And this, boys and girls...

Is why we don't get attached to any one particular ideal, mindset, organization, or whatever. I mean, when it gets right down to it, is there anything out there actually worth dying over? Okay, fine, possibly the allies in WWII ending the holocaust, but examples are few and far between.

The University of Texas at Austin has been looking into extremism, and what people are willing to die for. They describe people willing to die for other members of their group as "fused," which is an interesting way of looking at it. Personally, I think it's commendable to be willing to sacrifice yourself to save others regardless of who they are, but this study focused on what people would do for members of their "group" versus people outside of it.

The bottom line? Spainards want Americans dead. That's only a slight exaggeration, but the gist of it is that Spanish college students (who were studied for the project) were more willing to die for people inside of Europe than they were for people outside of it (specifically, America). There were also some interesting follow-up questions about who would be willing to die so that terrorists would get killed that raise some interesting ethical questions and insights into the nature of extremism.

Hopefully, I'll never be in a situation where I face a choice like that in real life.

Man was TOTALLY meant to play god.

Especially if he's a man from Belgium. Men from Ireland, not so much. And by "play god," I mean work with nanotechnology.

Wait, what? Yeah, apparently if you're trying to work with objects on an atomic level, you're playing god (which isn't that outrageous of a claim, I mean, c'mon, you're messing with the fabric of the universe itself). Like most other worthwhile and entertaining activities, you have to ask yourself, just because you CAN do it, does that mean that you SHOULD do it?

According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, religious individuals do not believe that nanotechnology is morally acceptable. They studied the number of people that agreed or disagreed with the statement "nanotechnology is morally acceptable" and cross referenced it with the general level of religous belief in that country. In their fun and exciting graph:



they show that on average, as people identify themselves as less religious, they are more willing to find nanotechnology morally acceptable.

Are you right along that dashed red line (i.e., ultrareligious and nanotech-opposed, or atheistic and pro microbots)? Or are you an exception?

Are You Going to Church Today?

I hope so. Not because of the whole "observing the birth of Christ" thing, either. I hope you go because it will make you 20% less likely to die.

Researchers, who had to roll up their sleeves and grit their teeth to Do What Must Be Done for Science, studied 92,395 post-menopausal women. In their studies, they found that women who regularly attented religious services could cut their "risk of mortality" by up to 20%. I like those odds. I'm one of those people who goes to church on holidays anyway, but with news like this, I might want to go more often!

Wait, let me think about that. No, it doesn't seem like you get some kind of "frequent attendance" bonus that reduces your risk of death even further, and I am pretty lazy. I also like sleeping in on Sundays. Maybe I'll keep my churchgoing habits unchanged.

Anyway, Merry Christmas*, everyone! (I know I said it yesterday, but I'm saying it again today. I'm positively overcome with holiday spirit!)

*No, I'm not being insensitive to those observing other holidays. In this case, I am someone who celebrates Christmas, using the traditional phrase of my religion for recognizing the holiday. I am also still a little drunk giddy with the tidings of the season.