The legacy of the ancestors: how did they program our brain?

Evolution has come a long way. Humanity has a huge cultural baggage, but our appearance has not undergone significant changes, if we talk about the first representatives of the human erectus. The brain also did not change dramatically. We live in the modern world, we go to work, we live in cultural life. But what oddities in our behavior today do scientists explain with the peculiar legacy of our ancestors? Let us try to figure it out.

Tendency to overeat

Our ancestors constantly had to look for food. That is why, we can say that most of the time the brain was developed in difficult conditions, when food was constantly lacking. Many centuries ago, if our ancestors had the opportunity to eat - they ate as much as they could, and did not leave it for later.

Coming to the refrigerator

Came, opened, looked, closed. Familiar? This behavior can be explained on the basis of elementary logic. The whole thing is again in ancient people. The brain simply cannot accept the fact that we have food in free access and seeks to obtain this information after seeing it. Our consciousness just needs to make sure that everything is in order and tomorrow we will have something to eat.

Love for high carbohydrate foods

Our taste buds were formed a long time ago, when people did not know how to cultivate plants. In those days, high-carb foods had a sweet taste. And plants (useful) that have not yet been cultivated were bitter.

Tendency to be alert

Previously, stresses were short. I ran away from the lion – that is all, the danger is over, there is no need to be nervous. In ancient times, stress was necessary, because at that time cortisol and adrenaline were released into the blood. Pupils dilated, tension increased, attention increased. Then it served as a protective function of the body - at the time of danger, an extremely fast reaction was needed.