From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Sat Jul 03 1999 - 14:24:03 MDT
Elizabeth Childs <echilds@linex.com> writes:
> I meant that our very distant ancestors, the mammals who co-existed with
> the dinosaurs, might have developed an instinct to fear all giant
> lizards. It seems possible - although, I admit, romantically
> speculative - that the instinct persists in a vestigial form.
>
> I suspect the other instincts that I named date from pre-human evolution
> as well.
I don't think the big lizard fear would persist for 65 million years,
but clearly we have some built in fear - or rather respect - for big
animals (just study children and other mammals when somebody towers
above them). We certainly seem to have a built in fear/respect for
insects and snakes, even if it does not lead to real fear or phobias
except in some people.
> Evolution is miraculous, but it isn't very efficient. Neither the human
> body nor the human brain has a designer. Thus, weird stuff can end up
> in the works.
My favorite is Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst
or ACHOO Syndrome (also called photic sneeze response):
sunlight-induced sneezing. Many people (24% of the population) have a
mis-connection in the trigemnial nucleus, making bright light
stimulate axons from the nasal cavity, starting the sneezing reflex.
Makes you start wondering how many other weird connections there are.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
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