Among the scientific news of the week:
- Calmness or anger: which is more likely to prove your innocence
- A stone in the bosom: how female octopuses dare clinging boyfriends
- Martian caves promise shelter from radiation for the first colonists
Why is it better to make excuses calmly
If a person begins to furiously justify himself in response to accusations against him, most of us usually think that he thus wants to deflect suspicion from himself, which means that he is really to blame. But admit, how often can you really tell a lie from the truth? Rarely. Only if you yourself are not a hardened liar.
So researchers from the University of Toronto, led by Catherine Deselles, interviewed more than 4 thousand volunteers on the Internet, in their new work (published in Psychological Science) argue that rage or anger is invariably perceived as a sign of guilt.
Moreover, this scheme works in a variety of contexts, from recreating trials of those accused of serious crimes to scenarios when it comes to charges of adultery or banal theft.
In each case, participants were more likely to place blame on fictional characters who vehemently denied it than on those who resisted more sluggishly, without raising their voices or resorting to profanity. And they were even more ready to believe in the innocence of those who gently and calmly proved their innocence in the crime.
But, perhaps, such an approach is the lot of the uninitiated, and those who constantly deal with crimes and evidence do not fall for such a bait? Very much even caught. In the course of experiments with the participation of professionals – investigators, lawyers, policemen – it turned out that they are similarly led to a calm denial of guilt and tend to see this very guilt in violent denial.
It is curious that the participants in the experiment, when they were asked to recall real situations from their own lives, admitted that they reacted much more violently to unfounded accusations than to real ones, and regardless of how serious the offense was – from cheating on a spouse to being taken from the refrigerator to the work of someone else's yoghurt packaging.
Of course, in all situations, it is important to understand what constitutes a real sign of guilt or lack thereof. However, there are several reasons at once why it is not necessary to make unambiguous decisions on the basis of new research.
And primarily because an inadequate emotional reaction that does not match the level of the charges brought can still be a sign of guilt. At least, the present study does not undertake to refute this.
- The lie detector that lies: how stereotypes lead to the conviction of the innocent
- Little daily lies. Does it help the job?
Under the hot tentacle: how to ward off an annoying octopus boyfriend
Better not come, otherwise I'll stop by …
Man is not the only living creature that can throw various objects, but only a few species, including chimpanzees, are able to purposefully throw, say, stones at other animals or even representatives of their own species. And now they are suddenly joined by representatives of a completely different niche – octopuses.
An analysis of underwater surveys off the coast of Australia has clearly demonstrated how octopuses, overwhelmingly female, throw various objects (and often fall) at male octopuses that stick to them.
“This is quite rare,” explains the study's author, University of Sydney researcher Peter Godfrey-Smith.
Back in 2015, observing the behavior of the common Sydney octopus (Octopus tetricus) in the oceanic Jervis Bay, which even received the name “Octopolis” thanks to the huge colony of these mollusks, Godfrey-Smith and his colleagues drew attention to the fact that some octopuses deliberately threw shells of mollusks, silt and other objects falling under the tentacles in different directions, including at their relatives.
Octopuses took objects in tentacles and brought them to the openings of siphons – special tubes through which water comes out under pressure. Usually this jet of water is used by cephalopods for jet propulsion, but in this case, the siphons served as water cannons, launching shells at a decent distance.
But then scientists were not sure that octopuses were deliberately aiming at someone, especially since it was previously known that they can deftly throw away food debris or soil when digging up their shelters.
However, long-term observations have confirmed that octopuses do deliberately throw various objects at each other.
For example, one of the females was caught throwing silt at an octopus at least 10 times, which persistently stuffed herself into her suitors, and at the same time hit her boyfriend five times.
“This line of action struck me as the most convincing of all,” admits Godfrey-Smith.
At the same time, the male tried to evade, and twice even guessed the intentions of the female and managed to dodge.
In addition, when “drilling”, octopuses usually throw the soil with their front two tentacles, and if they want to hit someone, they use the first and second tentacles on the right or left – it is more convenient to make an aimed throw.
In one case, the octopus did not use the siphon, but deftly threw the shell of the shell – and hit – twisting it with a tentacle like a flying frisbee disk.
It is curious that, despite the targeted attacks from the females, the males did not try to respond in kind. In addition, often the females began to throw objects after the quarrel, and they did not throw them at other octopuses, but just as if they wanted not to hurt a particular offender, but rather to throw out emotions.
And only once did the scientists notice how the male, rejected by the female, in frustration, threw the shell of the mollusk aside. And he blushed.
- Octopus in Australia beat a man twice
- Octopus sex. How not to be eaten by a friend
- Scientists: octopuses change color when they want to attack
Why Mars' First Colonists May Become Cave Dwellers
Mars is an inhospitable planet. Since there is neither a dense atmosphere nor a magnetic field, its surface is exposed to harsh ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, which is 900 times stronger than on Earth, so that without special protection, neither people nor local life, if any, could not bear such conditions.
However, as evidenced by images taken from Martian orbit, in many places on the surface there are holes that are most likely the entrances to caves. And ultraviolet light, as you know, practically does not pass underground.
That is why an employee of the Spanish National Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Daniel Vudes-Moreiras, decided to calculate exactly what doses of radiation penetrate into various Martian caves.
He found that in many cases, the level of ultraviolet radiation inside the caves (near the entrances) will be only 2% of the level of radiation on the planet's surface, which is quite acceptable for humans, but still too much for plants that require light for photosynthesis.
With ionizing radiation, which is potentially more dangerous than ultraviolet radiation, not everything is so simple, however, according to the Spanish scientist, most likely, its levels may also be quite acceptable.
His research gives reason to hope that the caves may become the first reliable refuge for people who fly to Mars to inhabit this planet, and, secondly, that they may be the most successful places to search for possible Martian life.
True, Vyudes-Moreiras admits, not a single Martian rover has yet looked into these caves, so before making plans, it would be worth visiting them first.
- Scientists have learned how Mars works. The planet has a liquid core and a thick crust
- Robot “Perseverance” arrives on Mars to look for traces of alien life
- Sending people to Mars is stupid, says astronaut Bill Anders
