Living Fossils

Living Fossils explores the interplay between evolutionary psychology and mental health, aiming to understand the origins and functions of psychological phenomena. It delves into emotions, decision-making, social behaviors, and modern challenges through the lens of evolutionary adaptation, providing insights into managing well-being and navigating contemporary life.

Evolutionary Psychology Mental Health and Wellbeing Emotion Management Decision-Making Social Behavior and Interaction Parenting and Existential Questions Academic Publishing Adolescent Mental Health Dehumanization and Empathy Happiness and Comparison Fear and Anxiety Power and Identity Memory and Cognition Coordination in Nature Advice and Insight Contentedness and Satisfaction Loneliness and Solitude Power Dynamics Boredom and Stimuli Evaluation Crying and Emotional Signaling Adaptation and Modern Challenges

The hottest Substack posts of Living Fossils

And their main takeaways

Satisfaction

5 implied HN points • 08 Nov 23
  1. Satisfaction is not guaranteed, and can be found in various stimuli like popping bubbles or perfectly harvested crops.
  2. Satisfaction is linked to efficiency in problem-solving, confidence in achieving a goal, and the precision of reaching the goal state.
  3. The feeling of satisfaction motivates learning and problem-solving by rewarding efficient solutions and attracting attention to successful problem-solving strategies.

What to Do With Emotions - Part II

5 implied HN points • 01 Nov 23
  1. Adaptations that were once useful in the past may not be beneficial in modern environments.
  2. Distinguishing between fitness-good and utility-good behaviors can help navigate decision-making.
  3. Understanding the evolutionary origins of emotions can aid in making choices that are best suited for current situations.

The True Meaning of Power

6 implied HN points • 16 Aug 23
  1. Power resides in shared beliefs rather than physical strength or weapons.
  2. Power in non-human animals is often determined by resource-holding potential.
  3. Human power involves the use of force, threats, and rewards to advance interests.

Truth in Tears: The Function of Crying

4 implied HN points • 29 Nov 23
  1. Crying serves as a signal, especially in babies, to communicate needs and gain assistance.
  2. Signaling theory explains that tears convey honest emotions and requests for help to aligned individuals.
  3. Crying can be a universal signal of shared values, loyalty, and the need for comfort or aid.

Digging Into Boring

5 implied HN points • 02 Aug 23
  1. The same stimulus can be perceived as boring or exciting depending on the context.
  2. Boredom is a relational property, measuring the difference in rewards compared to other activities.
  3. Boredom serves as a motivator to switch tasks by nudging individuals towards new experiences promising greater rewards.
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So What?

4 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
  1. Understanding human psychology through an evolutionary perspective helps people have a stronger scientific foundation for mental health.
  2. Evolutionary psychology can provide explanation, coherence, and testable hypotheses in psychology.
  3. Resistance to evolutionary psychology is influenced by factors like aversion to new ideas, anthropocentrism, and past misapplications of evolutionary theory.

The Warm Fuzzies

3 implied HN points • 27 Sep 23
  1. Warm fuzzies are the warm, fuzzy feeling you get when someone thanks you for doing something nice.
  2. Gratitude and acts of kindness signal how much you value someone, which can strengthen relationships and reputation.
  3. Feeling warm fuzzies and receiving gratitude can motivate altruistic behavior and improve social connections.

Ticklishness

3 implied HN points • 21 Jul 23
  1. Tickling can cause laughter even if it's not necessarily fun.
  2. Ticklishness may measure the extent to which one could be harmed by someone but they choose not to harm.
  3. Tickling can have both positive and negative aspects, conveying a sense of forbearance and power dynamics.

The Role of Politics in Therapy

3 implied HN points • 19 Jul 23
  1. Therapists should maintain neutrality and respect client autonomy in therapy
  2. Therapists should challenge their own core beliefs and the field's assumptions
  3. High political polarization and politicization can impact mental health, emphasizing the need for therapy to remain apolitical

Awe

3 implied HN points • 28 Jun 23
  1. Facial expressions provide clues about the function of emotions.
  2. Awe may measure how atypical or extreme something is.
  3. Feeling awe motivates paying careful attention and learning.

Defining Altruism

2 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
  1. Altruism in the biological sense benefits others at a cost to the individual exhibiting the behavior.
  2. Defining something based on its design rather than just behavior can avoid glaring counterexamples.
  3. Altruism can be seen in systems designed to benefit others, and the presence of such systems suggests altruism in humans.

Power Part III: The power of Bandwagoning

2 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
  1. In conflicts, power often lies in knowing who will support you, like hyenas supporting kin or people supporting those of certain identities.
  2. Humans tend to choose sides in conflicts based on identity or actions, with identity-focused side-taking often leading to disastrous results.
  3. The way human bandwagoning works means actions are used as pretexts for attacks, even when those actions are not real, highlighting the complexity and dangers of power dynamics.

Loneliness, Part I: Being Lonely Around Others

2 implied HN points • 30 Aug 23
  1. Loneliness can happen even when surrounded by others, based on the gap between desired and perceived connection levels.
  2. Loneliness is influenced by biases in perception, which can lead individuals to underestimate their social connections.
  3. Loneliness serves as a measure of social connection and can have significant impacts on both mental and physical health.

Power Sticks & Power Carrots

2 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
  1. Power can come from the ability to harm others (Power Sticks) and the ability to confer benefits (Power Carrots).
  2. Threats only work if they are credible and known to the threatened party.
  3. Having friends and allies can be a source of power because cooperation often leads to support and influence.

The Action Words of Emotions

2 implied HN points • 26 Jul 23
  1. The words we use to describe emotions reflect our abstract conceptualization of them.
  2. Our healthy options for managing emotions involve acknowledging and interacting with them, while the unhealthy options involve avoidance.
  3. Considering emotions as 'false alarms' can lead us to ignore or wait out our emotions more frequently, especially in the modern world.

Challenges and Insults

1 HN point • 11 Oct 23
  1. Using tools leads to them becoming less useful over time.
  2. Our bodies can respond to insults and challenges differently.
  3. Challenges can lead to adaptive changes, while insults typically just cause damage.

Giving and Receiving Advice

1 HN point • 04 Oct 23
  1. Advice is seeking recommendations for action or perspective.
  2. Giving advice can be an opportunity for fun and vicarious living.
  3. Receiving advice provides emotional relief and opportunities for deeper insights.

Emotions Measure & Motivate

1 HN point • 09 Jun 23
  1. To behave adaptively, organisms need to measure different parts of their worlds internally and externally.
  2. Measurements from these organisms motivate decision-making and action.
  3. Emotions serve as measurements that motivate reactions, which were adaptive over evolutionary time.

Rulebook Foundations Theory

0 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
🎾 Sports Rules Theories Analysis Coordination Morality
  1. Sports rules, fouls, and penalties vary but have commonalities in different sports. Rulebook Foundations Theory tries to explain this variation and commonality.
  2. Rulebook Foundations Theory categorizes fouls and penalties into 6 domains including time-related infractions, equipment misuse, and player composition violations.
  3. Understanding why rules exist in sports involves solving a coordination problem to measure performance and deter harm, while organizing the rules is a separate issue addressed by Rulebook Foundations Theory.