8. Recognizing Relatives

(April 16, 2010) Robert Sapolsky discusses various methods of innate recognition of relatives between animals and humans through protein signatures, olfactory cellular mechanisms, cognitive, and sensory processes. He explores the importance of relatedness in animal mating/ovulation cycles and other phenomena that show how organisms identify each other.
Stanford University
www.stanford.edu
Stanford Department of Biology
biology.stanford.edu/
Stanford University Channel on KZbin
/ stanford

[@mowgoud]

I am binge watching this from a third world country where our education system is literally the second worst worldwide. I have learned English, design, and coding from the internet. and here I am learning about genetics. Thank you Stanford. Thank you KZbin. and Thank you Dr. Sapolsky.

[@Joy-do9vv]

That's awesome! the internet is amazing.

[@CaliforniaGirl-qk5kq]

Yes - internet is a great equalizer. It allows people who did not had opportunity for good education to do self study

[@ashbrady588]

California Girl Assuming the ‘environment’ in which you watch it is similar :)

[@jakeeutis5035]

I’m in America and let me tell you -> these lectures are top notch and better than any class I can afford

[@donutjamesjr9375]

Could you give me some suggestions on design courses?

[@zz8az]

I love how he tricked everyone into playing his fake-chutes-and-ladders-study game. Fantastic educator.

[@SineN0mine3]

I like the guy asking "what constitutes being *good* at chutes and ladders?" I'm on the fence as to whether he was a bit thick, or a couple of steps ahead of the class and making a joke, but its funny either way.

[@Albtraum_TDDC]

@@SineN0mine3 my first thought when he mentioned it at the start was that this game is pure chance, there's no decision making, just dice rolls, so no group can be better at (winning) it. It's all random chance. I'll watch the rest now.

[@angelbaby.7897]

I thought the supposed study was real up until I read your comment and was terribly confused the whole lecture as to why he never disclosed the end result of the study 🤦‍♀️thanks! Xd

[@MikeGalosi]

I started to google this Chutes and Ladders study while he was talking. I feel like a fool.

[@Guitcad1]

I'm more inclined to marvel at natural selection for creating Sapolsky.

[@numinous4789]

Materialists marvel at the creation and its manifestations; supernaturalists marvel at its Source - the Creator.

[@kirstinstrand6292]

And the Creator? Self Created?

[@goddessservant6669]

Ppp0p00p0lllllll

[@pangelchifla]

@@goddessservant6669 you have spoken the truth

[@goddessservant6669]

LoL what the hell did I type? 🤣

[@nicolareddwooddforest4481]

Thank you, Stanford, for showing these lectures and for not showing commercials.

[@GeahkBurchill]

I'm so happy there are so many Sapolsky videos available. I would love to actually take a class and yet, I feel privileged just to have access to it. It's almost like taking the class.

[@coreycox2345]

KZbin is not the waste of time that many think.

[@vt2704]

Definitely

[@doug5372]

@@coreycox2345 Time well wasted

[@sebytro]

I agree with you, Geahk. My only regret is that I don't have the chance to talk to the professor directly. :)

[@CaliforniaGirl-qk5kq]

@@sebytro If you are in California, prof. Sapolski is scheduled to lecture at the Segestrom Center in Costa Mesa (Orange County) on February 17, 2020. But I think that you might get just as much by simply watching videos.

[@adipokhrel1663]

I am Nepalese and yeah everyone of us took part in the snake and ladder experiment

[@pauladuncanadams1750]

Well, chute!

[@vladvoloshin4284]

Now I figured out why these videos are underliked: it's too interesting to listen and even watch that one forgets to look below, I think

[@LuciferaseFire]

genuinely

[@jfarrisMU]

This guy is so freaking smart. Like, I can't handle it. So happy I can see this.

[@jfarrisMU]

@kristal knox Don't be mad just because you can't understand it

[@jfarrisMU]

@kristal knox Sure, Jan.

[@jfarrisMU]

@kristal knox you're the dumbass who can't use "you're" properly yet thinks herself smarter than a world renowned expert in his field 😂 😂

[@jfarrisMU]

@kristal knox Kristal, put down the crystal meth

[@jfarrisMU]

@kristal knox oh now all of a sudden you're speaking proper English. Look at you Ms. "May I." 😂 😂 😂 😂

[@sh4rkb4it79]

I’m so grateful to be able to watch these university-level classes at 17 years old

[@lavieenrose5954]

Great to hear not all 17 year olds are obsessed w/Instagram, Twitter etc.... Kudos my friend..

