Generational Dynamics Forum - New Site

Imagine two companies making essentially the same product. One internalizes the
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ecological consequences of production, cleaner energy, safer extraction, better
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labor conditions, proper waste treatment and so on and therefore produces all of
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this at a higher cost uh you know symbolic cost. The other externalizes as
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much of those costs as the game board permits. Right? If the market primarily
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selects on price growth and financial return, then logically the second
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company can become symbolically fitter precisely because somebody else is
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absorbing part of its real cost. The atmosphere absorbs the carbon. A community absorbs the pollution. Workers
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absorb dangerous conditions. Future generations absorb consequences that aren't represented in today's
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transaction. Right? And then selection compounds the problem, right? The actor
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generating the larger return acquires more resources. Those resources can uh create greater political and
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institutional influence. They can fund law lobbying, litigation, and public relations. They can influence regulation
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and liability structures. They can make attribution or responsibility more difficult because they control the rules
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of the game. So over time the system can develop something functionally analogous to an immune system around successful
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instrumental strategies right and it's not because lawyers governments and you know all of these public relations
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departments are um inherently psychopathic they're they're not so psychopathy has its own embedded
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positive feedback mechanism at large scales so the basic dynamic is that through
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symbolic evolution Um the the successful behavioral strategies are encoded into the
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operating system in legal frameworks, incentives, objective functions like productivity, efficiency and the the
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actual um bones of the organization uh essentially gets reinforced and so
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these objective functions and these rules become crystallized because think of profit, right? I can't go into a
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company I want to work for and say you know what profit, right? Like I don't I don't care about profit. People
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go to school for years to learn accounting principles that talk about profit. They learn profit. They go to
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school for seven years. So it's not just the symbolic objective functions that are dominating here, but the the
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symbolic infrastructure creates tentacles around the operating system
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and it's like a solution architecture, right? And so adapting away from this
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trajectory becomes increasingly difficult um because the objective functions get
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crystallized. these successful behavioral instrumental behavioral strategies become crystallized because
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they solve very specific problems evolutionary problems and so across evolutionary time of the institution
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people coming into the game are what's being transmitted it's the game dynamics
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it's not the norms the values and the rules or the the game dynamics actually produces the norms the values or the
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rules of the people are surviving based on consequence avoidance right you go
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into the company, you don't absorb all of the norms and the values of the beliefs of the company, you know, you have to hit a number and if you don't,
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you get fired, right? So, at the end of the day, people are adapting to this game and either they adapt or they go
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extinct and those that rise are the individuals who can adapt most
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effectively, who are most willing to deploy these behavioral strategies and who are most willing to deploy those
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strategies.

aedens wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2026 10:57 pm Still they cannot comprehend how they do whatever it takes to control as they commit suicide.

The Psychopathic Selection Hypothesis: From Natural Selection to Symbolic Selection: Scale, Abstraction, and the Adaptive Pressures of Institutional Gameboards

by Greg Michael Elliott (Author) Format: Paperback

The Psychopathic Selection Hypothesis examines how the logic of natural selection changes when human beings begin living inside large-scale symbolic systems.

For most of evolutionary history, human adaptation occurred within environments where consequence was immediate, social life was embodied, and survival depended heavily on reciprocity, trust, cooperation, reputation, and sensitivity to others. But modern societies increasingly operate through abstract systems: corporations, markets, bureaucracies, legal instruments, financial architectures, digital platforms, political institutions, and algorithmic forms of governance. These systems do not merely organize human behavior. They create new selection environments.

This book argues that as societies scale, become anonymous, and operate through symbolic gameboards, the traits most rewarded within them can shift. Cognitive profiles associated with strategic manipulation, emotional detachment, dominance orientation, status sensitivity, risk tolerance, impression management, and low affective inhibition may become increasingly adaptive in environments where success depends less on reciprocal belonging and more on navigating abstraction, exploiting incentives, modeling others, and rewriting rules.

The central claim is not that psychopathy causes civilization, nor that all powerful individuals are psychopaths. Rather, The Psychopathic Selection Hypothesis proposes that complex symbolic systems can selectively advantage psychopathic and Dark Triad traits under specific institutional conditions.

If domination isn't an aberration but a predictable output of the game board we've built, what does that mean for how we try to fix it?

Higgenbotham wrote: Tue Sep 01, 2026 2:00 pm You can sit around in your retirement community talking about your doctor appointments and which multiple medications you are on. Maybe pop a Viagra, catch an STD, and play a little shuffleboard if you feel lucky.

What is the truth about STD rates in over 55 retirement communities?

AI Overview

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates among adults aged 55 and older have risen sharply over the past decade, though overall case numbers remain lower than those in younger age groups.

Data compiled by health organizations, such as the American Sexual Health Association, show distinct trends in older adults:

Syphilis rates increased seven times.
Gonorrhea rates increased nearly five times.
Chlamydia rates more than tripled.

