Once upon a time, in cognitive science, we discussed the effect on the brain size of rats in response to subjecting test groups to a variety of environments in progressively stimulating conditions, scaling upwards from the stimulation of, say, a dark cardboard box. The rats with the most variety and stimulation in their habitats developed larger brains than the other rats, and it occurred to me (as these things do) that perhaps a race of super-rats shall rise from these experiments and overthrow humanity.

"Thanks for the big brains, SUCKERS!" they'll say. It also occurred to me that Disney has perhaps already taken to trying to actualize this theory in grotesque experiments to breed and engineer each of its lucrative characters in enslavable giant-talking-mammal form.

And then sometimes I just put my textbook down.