We are all racing in the race of life. Many are looking to seek wealth, love, happiness and more. But what if there was a universe in which we didn’t have to worry about that, and where in which we were given everything we wanted without any effort. This idea has become the basis of many experiments, including the the Universe 25 Experiment by John Bumpass Calhoun, where the mice are given the best life conditions and the growing of their populations describe the collapse on behaviors.
In the first experiment, he placed 16 to 32 mice in a 10x14ft cage. They were provided with unlimited water, food, and disease and weather protection. It was as if they were in a “rat utopia.” After the population grew, their behaviors started to change. Many female rats were unable to carry the pregnancy and even successfully give birth, which led to them not only them but the baby rats dying as well. Besides that, the male rats had sexual deviation and cannibalism. The most famous experiment is the “Universe 25” which is an expansion of those previous experiments. He put more rats in a bigger cage for the total 4000 rats but the population peaked at 2200 rats and started to decrease. By the 600th day, the population was on its way to extinction even though they still could reproduce, the mice had lost the social skills required to mate.
The 25th Universe reflected our lives. We will eventually lose our social skills if we do not strive to live. I think challenges in life are essential factors for improving life. It gave me another perspective on difficulties in life. If I do not improve all my skills, I will gradually lose myself, and that will affect society.
We are all racing in the race of life. Many are looking to seek wealth, love, happiness, and more. But what if there was a universe in which we didn’t have to worry about that, and in which we were given everything we wanted without any effort? This idea has become the basis of many experiments, including the Universe 25 Experiment by John Bumpass Calhoun, where the mice are given the best life conditions, and the growing of their populations describes the collapse of behaviors.
In the first experiment, he placed 16 to 32 mice in a 10×14 ft cage. They were provided with unlimited water, food, and disease and weather protection. It was as if they were in a “rat utopia.” After the population grew, their behaviors started to change. Many female rats were unable to carry the pregnancy and even successfully give birth, which led to not only them but the baby rats dying as well. Besides that, the male rats had sexual deviation and cannibalism. The most famous experiment is the “Universe 25,” which is an expansion of those previous experiments. He put more rats in a bigger cage for a total of 4000 rats, but the population peaked at 2200 rats and started to decrease. By the 600th day, the population was on its way to extinction. Even though they still could reproduce, the mice had lost the social skills required to mate.
The 25th Universe reflected our lives. We will eventually lose our social skills if we do not strive to live. I think challenges in life are essential factors for improving life. It gave me another perspective on difficulties in life. If I do not improve all my skills, I will gradually lose myself, and that will affect society.