[@kevinikeda8394]

Not a lot of us are, you’d be suprised

[@oasisneko1]

I hope you don't get disappointed. Most profs are not this good.

[@LuciferaseFire]

Me at 14 :D. Im such a nerd :)

[@mettalrose]

i am an English literature student professor sapolsky and I'm loving the course! it is revolutionizing the way i think about culture and history. more people need to talk about the intersections between biology and culture which together shape our reality.

[@dzvenyslavabychek83]

Yeah, I originally major in Japanese literature and I am enjoying these lectures so far :D

[@4philipp]

Just remember that people will reject half of what they know just to keep life simple.

[@Liusila]

Around 11:00 I’m starting to think prof Sapolsky’s coffee that morning was a double-extra-sugar-mega-espresso.

[@arnabchatterjee9636]

I wish I could go back in time and find out! :)

[@airkuna]

Because you're dumb..

[@oasisneko1]

It's the cameraman's crazy close ups. He's making me dizzy.

[@airkuna]

@@oasisneko1 only this makes u dizzy?? omg u must have problems..

[@FoF40]

labas :)

[@KelseyPhillipPayne]

"We're not a whole lot fancier than hamsters." ...love it :)

[@donaldwhittaker7987]

This guy is a class act. A great teacher.

[@elizdonovan1965]

Love listening to this lecturer. He makes the subject matter accessible to people who are not actually studying in university. Like his understated humor. Thank you for uploading this. ☘️🌲🙂

[@comanchio1976]

eliz donovan He's low-key hilarious. My guess is, that he comes up with ludicrous scenarios and improbable conversations while staring at baboons in the wild, and his imagination just runs with it.

[@NazriB]

Lies again? Rude education

[@Chris.4345]

I love that the lesson he is trying to impart is to approach even incredibly impressive modern research with scrutiny and skepticism.

[@IKE5021]

Regarding his question about recognizing a mother and the differences between vaginal birth and C-sections: my son was a C-section baby and I know that the OB/GYN wiped some vaginal fluid on his face and then placed him near my wife's face and neck immediately. This is one way to remedy the absence of going through the birth canal and being exposed to that type of bonding.

[@BrookieLee801]

Love how he talks himself into his own questions...beautiful: (In regard to a difference in bonding between vaginal birth vs. cesarean) "I don't know, but that suggests it should be happening...and maybe I should find that out..." Seriously, you can't ask for a better teacher than that!

[@4philipp]

It’s 9 years later….do we have an answer?

[@elzine21]

@@4philipp yup!

[@yanikkunitsin1466]

That's one beautiful teacher. After years I still find something new.

[@patataki_]

I don't want to minimize how great it is to have these online, though. Great lectures and kudos to Dr. Sapolsky and Stanford for posting them online!

[@nickidaisyreddwoodd5837]

Dr. Sapolsky is By Far the best professor in the world. It's a pleasure listening to him.

[@karelkohout]

I love these lectures, because they're not just about behavioral biology and related domains, but also about critical thinking. The first 30 minutes of this lecture are something what everobody should learn! Learning is not just memorizing fact, but also thinking about them.

[@4philipp]

That would be ideal. Perhaps research was done on this : what percentage of viewers/students watch these lecture as a form of entertainment and learn the facts when they study the notes later on and what percentage learn as they go and immediately use the information to analyse their surroundings?

[@mikau69]

asap

[@jenb6412]

lol, the random panning over the class

[@digocr]

Jen B I love it! :D

[@lavieenrose5954]

The class was huge! And packed..... I can see why; this prof is awesome...

[@Abreu.Almeida]

These classes are gold

[@froschkenig]

I like the speed in which he presents the information.

[@oasisneko1]

Yeah, I can no longer watch other profs.

[@jamesm6576]

So gifted a lecturer. I hope I might one day speak and communicate 1/10th as well. Thank you Professor Sapolsky!

[@HumanimalChannel]

love the teachers sarcasm about the nepal belgium 'study'!

[@tallonfall]

Not a science major but a secondary language arts education major here. I absolutely love these lectures and have found myself drawing parallels between the info I have learned in these lectures and my everyday classes. I believe that is a phenomenal indicator of just how effective you are as a teacher. I strive to be as good a lecturer as you at some point in my future career and would like to thank you for making these lectures both free and readily available for the general population instead of hidden behind a paywall like most other universities or educational institutions do.

