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 ASTUDYONTHEACTIVITY,ETHOLOGYANDPSYCHOLOGYOFFLUORESCENTPLASTICCUBES*
Author:C.L.SCULDERInstitutefortheStudyofMind,DrugsandBehaviourLoyolaUniversityMedicalCentre2160S.FirstAvenueMaywood,Ill.60253
ABSTRACT
Aseriesofexperimentsarepresentedwhichhaveprovidedrigorouslyquantifiedandcarefullyanalyzeddataonthebehaviourofsmall,fluorescent,plasticcubesofvaryingsizeandweightinanenvironmentoforganiccomplexity.Thesevariableshavebeenstudiedastotheireffectsonthepsychomotoractivityofthecubes,onthesocialbehaviourofthebasicunits,andontheevolution,theaffinities,drivesandIntelligenceofthecubes.Anewpointofviewregardingthebehaviourofrichlyconnectedsystemsisexpressed.Thedatasuggestthatthereareerrorscausedbythedogmaticseparationofscientificdisciplinesandstronglyfavoursametagoaloftrans-cultural,trans-worldunityofscience.
INTRODUCTION
Theseriesofexperimentsreportedhererepresentmorethaneightyearsofresearch.However,noneofthedatahavebeenpublishedpreviously.Theworkhasbeencarriedcutwithdifficultyinthatthenecessaryfundswerefrompersonalcontributionsoftheauthorandmotivatedgraduatestudents.Aninitialtentativegrantrequestinregardtotheprojectwasnotpermittedtopassbeyondthechairman’sdeskandcausedsuchemotional,vindictiveandthreateningbehaviouronthepartoftheestablishmentthatmuchofthisworkhashadtobecarriedoutsecretly.Onlythevirtuesofthetenuresystempermittedtheanalystsandpresentationofthisdata.Thislaboratoryhasbeenengagedformanyyearsinstudiesonmousebehaviour
i,ii
.Aserious,no-nonsenseconsiderationoftheconceptsonwhichourbehavioural,theorieswerebasedpromotedtheinvestigationreportedhere.Inoureverydayconversationsinthelaboratorywehadanaturalenoughtendencytolettheconceptsofourprofessedfield(behaviour)soulovertoourdescriptionsofthebehaviourof“inanimate”things;andwefoundourselvesdeepininformationtheory,systemstheory,Gestalttheory,etc.whenwetriedtoestablishthevalidityoftheassumptionsunderlyingourinitialpointsofviewandtopin-pointtherationalebehindtheclassicalconstructsofanimalpsychologywhichweusedtospeakaboutthemiceunderinvestigation
iii
.
 
Wecametoviewtheorganismasabehaviouralsystemthatmirroredaspectsoftheenvironmentalreality;andwebegantowonderwhichwasthereflectionofwhich,e.g.,didtheadaptiveintelligentanimalreflecttheenvironmentordidtheenvironmentreflecttheanimal?Feedbackapparentlywasinvolvedinthesimplestmotoract.Themiceacteduponthingsasaresultofthingsactinguponthem;andthestimuluswasmodifiedbytheactionsofthemouse-actionsthatit(thestimulus)caused.Anon-goingdevelopmentalsituationexistedforwhichtherewasneitherabe-ginningnoranendbutrather,inmostcases,therewasadyadicrelation-shipasfollows:Aisanevent(orseriesofevents)ofasystemexternaltothemouseandaffectingit,andBisanevent(orseriesofevents)withinthemouseaffectingtheothersystemsoastomodifyA.Theexperimentsreportedherewereconceivedwithonlyaslightchangeinreferenceorpointofview.Thischangeinreferenceseemedreasonablebecauseitappearedtousthattherewasonlyaconventiondirectingus;and,possibly,newinsightswouldbegainedifweignoredourconventional,egocentric,Judeo-Christianphilosophy.Thephilosophytreatstheworldasdividedintoanimateandinanimateobjectsandmaintainsitselfbyrigorouslyindoctrinatingusfrominfancythatthisdichotomyhassomevalidity.Thevalidityisenforcedbysuitableseparationofterminologies,concepts,andhypothesesinuseinseparatedisciplinesstudyingoneortheothercategory.Wejokinglyreferredtoourstudiesasthefoundingofanewscience-“cubology,”thestudyofthebehaviourofcubesinacomplexorganicmedium.Afterwebeganourresearchanddiscoveredthatthiswasindeedanewscience,webegantoworryaboutitsimplication.Inwhatwayweretheconclusionsthatwereachedmoresillyandirrelevantthanthoseofscientific,behavioural,lifesciencesorthodoxy?Themeasurementsareaccurateandvalid.Thehypothesesaresimple,clear,andnotdevious;buttheoverallimplicationsarealarminginthattheprinciplesandthelogicofcubologyarethoseofeconomics,sociology,psychology,oranyofthemodel-constructingsciencesoftheartificial.EnvironmentAMouseB
 
MATERIALSANDMETHODS
IAnimals
Theanimalsusedintheseexperimentswerewild-trapped,male,domesticmice,Musmusculusdomesticus.Afteratwo-weekquarantineperiodintheenvironmentalchamberofthelaboratory,theanimalswereadmittedintothecubechamberdescribedbelow.Theywerenotfurtherstudied.Thenumberofmaleanimalswasmaintainedatthirtyindividualsinthechamberthroughouteachexperiment.Foodandwaterwereavailableadlibitumatthesidesofthechamberinsmallcontainers.
IICubes
Theworkreportedheredealtwiththebehaviourofsolidpolyethyleneplasticcubes.Controlcubesforthisstudywere1.5cm.onaside,allthesameweightandsolid.Duringcertainstudieseitherthedimensionsortheweightsofthecubeswerechanged.Ifthecubedimensionsweretheparameterunderconsideration,2sizesofcubesdifferingfromthe1.5cmonasidecontrolcubeswereconstructed.Thesewereeither1.2or1.8cmonaside.Thesmallercubeswereweighedwithleadinsertsre-coveredwithplasticandwereofthesameweightasthecontrolcubes.Thelargeroneswerepartiallyhollowsothattheirweightsalsoequalledthecontrolcubes.Thusinstudiesontheeffectofsizeonbehaviour,allcubesweighedthesame.Forthosestudiesinvolvingtheeffectofweightonbehaviour,thecontrolcubesof1.5cm.dimensionwerehollowedorweighedandthenrecoveredtoalllookidenticalalthoughtheynowweighs2,3or4grams.Allcubeswereimpregnatedwithfluorescencethatwasactivatedstronglybyadarklightof385milli-micronsandemittedfluorescentlightat435milli-microns.Thelatterradiationcouldberecordedbymeansofacameraasdescribedbelow.Atthebeginningofeachexperiment34,560cubeswereadmittedtothechamberdescribedbelowandplacedequidistantfromoneanotheronthefloor.
IIITheCubeChamber
Thiswasalargechamber,6.1x3.7x2.4metersinsize.Itwasconstructedfrompine2”x4”studs.Theentirechamberontheinsidehadaliningof¼inchwirenettingformingthewallsandaceiling.Thefloorwasasmoothaluminiumsheetperforatedwith0.5cmholesspaced¼cmapart.Theseholesallowedfaeces,foodparticles,andurinetofallfromthechamberbutdidnotpermitescapeofthecubesandprovidedasmoothsolidbasefortheiractivities.Thechamberwasmaintainedinadarkroomat22oC.±1.3owithalight-darkcycleof16hoursdaylight.Theontimewas6a.m.Whenphotographedforanalysis,theentirechamberwaslitbrieflywithstrongultravioletradiationandallotherilluminationwasextinguishedbrieflyatthattime.
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