Neurological Correlates

Now we know, Ayn Rand isn’t all she’s cracked up to be. Nor is the Chicago school. (See the Bloomberg article here, for example). Here’s a post from a little over a year ago, and if you scroll down you get Barbra Streisand.    I have to say it: Toldjaso.   (Originally posted 09.27.07):

Neuro Movie Review: Ayn Rand and Selfish Altruism

Strictly speaking, this is not a movie review because the movie hasn’t come out yet. NYT, tisk, tisk. (Wagging finger disapprovingly).  You wanted remarks about a book which says, “Those that are the best should rise to the top” and you interviewed those who are at the top — who said, not surpringly, “Yes, we loved this book!”

Sheesh, I know a movie is coming out, but this is blatantly biased, imo. A self-selecting population. You want a quote about a book that says, “Only the best rise to the top!” Interview those at the top, they’ll love the book.

But, query how these individuals rose to the top. Was it merit? Or was it cheating?

(Not that “a lot of Fortune 500 C.E.O.’s” are cheaters, but c’mon, why have Sarbanes-Oxley? Also, out of 500 C.E.O.’s only 12 are women. Guess women just don’t have what it takes, Dagney Taggert not withstanding. )

And so, why aren’t cheaters punished before they get to the top? The answer may be that cheaters punish other cheaters, so they can get ahead. The best cheaters get to the top that way.

J Theor Biol. 2007 Aug 8; [Epub ahead of print], Selfish punishment: Altruism can be maintained by competition among cheaters. Eldakar OT, Farrell DL, Wilson DS. Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA.

Altruistic punishment refers to a class of behaviors that deters cheating at a cost to the punisher, making it a form of second-order altruism. Usually, it is assumed that the punishers are themselves “solid citizens” who refrain from cheating. We show in a simulation model that altruism and punishment paradoxically become negatively correlated, leading to a form of selfish punishment. Examples of selfish punishment can be found in organisms as diverse as wasps, birds, and humans.

PMID: 17854839 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Insert U.S. cultural reference here to a schmaltzy 1960′s song: “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world” in my mind is now “Cheaters who cheat cheaters are the luckiest cheaters in the world.”

OK, since I’ve already gone the Barbra Streisand route, here is a link to La Streisand, singing, Cry Me a River (1967, A Happening in Central Park) (From: violino11)