Hi Marco and All,
MARCO:
<<The main characteristic of a “machine code” seems to
be something that is the “entire
design goal “ for the below level. So if we want to
find the machine code for social
patterns, we must search for a set of biological
characteristics, very refined, that helped
people to unify their existences to create a very
simple structured social pattern. A set of
characteristics that has been then surpassed, while
remaining as substratum in social
activities.>>
Fist of all, thanks Marco for taking the time to share
your provocative insights. They sent
me wandering down a wide variety of Intellectual (I
hope) avenues in search of these
“biological characteristics”. In backtracking the
social path, I arrived at a vague idea of
some biological pattern designed to bring sexual
partners of a species together...
hormones? While “deep searching” the Internet, I
arrived at pheromones! Some of the
following information is ‘lifted’ from “The Mystery of
Smell” at:
http://www.hhmi.org/senses/d/d110.htm
A pheromone (for those who like myself lack a science
background) is a chemical
produced by one member of a species that is detected
by another member in which it
produces a physiological or behavioral response. Such
a response is probably due to an
influence of vomeronasal input on hormone levels.
A virgin male hamster or mouse whose vomeronasal
organs (VNOs) are removed
generally will not mate with a receptive female.
Apparently, the VNOs are needed to
start certain chains of behavior stimulated by a
specific pheromone. These chains of
behavior are already programmed in the brain. However,
losing the VNOs has a much
less drastic effect on experienced animals. When male
mice have begun to associate
sexual activity with other cues from females they
become less dependent on the VNOs.
Sexually experienced males whose VNOs are removed mate
almost as frequently as
intact males.
So what about human VNOs and pheromones? It has long
been noticed (by women) that
women living close together (e.g., college roommates)
develop synchronous menstrual
cycles. It turns out that this is because they release
two (as yet uncharacterized) primer
pheromones one prior to ovulation that tends to speed
up the onset of ovulation in others
one after ovulation that tends to delay the onset of
ovulation in other women. Both
pheromones are released from the armpits. The
pheromones are not detected consciously
as odors, but presumably are detected by the human VNO
(the vomeronasal organ).
Four distinct functions of pheronomes have been
identified in animals. These are (1) Sex
Attractants, (2) Alarm Pheromones (3) Aggregation
Pheromones (4) Dispersion Pheromones
Perhaps these pheromones in their functioning form the
basis of a machine code for social
patterns: but as our social level has evolved, social
patterns (refined, perpetuated and
transmitted across human generations) have replaced
the need for them. Sex Attractants
have been replaced by rituals of courtship
(conversation, looking, smiling, dancing),
appearance (dress, hair-style, make-up), perfume, etc.
Alarm pheromones, which signal potential threats to
the group have been replaced by
drums, smoke, sirens, house alarms, road signs,
flashing lights, etc.
Aggregation pheromones have given way to
infrastructures: roads, canals, paths, visual
signs, city lights!, etc.
Dispersion pheromones (for territorial marking) have
evolved as social man has utilized
organic patterns. geographical borders, city walls,
visual markers, buoys, maps, etc.
It is noticeable that most of these ‘social
pheromones’ rely on sight and hearing, but not
smell. We do not have much of a vocabulary for our
sense of smell compared to that of
the other senses. We see things in a wide spectrum of
colors, patterns. We can accurately
measure sound- loud and soft, low and high. Our sense
of touch is so refined we can
‘read’ with our fingers. We categorize taste in terms
of sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and
expert tasters can tell one wine vintage from another.
But how do we differentiate smells?
However, the evocative power of smells reminds us of
their former glory at the biological
level. (Whenever I smell freshly cut grass I think of
the aging caretaker at my Primary
school in Yorkshire, England over 25 years ago, and
all the associated memories come
flooding back.)
So, perhaps we may find in time that pheromones and
the VNO represent some kind of ‘machine code’ for the
social level, buried now by patterns built upon human
senses more functional for the social
level. And so how does all of this relate to the
Giant?
All the best,
Mark
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