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Could it be our hunter-gatherer instinct pulling our legs? Give a toddler a chocolate, and they'll just eat it. Give them a plate with the equivalent in M&Ms an
by ASalazarMX 5y ago
Could it be our hunter-gatherer instinct pulling our legs? Give a toddler a chocolate, and they'll just eat it. Give them a plate with the equivalent in M&Ms and they will enjoy picking them one by one. Hunter-gatherers that got bored fast probably weren't as successful as their obsessive peers.
This reminds me how primates and monkeys seem to enjoy meticulously cleaning other's fur looking for fleas.
- smolder 5y agoCouldn't say, of course, but that's an interesting idea. I think you're right to look to the past for selection pressures that might explain why we are how we are. It's true that a number of tasks we'd need to do in primitive living are low on mental effort over a relatively long time. That could help explain why absent a need, we still want to do similar things.