[@travisfitzwater8093]

The differential theory of mind stuff, inter alia, is definitely worthy of refreshing.

[@Gingerzilla]

I hope the girl with the cough gets over it soon.

[@Liusila]

Gingerzilla Yeah, I know. I’d be turning around to stare at her more than would be good for me.

[@littleblackfox1]

God I know its so annoying! It doesnt sound like shes even trying to hold it back.. If someone did that at my university everyone would turn around and glare at them! Surely if the lecture was being recorded and uploaded immediately, which it was, the considerate thing to do would be to not attend and watch it in on your own so youre not disrupting everyone else and forever tainting the recording with your constant unrestrained coughing.

[@G0rd0nHealth]

She needs to lay off the smoking or something.. sheesh

[@sauntgrodsmachine104]

Yeah, if Sapolsky was Trump he would make a big deal about it and shoot the video over again

[@Joy-do9vv]

LOL, if she's not over it by now, she's in big trouble! But for heavens sake, if someone has a cough, they can't control it, how about a little sympathy? Probably not so nice for her to have that cough, either. How about you pass her a cough drop instead of cvetching?

[@anshikagupta4931]

"Okay I guess I will smile at the kid now and then and maybe attend a few of his piano lessons but Im not investing any more than that " cracked me up so harddd

[@ilariatroullier4155]

This is actually so interesting and entrataining! So good that they made this available to everyone

[@stormprincess64]

priceless.. wish all my profs would teach like this.. I would learn so much more...

[@Joy-do9vv]

You know, I bet most Stanford profs aren't this good at lecturing, either. I went to another well known university, and had maybe two or three really fabulous lecturers, and the rest were pretty ordinary. My mom advised me to take courses - at least my electives - from the profs who were supposed to be the best, because they would make the subject matter facinating even if I thought I couldn't care less about it. Interesting idea, that.

[@LynnColorado]

So frustrating to not be able to see on the board what he is talking about at the very beginning of this lecture. P.S. I am very appreciative of theses videos!!

[@elineeugenie5224]

The man is a waterfall of words - great stuff, i miss the classroom

[@Hannalovespowder]

Thank you so much for uploading this whole lecture series. So interesting and well taught!

[@scroxydrums]

The part with Napal and Belgium study - played smoothly, Mr. Sapolsky! He is a great lecturer indeed.

[@ellisv75]

A stats class would clear up the heritability issue. Also large sample sizes can generate statistically significant yet numerically insignificant differences. The larger the sample the smaller difference you can detect. No one asked what the confidence interval was.

[@ashbrady588]

Yes, Taleb would be having an epileptic fit listening to the way some of these hypotheses are dreamt up, tested and then extrapolated at society level.

[@vincentpeterson5844]

Absolutely loved this one. Very important information here.

[@TheNoodlyAppendage]

Must be why Im getting a headache, these videos are stimulating neurogenesis in my hippocampus :) But OH GOD SPIT WASHING YOUR KIDS FACE BLEHH BAD MEMORIES lol.

[@DragAmiot]

What a great teacher! Thank you for putting this online!

[@DilpreetaVasudeva]

Pandemic or no pandemic the lectures are a treat and everyone needs to make time to listen to them. Not only is an integrated inter-disciplinary approach required to appreciate behavior but the application is relevant to all walks of life too and very much to my profession of marketing. I just finished reading The Gene and this is such a wonderful follow up. Can't wait to finish the lectures and proceed to reading Behave. I have one request though, is there a way we can access the handouts, the link shared to coursehero requires a paid subscription.

[@tatyanagalak1592]

Thank you Dr. Sapolsky. Thank you Stanford.

[@xxamazingfruitsssxx]

lectures are jam packed with information in breadth, on speed 1.5x is great, dont mind watching this at all, every now and then i catch something memorable

[@mezidvemastromy5546]

Oh my gosh! This is marvelously educative and interesting at once.

[@audreybiggs4388]

I'm an English major watching for fun and haven't fled yet!

[@katrinna8426]

We love you Robert, thank you for your videos!!! ☺️

[@izabellagarcia6744]

I love the little wandering camera

[@mangos2888]

Okay, so the last 5-10 minutes of this lecture are extremely foreshadowing, not just for the class but for the US as a whole. IMO worth waiting for...

