I just listened to a podcast from the ABC radio show All In The Mind http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2008/2217264.htm which was about the fact that the brain we function with is the same brain we emerged with about 250,000 years ago. This particular program was a discussion with two psychiatrists who are using this knowledge to inform the way they treat their patients. I was fascinated, and so I went to the blog and was astonished to see that the comments already there were from people horrified by the idea that we have any remnant reptilian or early mammalian brain and derided it as complete nonsense. I was shocked and thought I’d time travelled to somewhere in middle America. (No offence). Anyway, the following is most of the comment I left.
“It is apparent that the fact that we are the exact same species that existed “before India was connected to Asia” is not widely understood. We are, in our terms, an ancient species.
As the program described, we developed as a species, (the same one we are today, Homo sapiens) at a time when we lived a primitive existence in groups of between 10 and at the most 200 members. And today we live in the world that we do, for the most part, quite well. Certainly in terms of life expectancy anyway.
I found this program absolutely fascinating and I’m going to be pursuing all the links listed to find out more.
“I was thinking the other day about why we (humans) prefer soft or shiny things. I was thinking about the paper we use in our photocopiers, it’s usually 80 gsm and it feels kind of rough in comparison with another paper which is 90 gsm and really smooth. It’s beautiful to touch, and in the office I was recently working in, was kept for ’special’ projects which required colour photocopying and had to look very schmick.
And it got me thinking. Why do we prefer smooth or shiny or soft (like velvet or fur) objects to touch or look at.
“As someone with a scientific bent (and degree) I looked naturally to our evolutionary development, and what would have been the adaptation which made smooth and shiny better than rough and dull.
For the shiny (diamonds for example and glossy paper) I wondered if it was because if you (as a hunter/gatherer) could detect the shiny glint coming from the eye of a predator or possible dinner for your family, you’d be better adapted to your environment and therefore ‘fitter’.
“For smooth, don’t know, maybe to attune you to finding parasites (bumps) and removing them.
For soft, maybe to attract you to pelts to keep you warm.
Anyway, loved the show. Really loved it. Thanks.”
If you’re interested you can get some great links for more information from the link above.
