A study passed along to me indicates that I have been operating the Our Beloved Ducks forum in a similar way to what occurred in a research setting involving baboon behavior. Our OBD results have been matching what was in the findings, and what has occurred in the wild. Pretty surprising and unexpected, yet let’s see whether it’s just coincidence or if we actually do match up!
Most fans would say that discussing the Ducks when the games are frustrating would create stress, not relieve it–right? Let’s learn how our gathering and sharing of fellowship with other Duck fans can improve our health, as well as teach us more about our favorite Oregon Sports. It is a story worthy of GameDay that in a week in which the team is improving, we as fans learn how we are as well, even if inadvertently.
Much as been learned in the last 15 years about how stress can damage our bodies and make us more prone to disease and early mortality. Professor Robert Sapolsky is an award-winning neurobiologist who felt he could learn more about stress in humans by studying non-humans (baboons) who create their own stress through a regimented hierarchy within a troop. It takes only a few hours a day to forage for food, thus much of their time each day is spent establishing and reestablishing the complicated troop pecking order.
The Alpha Males could be pretty fierce and mean to others.
Alpha males have little stress, as they are the ones delivering it to others, in fact tormenting all in sight. This stress created by such aggression is passed down the social strata until even the infants feel the effects of a family dust-up with a dominant male. Professor Sapolsky took blood samples and documented the stress damage at the cellular level, with the greatest negative impact being felt at the bottom of this social order. It was ground-breaking research at that time, demonstrating how a species could hasten its own demise.
Then disaster struck this baboon troop being studied…
They decided to forage in a garbage dump of a tourist lodge where they found tasty meat that the alpha males kept for themselves. Unfortunately, it was tainted with disease and all the alpha males within this highly studied baboon troop died within a short time. What was left were predominantly females, but also males who exhibited a low level of aggressiveness toward others. While most thought the research value was now dashed, a fascinating thing evolved from it.
When I want to take a break and do some gaming action (especially when I’m in Asia) I like to turn to Thai sports betting for some fun before the next Oregon game.
The troop atmosphere was completely changed, and the prevailing aggressive behaviors of the past were no longer allowed. Adolescent males who joined the troop went through an adaption period, (like newbies do in the Our Beloved Ducks forum) but these new members of the troop had to conform to the non-aggressive behaviors practiced by all. The result was an improvement in the general health of the troop, and the bodily internal damage due to stress was documented to be much less at the cellular level of these “civilized” baboons.
The video above tells the whole stress research story, but I have it set to begin at the spot where a short segment explains this disaster and the aftermath that is studied with great interest.
Most surprising is how this required decorum in the baboon troop is not a recent development, as this momentous event occurred over 20 years ago! Thus new generations are taught how to behave from the very beginning in this unusual troop, and the result is a thriving community that is both harmonious and healthy. To quote the video…“Robert’s baboons could point us humans to a stress-free utopia?”
Trust me, I have not been modeling the rules of commenting over the last four years at FishDuck or at the Our Beloved Ducks Forum from baboon behavior! But the video above explains that whether it is a group of people who flock together to discuss a common love (like Oregon Sports) or a baboon troop in a research study — improved health and happiness increase substantially if aggressive behaviors are no longer tolerated.
Think of it — just one generation of baboons transformed a social system that was set in stone for thousands of years?
Not everyone in here is peaceful, but they always are in the Our Beloved Ducks Forum!
I do not have to tell you about the aggressive behaviors in the media, social media or all the other Oregon message boards/forums out there. The Our Beloved Ducks Forum is the solution, the GREEN REFUGE from all that is distasteful, and the good news is that the rules have proven to work in thousands of posts over the last four and a half years. To have the affirmation from science above is comforting, but the real reward comes from reading a thread of well thought-out, and well-written posts that are remarkable in their absence of tension or aggression.
It is peaceful, and only appropriate for the devoted Duck fans in this community. We did not have a game today, but we can reflect upon our victory of a forum creation that is as rare as an amicable baboon troop, and we all have each other to thank for its success.
“Oh, how we love to ponder in peace about Our Beloved Ducks!”
Charles Fischer (Mr. FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
Top Photo by Oregon Gridiron Twitter
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Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 38 years and has written reports on football boards for over 26 years. Known as “FishDuck” on those boards, he is acknowledged for providing intense detail in his scrimmage reports, and in his Xs and Os play analyses. He is single, has a daughter Christine, and resides in Eugene Oregon where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years.
He now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations in addition to managing his two Oregon Football Websites, of FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum. He is a busy man!
He does not profess to be a coach or analyst, but simply a “hack” that enjoys sharing what he has learned and invites others to correct or add to this body of Oregon Football! See More…