF interventions improve lifespan, we observed no enhancement of working memory or CFM in mice on these feeding paradigms, and report 40% CR to be damaging in the context of long-term memory. Using Quantitative Trait Loci mapping, we identified the gene Slc16a7 to be associated with late-life long-term memory outcomes in mice on lifespan promoting feeding paradigms. Limited utility of dieting and fasting on memory in mice that recapitulate genetic diversity in the human population highlights the need for anti-aging therapeutics that promote cognitive function, with a neuronal monocarboxylate transporter encoded by Slc16a7 highlighted as novel target.

Communicating authenticity is associated with increased interest in and perceived connection to another person, more comments and views for TED talks, receiving a financial investment from investors, & more social media likes & retweets

Authentic First Impressions Relate to Interpersonal, Social, and Entrepreneurial Success. David M. Markowitz et al. Social Psychological and Personality Science, April 6, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221086138

Abstract: This article examines how verbal authenticity influences person perception. Our work combines human judgments and natural language processing to suggest verbal authenticity is a positive predictor of interpersonal interest (Study 1: 294 dyadic conversations), engagement with speeches (Study 2: 2,655 TED talks), entrepreneurial success (Study 3: 478 Shark Tank pitches), and social media engagements (Studies 4a–c; N = 387,039 Tweets). We find that communicating authenticity is associated with increased interest in and perceived connection to another person, more comments and views for TED talks, receiving a financial investment from investors, and more social media likes and retweets. Our work is among the first to evaluate how authenticity relates to person perception and manifests naturally using verbal data.

Keywords: authenticity, impression formation, natural language processing, first impressions