[@sulin2279]

professor， this is also a english lit grad and I have to say these lectures are amazing!

[@beseite01]

I really appreciated that he tryed to explain again the difference between something being inherited and heritable in the beginning. unfortunatly, my cousin had eleven fingers when he was born and got one removed surgically. that confuced me big time ...

[@4philipp]

That’s the problem with science, similarity of words with a world of different meaning. Every profession has its own language

[@JWCreatesArt]

Kudos, Dr. Sapolsky! You had me at, "...screwy olfactory system during pregnancy" in prep for scent bonding with the new-born. (Mind Blown!) So many revelations! AND that big reveal about the military being a perfect example of manufactured pseudo-kinship. Can't wait for the next lecture!!

[@Tamizushi]

Fascinating!

[@AbcmixX]

This guy is a legend

[@tetiana7868]

That's so much better than Netflix

[@eveh9003]

It is so cool that those lectures are understandable with a German school education.. (like high school)

[@fionafiona1146]

Abitur zählt als "freshman classes" also auf uni level.

[@mohgus66]

46:53 It's kinda funny that learning about new neurons being generated in my brain's hippocampus as an adult (contrary to my previous belief of this process stopping in early childhood) perhaps contributed to the creation of said neurons. This makes me strangely happy. Or maybe it isn't so strange.

[@squirlsworld]

wow guys so much knowledge thank you

[@johnries5593]

I do like the "Chutes and Ladders" discussion. The questions are good ones.

[@79wouter]

Thank God for creating Sapolsky!

[@carolined3058]

Love his sense of humour

[@jameskilgour387]

Can't believe the plant IQ joke didn't get a laugh, he tried that one a few times

[@SineN0mine3]

These days you'd probably have a couple of students try to replicate the findings...

[@shiny2423]

Me: watching so I can hear the joke. He is so brilliant and his jokes are the best.

[@LuciferaseFire]

I laughed every time he used it

[@claudia4578]

Great teacher

[@RickRice]

We love Dr. Robert Sapolsky's lectures. Does anyone know if the course materials are available anywhere? I could not seem to find anything online at Stanford. This series seems like a valuable resource and should be supported. I also wonder if Dr. Sapolsky continues to offer this class in an updated version and whether we can find the recordings. Another question - why does the KZbin site have to be so hard to navigate? For example, why are the lectures not maintained in some sort of order?

[@lilyT_M_]

watching sapolsky lectures at 8am on a Tuesday. I am officially a nerd but I'm proud of it

[@McLolzable]

Why cant we watch the introductory lectures :C

[@travisfitzwater8093]

This dude is awesome.

[@TheAIEpiphany]

I usually recognize my relatives using the so-called "surname approach" - a fancy piece of cognitive reasoning

[@AngelaBuyck]

He is great

[@waponga916]

I was at Stanford under a pseudonym in 1977 pursuing killers. It screwed me up. I came back in 2011 and had the privilege of this man's insight.

[@KentStateBSN]

5 minute break at 55:00

[@michaellewis7861]

1-Considering the significance of statistical differences. 2-Recognition of Relatives 30:00. Intrasexual competition in female deer mice, (sperm). Sperm will cluster w/themselves. There is innate recognition of relatives. Cross foster. They can recognize behaviorally it’s relatives. Sibling>half sibling even. Olfactory signatures (eg. urine) and pheromone communication. -Qualitative differences in the urine reflecting genetic makeup. -mechanism for recognizing these differences. The major histocompatability complex. Shared antigenic determinant. This sticks to all cells. Immune System.Don’t attack said cell. Autoimmune diseases think these are invasive. Trypanosome. Schistosome. These are ultimately soluble. Give a unique signature to the pheromones coming off of you. They can tell if this is of a relative. There are gradations of recognition dependent on relatedness. You have a specifically shaped protein receptor. If the protein doesn’t fit exactly, then it’s a relative. Depending on how much and how long the proteins stay in the receptors. Oxytocin,

[@ahmedb2559]

thank you !

[@borisshukhman5248]

Thank you, Dr. Sapolsky for this brilliant introductory course. Lecture notes for this course would be very useful. And I am very sorry that the site does not contain explicit references to the research materials mentioned in your lectures.

