I bet some early humans did trip balls and come up with new ideas and new ways to use rocks and sticks and abstraction.
But the reality is, our brains expanded because there was no other competition for resources or territory anywhere that could match other tribes of humans. We had eons of bloodshed, of violence and barbarism that favored those who could outthink their opponents and predict what other humans would do.
All of our mental strength comes from predictive capability. Our brains are not recording/calculating devices, they are simulators. All of our thoughts, all of our memories, are just simulations being run over and over and trying to connect with other associations and input. Understanding this is really important too, because when you realize this and really internalize it, you can break free from those countless millennia of survival instinct and calm your brain and not ruminate or dwell on problems, which is just your brain running simulations of your worst experiences and worst predicted outcomes over and over.
Your brain runs simulations to explain how you feel. It doesn’t have to even make sense, it just takes a feeling or sensation you have like sadness or anxiety, and it starts attaching stories to it in order to survive. It does this automatically, but you can train it to stop, you can live in a moment and let the feeling pass through you. It can give you back hours, days or years of your life.
I bet some early humans did trip balls and come up with new ideas and new ways to use rocks and sticks and abstraction.
But the reality is, our brains expanded because there was no other competition for resources or territory anywhere that could match other tribes of humans. We had eons of bloodshed, of violence and barbarism that favored those who could outthink their opponents and predict what other humans would do.
All of our mental strength comes from predictive capability. Our brains are not recording/calculating devices, they are simulators. All of our thoughts, all of our memories, are just simulations being run over and over and trying to connect with other associations and input. Understanding this is really important too, because when you realize this and really internalize it, you can break free from those countless millennia of survival instinct and calm your brain and not ruminate or dwell on problems, which is just your brain running simulations of your worst experiences and worst predicted outcomes over and over.
Your brain runs simulations to explain how you feel. It doesn’t have to even make sense, it just takes a feeling or sensation you have like sadness or anxiety, and it starts attaching stories to it in order to survive. It does this automatically, but you can train it to stop, you can live in a moment and let the feeling pass through you. It can give you back hours, days or years of your life.
I highly recommend the book Food of the Gods by Terrence McKenna, which is about this very subject.