Seth Godin normally writes about marketing, but a couple of days ago, he had something interesting to say about the adaptive differences between the central nervous systems of natural Hunters and Farmers:
10,000 years ago, civilization forked. Farming was invented and the way many people spent their time was changed forever.
Clearly, farming is a very different activity from hunting. Farmers spend time sweating the details, worrying about the weather, making smart choices about seeds and breeding and working hard to avoid a bad crop. Hunters, on the other hand, have long periods of distracted noticing interrupted by brief moments of frenzied panic.
It's not crazy to imagine that some people are better at one activity than another. There might even be a gulf between people who are good at each of the two skills. Thom Hartmann has written extensively on this. He points out that medicating kids who might be better at hunting so that they can sit quietly in a school designed to teach farming doesn't make a lot of sense.
A kid who has innate hunting skills is easily distracted, because noticing small movements in the brush is exactly what you'd need to do if you were hunting. Scan and scan and pounce. That same kid is able to drop everything and focus like a laser--for a while--if it's urgent. The farming kid, on the other hand, is particularly good at tilling the fields of endless homework problems, each a bit like the other. Just don't ask him to change gears instantly.
Interesting. Not sure if it's true, but interesting....
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4 comments:
It sounds like a "Just So" story where someone invents an explanation to fit their perception of the current facts.
I do know though that 10,000 years of farming as had an impact on the genetics of the peoples who ancestors have this heritage in quite a number of ways.
This is obvious in Australia where we also have a population which consists of people who are entirely or partly descended from hunter/gatherers.
People of farmer descent seem to have the ability to tolerate processed and stored food diets which cause more health problems for people of hunter/gatherer descent.
Also we now have a significant percentage of professional Aboriginal sports players in our team sports. In Aussie Rules Football it's current 10% of professional players.
In part this is due to similar reasons for the large sports participation of African Americans in the US. Once initial barriers are broken down, sport represents a meritocracy were people can make their mark regardless of their origin. Poor education and low socio-economic status can work to provide the spur required and not be a great barrier as long as society can offer all children participation in sport.
What is relevant to the story you posted is the particular gifts that players of Aboriginal descent seem to bring to their sports. There is a perception that they possess particularly fine skills in ball awareness and that these skills stand out over and above their non-indigenous team mates.
Pretty sure you mean Seth Godin, not Grodin.
Yes, thanks Jake -- corrected that. I have to admit the bald head is a great logo -- I could use it too!
P
I've always said that people are like dogs. My friend Mary is definitely an Irish terrier.
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