[evan_au]

were there any societies that worked a 5, 8 or 10 day cycle?

In a frenzy of metrification, an attempt was made to introduce a decimal week following the French Revolution.

It had 1.5 days of rest every 10 days, which made it unpopular with workers (even though 1.5/10=15% and 1/7=14.3%). It also had problems with leap years. It only lasted 12 years before Napoleon reverted to the Gregorian calendar.

I have seen a vintage French clock marked with both decimal and duodecimal hours.

The metric weights & measures for length, mass and volume live on in Europe and in science labs around the world... and many countries now have currency divided into 100 units.

[Caleb]

Take a look at Jonathan Haidt who wrote a wonderful book, "The Righteous Mind." He talks about how religion "Blinds Us and Binds Us" and how useful religion--and similar principles are--in getting groups of us to work together.

For example, he says that a single rower  may be able to beat other rowers, but a two-seat rowing scull can beat others, and more and more rowers in a rowing boat can beat lesser numbers of  rowers.

He talks about religion as being inherited in the last 50,000 years or so (something like that, but don't hold me to that number) and increasing our tendency to group together.

This really is a terrific book. The best book I've read in several years regarding the nature of human beings. Other great books are those by Ariely, Kahneman, etc. But this one is very, very insightful.

Yours,

Caleb

[alancalverd]

And a thousand Christians can beat a hundred Muslims, hence crusades. And a thousand Catholics can torture a few Jews, hence the inquisition. And a million Protestants can disenfranchise  half a million Catholics, hence Northern Ireland. And so it goes on. Religion is the last refuge of perverts and scoundrels.

[Caleb]

"And a thousand Christians can beat a hundred Muslims, hence crusades. And a thousand Catholics can torture a few Jews, hence the inquisition. And a million Protestants can disenfranchise  half a million Catholics, hence Northern Ireland. And so it goes on. Religion is the last refuge of perverts and scoundrels."

Yes, about large groups winning out over smaller groups no matter how correct their ideas are. But evolution doesn't care about the long range correctness of the views, I think. Just what survives in the short term.

Another very interesting observation by Jonathan Haidt is the idea that civilization now rewards people who "appear" to be good -- e.g., honest, knowledgeable, etc. -- in public, and therefore we are as lawyers arguing why our position is the best position as compared to all the others.

Yours,

Caleb