[@artandculture5262]

Boris Shukhman Yale does not have a comments section available with their free courses that are a kind gesture from special environments that most people have no access to. You have no sense of perspective of what gratitude for what Stanford is offering here except to ask more. Ungrateful.

[@harlowblackadder356]

How does one take notes in his class?

[@lindarosenthal6835]

My pregnancy smells /food needs and aversions explained finally.

[@waponga916]

Great instructor/professor/great man.

[@rasmusstouby5708]

I need to know exactly how much better the Nepalese are at Shoots and Ladders!

[@nomukun1138]

A question I immediately had about the Chutes and Ladders study: How is it possible to measure or estimate levels of skill in Chutes and Ladders, since the game requires zero skill?

[@nomukun1138]

Ah. Telekinesis.

[@r.c.3614]

Wooahhhh! I sleep with Sapolsky every night. So only hear the 2st half of lectures & then snuggle while he talks & drift off.

[@purplestrap1634]

In about three quarters of an hour we have just seamlessly arrived to sweet home alabama

[@hannyvanhaase3067]

@recognizing by smelling (1:12:00) : in trance- therapy i made the repeated experience, that fathers, suffering from an kind of "cold" relationship and a lot of conflicts with their children, often had a very vague feeling, that the child have had a "wrong kind of smelling" ..

[@frankintessimoni6422]

Has Stanford ever released the midterm or final to this class?

[@unclesam997]

Haha Robert the comedian in this lecture. He actually is really funny

[@iconsumedmt1350]

I just finished this lecture and understood everything, just like all the lectures before this except the molecular biology ones. Did anyone else struggle with the molecular biology lectures as well, cuz I just skipped those

[@Diagnoc]

I Consume DMT Molecular biology is kind of my forte, so if you have any specific question, let me know.

[@travisfitzwater8093]

Sapolsky is awesome. I'm serious.

[@travisfitzwater8093]

Always.

[@travisfitzwater8093]

Does the longitudinal difference in the locations of Nepal and Belgium have any bearing on the result?

[@randomstranger8081]

How does one keep up with all the new articles coming out

[@juliannar2793]

My favourite part... He used the word "morning" at students. Didn't you see the chutes and ladders article posted this morning? Lolllol the dead silence... priceless

[@arnbrandy]

Hey does someone has the link of the NYT article about Chutes and Ladders? I can't find it anywhere, this is weird 🤔

[@freethinkerer]

I know, sorry. Someone said it was his microphone, but it still bothers me to the point I cannot focus on what Robert says.

[@karlpages1970]

thanks for the vid :-)

[@anonymously4U]

You are the best but I'd be afraid of your assessment on my adhd,a globalization template with new industry poped in my head how does that work

[@GameOver-qk2ys]

10 years ago this man would have passed the wave check... Straight swimming 🏄‍♂️

[@Ethan-tn4jc]

Chutes and ladders is a game of chance, how can someone possibly be better at it than someone else? How did none of the students think of this!

[@theflamingone8729]

One of them did ask "What are the skills required?" to which Prof replied ".......... telekinesis"

[@turbospatz3841]

This has to be the sexiest professor who is not my type in the world.

[@moorzymoores]

These kids can't all be quick enough to understand this dudes teaching at this pace. Unbelievable......

[@w2ll2m2k]

They get handouts with notes.

[@chrisconnor8086]

One of the best things about him is he makes these topics relatively easy to understand. I doubt even the English major is lost in the woods here. It’s Stanford after all

[@Steve-eb8jc]

Maybe you aren't very familiar with how insanely selective Stanford is

[@andreadeagon2301]

Also they have a textbook which they’re supposed to read before class.

[@Guitcad1]

I never even noticed that sound til I read your comment. Now it's like a jackhammer in a culvert. Damn you!

[@mattiassollerman]

Who else thought about showing this to their third cousin? ... No one... ? .... Maybe I should think of something else entirely then...

[@HeartPiece4u]

humor is the Highest form of understanding.

[@florenciabalori3625]

My partner is actually my mom's third cousin, we've been happily coupled for 5 years and going strong. We're thinking about reproducing so I'll get back to you when we get the results LOL

[@florenciabalori3625]

*update* me and my mom's third cousin (or my third cousin as well? 🤔) have become parents to a beautiful baby girl 😊 she'll be 1 next month ✌️✌️

[@soc7194]

maybe this olfactory renovation during pregnancy can give some clue to the loss of smell in some covid-19 cases?