It would be nice to come up with the theory of everything, but that looks a little too complicated for me. Rather than look for the theory of everything, I look for simple theories to explain things. I have found that more things are explained by simple theories than complicated ones. This one is about human behavior.
I think that we can all agree that early humans were very simple and were hunter gatherers like most wild animals. I think that I blogged before that one way that animals are different from humans is that they "live in the present". They show some ability to remember the past, but not the future. Humans, on the other hand, have the ability to remember the past and think about the future. It is this simple point that I want to expand on.
As humans evolved from simple hunter gatherers, they became more aware about the past and the future. Take farming, for example, if a human was to become a farmer, he had to do something today that would provide food for him in the future. This is a little different from nomads who traveled to the better fishing or hunting grounds at the correct time of the year. I contend that this was just a form of advanced hunter gathering. Think about a person who cleared a field of trees and rocks so that in the future they could farm the field? You will never see a wild animal doing something like this, nor will you see a nomad doing it either. I contend that this ability that humans have to plan for the future by doing something to day is what makes us humans.
Like anything, there are always degrees or variations. The same seems true of humans. Some seem more aware of the future and how what they do or don't do today affects that future. Now we are getting to my main point. The world is made up of many groups of people who have progressed from the hunter gatherer state to the more modern civilized state. Those my not be the best words to describe the differences, but let's go with them. I think that I pointed out in a prior blog that the progression of humans to large cities has come very rapidly compared to the slow pace of human history. Humans who were hunter gatherers just a few generations ago are now having to function in large cities where survival requires special and different skills. I contend that the most important skill is the recognition that what a person does today or does not do affects their state in the world of the future. It is as simple as that. Are you still with me?
Planning for the future is not something that you can wait to do until when the future arrives like a hunter gatherer. I contend that to the degree that humans of different groups recognize and are aware of the significance of how their current actions affect their future is a measure of their IQ. I know that IQ is used for a lot of things and no one can agree on what it really is, but for this blog, I contend that a component of IQ is this ability to understand the relationship of today with the future. This future may be hours, days, weeks or years away and the farther into the future people are aware and recognize, the higher their IQ.
Now let's apply this concept and see how it works. I think it is the biggest factor that affects responsible social behavior. Take the example of screwing your high school girl friend today and getting her knocked up. Was there much thought here about the future? I don't think so. How about the kid who does the minimum in school and eventually drops out before graduation. Does this person value hanging with the "bro's in the hood" more than their quality of life in the future? Again, I don't think so. By contrast, how about the kid who would like to go out and play, but does their school home work first? Why does one kid do the home work and the other does not? Like all my theories, this is a simple one. The kid who does the home work understands that "not" doing the home work will mean a low quality future for them. Now, isn't that simple?
Now, back to the hunter gatherer model. It is my guess that Asians are about the farthest group in the world from the hunter gatherer state and they also seem the most aware of what they do or do not do today affects their quality of life in the future. Like wise, I contend that Africans are those who are nearest to the hunter gatherer state in terms of generations and they seem the least aware or concerned about how what they do or do not do today affects their future quality of life. Now, understand that these observations are based on the median of large groups and, as you would expect, there are individual out layers who may be very different.
I think the lesson from this theory is that if we want to see some group do "better" that we have to figure out how to get them to connect actions today with the picture those action paint for their future. If you can not make that connection, I do not see anyway to help hunter gatherer types move up the food chain. The kid who was doing their home work did not need any kind of national or state program to get them to do their home work. All they needed was to connect the present to the future with the fantastic brain that we have all been blessed with. Simple isn't it?