Why Rates Are Rising in Retirement Communities

Older adults are living healthier lives and staying active longer. Several specific factors in retirement communities drive these numbers up:

No risk of pregnancy: Many older adults stop using barrier methods like condoms because pregnancy is no longer a concern.
Medical aids: Medications for erectile dysfunction allow men to remain sexually active into older age.
Social opportunities: Retirement homes and senior-living centers bring many single or widowed peers together in close quarters with regular social events.

The Hidden Risks and Challenges

Lack of screening: Doctors often forget to talk about sexual health with older patients, and routine tests are rarely covered by standard Medicare.
Ignorance of risk: Many seniors grew up before modern sex education campaigns and do not realize they can still contract infections.
Ignored symptoms: Physical signs of an infection can mimic other common health conditions, delaying diagnosis and treatment.

Higgenbotham wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2026 10:52 am

That wave of newcomers to the community dubbed by Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder as the "cruise ship on land," the report says, is also driving an economic boom.

"It’s like they’re at college except they don’t have to go to class and they have $3 million in the bank," Schroeder told the outlet.

Medicare on Track to Add $85 Trillion to the Natl Debt | New Cato Analysis
Medicare’s financing problems extend well beyond its hospital insurance trust fund.

August 31, 2026 • News Releases

Medicare’s financing problems extend well beyond its hospital insurance trust fund. In new analysis, the Cato Institute’s Romina Boccia and Ritvik Thakur estimate that borrowing to finance Medicare Parts B and D could add roughly $85 trillion to the national debt by 2056, including interest costs.

Medicare Debt is $85 trillion

Over just the next decade, Medicare’s doctors’ services, outpatient care, and prescription drug coverage are projected to add about $10.7 trillion to the debt, including interest, accounting for an estimated 44% of the federal deficit over that period.

The high cost of high blood pressure

Annual costs associated with high blood pressure were an estimated $219 billion in the United States in 2019.
Annual medical costs for people with high blood pressure were $2,759 higher than for people without high blood pressure in 2019.

"Surprisingly, heart disease and stroke aren't necessarily inevitable with age," said Michael Gurven, Ph.D., study author and anthropology professor and chairman of the University of California-Santa Barbara's Integrative Anthropological Sciences Unit.

Gurven's team followed 2,296 indigenous adults in 82 Tsimane villages, an area in the tropical lowlands of Bolivia's Amazon basin. Tsimane are lowland forager-horticulturalists (pop. ~11,000) subsisting on plantains, rice, corn, manioc, fish and hunted game.

"The Tsimane living conditions are similar to those of our ancestors, with greater exposure to pathogens, active lifestyle, high fertility and traditional diet. Studying chronic diseases in these populations can be very insightful," Gurven said.

Researchers found:

Per decade, Tsimane women had a systolic blood pressure increase of 2.86 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) and a diastolic blood pressure increase of 0.95 mm Hg.
Per decade, Tsimane men had a systolic blood pressure increase of 0.91 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure decrease of 0.02 mm Hg.
About 3 percent of Tsimane adults have high blood pressure, compared to 33.5 percent of U.S. adults.

Among Americans over age 40, systolic pressure increases by about 7 mm Hg per decade.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 pm It's a badge of honor in America to persevere as the shit gets kicked out of you.

Is it a badge of honor in America to persevere as the shit gets kicked out of you?

AI Overview

Persevering through extreme adversity is deeply ingrained in American culture, often celebrated as a badge of honor, but it is also increasingly viewed with skepticism. This dual perspective stems from a tension between traditional national myths and modern shifts regarding mental health and labor.

The Case for "The Badge of Honor"

For generations, American society has idealized the individual who thrives under intense pressure. This sentiment is rooted in several core cultural narratives:

The Grit Mythos: Rooted in the concept of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps," American identity heavily rewards resilience, stamina, and outworking the competition.
The Underdog Narrative: From sports movies to corporate folklore, the standard American hero arc requires taking immense punishment before achieving a triumphant comeback.
The Overwork Ethic: In professional settings, enduring toxic conditions, long hours, or demanding environments is frequently worn as a status symbol, signaling loyalty and superior capability.

The Case Against "The Badge of Honor"

In recent years, a significant cultural counter-movement has challenged this mindset. Critics argue that celebrating suffering can be counterproductive:

Glorification of Burnout: Younger generations of workers and mental health advocates increasingly view "hustle culture" not as honorable, but as a path to severe burnout and exploitation.
The Boundaries Movement: The rise of concepts like "quiet quitting" and a heightened focus on mental well-being reflect a growing belief that walking away from toxic environments is healthier than enduring them.
Systemic Critique: There is a growing awareness that "grit" is sometimes used by institutions to shift the blame onto individuals, rather than fixing systemic problems or abusive structures.