Microbes on the edge of Occam’s razor

Abstract

Our body harbors hundreds of microbial species and contains many more bacterial than human cells. These microbes are not passive riders but rather a vital component of the organism. The human microbiota affects our health in multiple ways, both positively and negatively. One of the new attractive directions in microbiome biology is the “microbiome-brain axis”. Several groups of researchers have described the ability of the gut microbiota to communicate with the brain and thus modulate human behavior. These limited experimental data became the foundation of the “biomeme hypothesis” of possible microbial origin of some religious rituals that has recently appeared in Biology Direct. Here I propose a critical analysis of this hypothesis. I conclude that there is no evidence of the microbial origin of religious practices but there are strong indications of their psychological and social roots.ReviewersThis article was reviewed by Eugene Koonin, Neil R Smalheiser, Etienne Joly.

Amateur hour: Improving knowledge diversity in psychological and behavioral science by harnessing contributions from amateurs

“…For example, Oersted's "discovery of electromagnetism is best understood as arising from a fertile union of speculation and experiment" (Stauffer, 1957, p.33). However, modern norms within PBS, the current climate of "fake news", and the general focus on experimental research discourage professional psychological scientists from discussing or publishing their speculations (Bunge, 1983;Currie, 2021;Panchin, Tuzhikov, & Panchin, 2014;Stanford, 2019;Starokadomskyy, 2015;Swedberg, 2018). Indeed, it has been argued that, compared to harder sciences such as physics, PBS allows for very little speculation, which has a negative impact on its theorizing and knowledge generation (Krpan, 2021a).…”

Amateur Hour: Improving Knowledge Diversity in Psychological and Behavioral Science by Harnessing Contributions from Amateurs

“…In other cases, unrestrained speculation beyond the available scientific evidence led to new AMATEUR HOUR 7 insights that inspired research and produced novel discoveries (Stauffer, 1957). However, modern scientific norms and the general focus on experimental research discourage professional scientists from discussing or publishing some of their wilder speculations (Bunge, 1983;Panchin, Tuzhikov, & Panchin, 2014;Starokadomskyy, 2015;Swedberg, 2018). Free from these norms, amateurs could work to collect, organize, and publish their own speculations or those of professional collaborators.…”