An overcrowded hell hole where life has no purpose.. (sound familiar?)

[Leongsam]

 

[Leongsam]

The YouTube Short you linked (from the channel Atom's Whisper) describes John B. Calhoun's famous "Universe 25" experiment (also called the Mouse Utopia or Mouse Paradise study) from the late 1960s/early 1970s. The core events it mentions did happen in the experiment, but the explanation given—that the colony died out because the mice had "no purpose"—is a significant oversimplification and misrepresentation of what actually occurred and what Calhoun concluded.

What the Experiment Actually Showed​

Calhoun placed four pairs of healthy mice into a large enclosure (about 101 inches square, with walls, tunnels, nesting boxes, etc.) designed as a "utopia":

• Unlimited food and water.
• Plenty of nesting material.
• No predators, no disease risks (initially).
• Enough physical space and resources theoretically to support thousands of mice (up to ~3,000–4,000).

The population grew rapidly at first (doubling every ~55 days initially), peaking at around 2,200 mice. Then:

• Social behaviors broke down dramatically due to overcrowding and high population density in key areas.
• Aggressive males formed groups and attacked others (including females and young).
• Mating and courtship largely stopped.
• Mothers neglected, abandoned, or even attacked their pups → very high infant mortality (up to 96% in some areas).
• Some mice withdrew completely (the so-called "beautiful ones" who just groomed obsessively and avoided all social interaction).
• A "behavioral sink" emerged: pathological behaviors spread and reinforced each other.
• Reproduction collapsed, the last births were around day 600, and the entire colony eventually died out (extinction by ~day 1,000+), even though plenty of food/water remained and space opened up again.

The experiment is real and well-documented (Calhoun published on it, and it's covered in sources like Scientific American and later analyses).

Key Criticisms and Why the Video's Take Is Misleading​

The video's claim that "all of this happened because they had no purpose" (and thus "even if you have everything without a purpose, it all becomes worthless") is a popular internet interpretation/moral lesson, but it's not accurate to the science:

• The primary cause was severe overcrowding and the resulting social stress/overload — not a philosophical "lack of purpose." Mice are territorial animals; the design forced constant unwanted social contact, no escape from aggressive individuals, disrupted territories, and inability to form normal hierarchies or private nesting.
• Calhoun himself emphasized density and failed social roles (e.g., inability to maintain territories, mate properly, or care for young) as the trigger for the "behavioral sink." He saw it as a warning about overpopulation and poor urban design in humans, not existential purposelessness.
• The enclosure wasn't truly utopian: It lacked privacy (no real escape from others), forced shared corridors/tunnels (leading to constant conflict), and became a setup where aggressive mice could dominate prime areas while others were trapped in overcrowded central zones.
• Many modern analyses criticize it for design flaws (e.g., it amplified territorial aggression in mice/rats), observational bias, lack of controls (like stress measurements), and over-anthropomorphizing (applying human concepts like "purpose" to rodents). Direct human parallels are weak/debated—humans have culture, technology, migration, etc., that mice don't.
• Comments on the video itself point this out (e.g., overcrowding/stress from no privacy, not "no purpose"; comparisons to cramped captivity).

In short: Yes, the experiment is real, the behaviors and extinction happened, and it's a striking demonstration of how overcrowding can destroy social structures even with abundance. But no, it wasn't caused by lacking purpose—that interpretation adds a motivational/philosophical spin that's not supported by the evidence. It's more accurately a study of density-driven social pathology.


If you're interested in deeper reading, Calhoun's original papers or summaries from sources like The Scientist magazine or historical reviews provide the most accurate picture. The experiment is often overhyped online as a "humanity doom prophecy," but it's more nuanced (and flawed) than that.

 

[Leongsam]

10 MILLION population here we come.

 

[True Believer]

Even farm animals will fight for personal space, and kill other animals when living cheek by jowl. The PAP doesn't care so long as they continue to live in their GCBs.

 

[laksaboy]

For the godless technocrats, it's all about the ROI from the land.

 

[True Believer]

Overcrowding doesn't affect those staying in GCBs and drive big luxurious cars in SG.

 

[laksaboy]

10 MILLION population here we come.

Once you see these two MRT stations become operational, you know Sinkieland's population is probably around that number.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukit_Brown_MRT_station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pleasant_MRT_station

 

[batman1]

Once you see these two MRT stations become operational, you know Sinkieland's population is probably around that number.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukit_Brown_MRT_station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pleasant_MRT_station

One big mrt station at clementi central is now work in progress.

 

[laksaboy]

One big mrt station at clementi central is now work in progress.

That's the Cross Island Line station. They sacrificed a nice police station building and a cluster of HDB flats across the road to build that.

The new Clementi police station is now located at the former ITE campus, across the road from Clementi Fire Station.

 

[syed putra]

Nowadays people already like zombie scrolling their phones.

 

[Vlad Tepes]

This island is never meant to hold more than 5 million people in the first place.

 

[sbfuncle]

Perhaps the life purpose for most who voted for pap is to aim to be in the top.

Pap can exchange sinkies comfort for gdp.
The higher gdp, the more comfortable pap and the elites shall be, the more sinkies suffer.

Now, how do we prevent this from happening ?
Answer : not possible.

Reasons :
1. Becos pap will import more new shitizens
2. Becos people like gansiokbin, who voted for pap, aims to be at the top.
And becos they were unable to, they becum siao cb. But they never want to give up the join the bottom. And will continue to vote pap.

 

[SheRa]

10 MILLION population here we come.

Isn’t it wonderful that we’ll be closer to each other soon?

 

[syed putra]

This island is never meant to hold more than 5 million people in the first place.

Hong Kong population 7.5 mil. PAP will use that as a yardstick.

 

[Leongsam]

This island is never meant to hold more than 5 million people in the first place.

It was perfect at 1.25 million. A nice balance of city, urban and country living was maintained.

 

[k1976]

Elon Musk Hypotheses?

 

[True Believer]

This island is never meant to hold more than 5 million people in the first place.

I remember how much more affordable Singapore used to be with 3.5 million inhabitants.

 

[True Believer]

It was perfect at 1.25 million. A nice balance of city, urban and country living was maintained.

That is too small of a market for economic growth.

 

[nabeifuckpap]

High IQ people like @tobelightlight already have backup plan in bolehland

 

[tobelightlight]

High IQ people like @tobelightlight already have backup plan in bolehland

I was thinking that since the govt want 10 million people for them to suck tax money, I would not be the one to give them. I give to Malaysia govt. At least I got space to feel great in Malaysia,that is what I pay for.. health and space.