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How The Pecking Order Reshapes The Mind
A rise or fall in the hierarchy of superorganisms has other profound
effects on a society's collective psyche. It transforms the emotions and shared
values of the human herd. The nation moving up embraces adventure. The
country moving down abandons the strange and buries its head in the
familiar. It tries to march backward in time.
These shifts in attitude are the result of pre-wired natural strategies.
One of the most basic biological mood loops in our animal brain dictates a
simple set of alternatives. It makes us conservative in times of difficulty and
exploratory when times are good.
When birds are hungry and desperate for food, you might expect them
to sample everything they run across that looks edible. After all, with
starvation at hand, some peculiar-looking berry the feathered flier has never
noticed before could be the key to survival. But hungry birds do not
methodically nibble every unusual item to see if it can be turned into a meal.
Far from it. They shy away from food that seems strange. Their fear of the
unfamiliar renders them culinary conservatives.
Birds benefiting from a bonanza in the food supply are a very different
story. As these creatures strut around with full stomachs, you'd expect them
to ignore any unfamiliar morsels they come across. They've already got
more than enough to eat, so why try anything new? But well-fed birds are
up for every potential adventure in dining.88
There is a logic behind this genetically-ordained strategy. Exploring
the unknown is a risk. A creature in genuine need can't take a chance on
being immobilized a day or two by food poisoning.89 Those long hours with
nothing to eat could kill him. But the bird who's already stored up his
calories can afford to toy with novelty.
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