I have always been envious of women’s uncanny ability to read emotions. It could be sample bias, but I have consistently found men to be pretty bad at this. Often I find myself walking away obliviously from a social encounter when a woman will remark to me, “Didn’t you notice such-and-such?” At least I have a gaydar!

People with this ability must be perceptive; to be able to subliminally interpret visual cues given off by other people. I’m way too absent-minded for this kind of thing. I have also noticed that it is a skill easily lost without practice.

Here is a short story: take a maladjusted man, give him a keen intuition and let him loose for a day. See how he takes advantage of his new sense.

With Mother’s Day close at hand, the Times published a fascinating article about infanticide and siblicide. In a previous entry, I wrote about cannibalism, which is a closely related subject. For example, the article states that fetal sharks feed on one another because the mother has no placenta. Imagine that happening in humans; having twins and expecting to find one stillborn. For all we have in common with other animals, this is something which makes one rejoice vive la difference!

I doubt siblicide, as it is practiced in other animals, is common in humans, but you do see cases of infanticide, especially in patriarchal societies, where the male is prized over the female. At least sacrificing children to god is on the way out.
It is remarkable how closely related eugenics, infanticide, siblicide and cannibalism are in selective breeding. As is modern birth control; a topic embroiled in debate here in America. First the question was whether or not abortion should be legal. Now the conservatives are debating whether or not birth control should be practiced at all (I kid you not). In other words, sex only as a means of procreation. Whatever one thinks in the abstract, this is never going to work in the real world. No amount of inculcation is going to make people accept that they should only have sex once or twice in their life. I think humans show enough restraint, acting against their basic instincts, by trying to be faithful to one partner.

Finally, I would like to note that Mother’s Day, in the United States, was first proclaimed in the town that I currently live in, as a tribute to peace.

Look ma, no hands!

I do not know how I missed it on the papers, but I just learned that Zimbabwe has fallen victim to hyperinflation. The situation is so dire that people are burying the dead in coffins built from the home cupboard. I have never witnessed anything that bad, but coming from Turkey, I have lived through triple digit inflation. I think it is interesting how people’s spending habits can quickly change in the face of inflation. Discretionary spending decreases, then stops. Things are bought in bulk, whenever possible. Eventually these practices turns into a habit, and take some time to shed even after economic conditions have improved.

The banknotes dated so quickly that you could pinpoint the date by knowing which ones were in circulation, or by the cost of common goods. Until recently, the smallest denomination was a million Turkish lira. When everything is measured in milions, it became customary to simply drop the million to save time and make prices easier to read. More recently this usage was formalized by slashing six zeros and releasing the New Turkish Lira. The inflation rate is now in the single digits. I still can’t believe it!