Sibling Deidentification

I didn't know it either: It's a fancy term for not doing the same stuff that your brothers and sisters do:

The idea is that siblings need to avoid competition.  Sibling competition is nothing to take lightly.  Sibling colonies of bacteria secrete antibiotics that kill each other off.  The first African black eaglet out to hatch of its egg pecks the second one to death.  A quarter of spotted hyena pups are killed by their siblings.  The siblings are competing for their parents’ resources and attention, of which the parents have only a certain amount.  So the siblings are operating in a closed system...

But Cain and Abel aside, we humans can’t go killing off our siblings, so we agree to go our separate ways, we deidentify, we stake out separate niches.  To be honest, I don’t see how that makes the pie bigger or the parents have more resources; it just keeps us off each others’ backs...

And here’s the charm of it: a closed system might be lethal for competitors but it’s golden for cooperators. If my brother and I are one system and he knows statistics, I don’t need to; any statistic that needs to be done, he does. ... Closed-system cooperation is a great labor-saving device.

It's an interesting explanation for the differences between people that usually have essentially the same initial upbringing. I see this personally: my brother and I are very similar at our core, but have very different personalities and interests. Ann Finkbeiner goes on to say that the theory extends to spouses as well, which means that it's something that's learned, not hereditary. Fascinating. I'll have to ponder this more.

Running and Character

Due to illness, insomnia and extreme readability, I’m already halfway through Christopher McDougall's Born to Run. The thing that has stood out to me so far - other than the sheer awesomeness of the story - is the emphasis on the personality traits that make up a better runner. As evidence, McDougall presents the fascinating story of Czech runner Emil Zatopek (starting on p.95), or the antidotes about Joe Vigil:

Posted on the wall of Vigil’s office was a magic formula for fast running that, as far as Deena could tell, had absolutely nothing to do with running: it was stuff like “Practice abundance by giving back,” and “Improve personal relationships,” and “Show integrity to your value system." p.119

or

Over the previous two years, Vigil had become convinced that the next leap forward in human endurance would come from a dimension he dreaded getting itno: Character. … Vigil wasn’t talking about “grit” or “hunger” or “the size of the fight in the dog.” In fact, he meant the exact opposite. Vigil’s notion of character wasn’t toughness. It was compassion. Kindness. Love. p.92

I’m looking forward to where this all leads, but from a book that I expected to hear more about running form than racing psychology, this angle was a pleasant surprise.

Crossposted on Reading, Running and Red Sox

Why Do They Stay, Explained

Fascinating account of the reasoning behind why someone might stay in an abusive relationship. I've always wondered the answer to this question myself, and this argument makes a lot of sense.