Re:Evidence that addictive behaviors have links with ancient...
by hellofunk on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @12:24PM
(#18067738)
I have heard it frequently mentioned by interesting scientists (most recently, by Neil DeGrasse Tyson) that this ability to live against natural biological tendencies is unique for humans among the rest of the animal kingdom. So while it may be fundamental to humans, it is not apparently fundamental to the general biology of the world, and humans appear to be an interesting exception.
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Re:Evidence that addictive behaviors have links with ancient...
by toasterlovin on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @02:50PM
(#18069276)
Color me skeptical of the idea that humans can really go against the grain of their evolved instincts. What seems much more likely is:
1) A large subset of people possess instincts that were successful for reproduction in the ancestral environment, but are no longer so. See also plummeting birth rates despite being at the historical peak in terms of access to resources for the average person (in the developed world, at least).
2) Some people's evolved instincts are to play a long game based on building reputation and then leveraging that reputation over the long term, rather than pursuing immediate wants and desires. Such an instinct will produce a lot of behavior that seems out of line with a naive interpretation of how we "should" be evolved to behave.
Re:Evidence that addictive behaviors have links with ancient...
by lovich on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @02:08PM
(#18068894)
Dogs do it, albeit with human help. Considering that humans that grew up alone, ie. feral, seem to have no self control either I would think that dogs get to count too
Re:Evidence that addictive behaviors have links with ancient...
by hellofunk on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @02:39PM
(#18069176)
Can you give an example of dog behavior that does this? I'm curious.
Re:Evidence that addictive behaviors have links with ancient...
by dfee on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @02:55PM
(#18069329)
Here’s that behavior on display: https://www.reddit.com/r/rarepuppers/comments/9ime34/heckin_...
Re:Evidence that addictive behaviors have links with ancient...
by lovich on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @09:52PM
(#18072071)
Not sure why you are being downvoted. This link is one of the recent examples I was thinking of. The dog has been taught to not eat the food even when a human isn't around protecting the food. That requires ignoring one part of its biology for other benefits.