Alex Curmi in The Guardian:
One of the central ideas in the field of evolutionary psychology is that of “evolutionary mismatch”. Put simply, we evolved in a very different environment from the one in which we now find ourselves. As a result, our brains, bodies and instincts are poorly matched to their surroundings.
How much does this really matter? Isn’t a hallmark of being human our species’ ability to adapt to changing circumstances? Yes and no. Yes, we have a remarkable ability to deal with new problems, collaborate to find solutions, and create technology to help us realise them. At the same time, anthropologists estimate that human genetics and anatomy have remained largely unchanged for about 100,000 years. Back then, we lived in small nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes, only developing agriculture about 10,000 years ago and civilisations 5,000 years ago.
For all but a vanishingly small number of us, the contemporary human habitat isn’t the one we were made for.
More here.
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