The Scroll Effect: Is Tech Breaking Your Ancient Brain?

In partnership with

The roles of hunters and gathers in bio-evolution have shaped the way our brains work. Hunting requires efficiency, the way the male brain optimized for energy conservation. Gathering requires nurturing and order, so female brains optimized for attention to detail. Enviormental presssures during the Pleistocene epoch the earth experiecnced dramtic climate oscillaitons with glacial and interglacial periods. This phenomenon caused new habitats to form. Cognitive demands of learning to hunt different kinds of prey in different habits in our nomadic phase. A new food was introduced into our bio-machines due to the rise in sea levels which was costal regions, omega fats.

This had an advantageous effect on our brains. This move to the grasslands also created selection pressure for enhanced prefrontal lobes. Thus giving birth to mankinds greatest evolutionary ability which is adaptiveness.

Although now it might be the reason for our downfall.

Will our roles in this capitalistic society have an effect on the evolution of the way our brains fucntion? What would be the decideing factor that alters us be what we do most now? Which i belevie now to be the algorithm of consumption.

Facebook has built principles like casino psychology/behavioral engineering into its app. Imagine if isacc newton was to busy doom scrolling to wonder what invisble force dropped the apple.

Noam Chomsky has spoken on subjects like Manufacturerd consent which is about how media information is shared based off who owns, funds, and shares the info that can create a global reailty distortion field. In todays terms apps alogrithms can alter what you see and are most likley to engage with creating an echo chamber. We have created our own ideologgical prisions within the frameworks of our digital media consumbstion.

"The role of media is to keep the public from understanding," Chomsky declared in 1992.

Ted Kazinsky other wise known as the unabomber beleveie we'd one day be inslaved by technology itself. Im sure to the horror of his belief when he saw his prison gaurds texting and tweeting all day was great. See Ted was trying to say that our industrial soceity itself was going to become a prision.

Michel Foucault wrote about the idea of Panopticism in his book Discipline and Punish. Panopticism is about institions are built prison like survellance architecture. For instance the ring door bell cameras that are lined in your nighboorhood are now accessible to your cities police department. How long before they justify looking into your homes with the same technology.

A speices that has built up the world due to its resiliency and strength. Now we are a comfort algorthim ingesting shadow of ourselves.

The winds of evolution have carried us into modernity in which life expentecy has doubled since the 18th century, from under 30 years to over 70 years today. Extreme poverty is down from 90% down to 10%. Global literacy rates in 1820 were only 12% and now 85% of the world is literate.

Even though all of these glorious gifts have been bestowed upon us, our fate is more susceptible than ever.

The nature of the algorithm i’m is the nature of the mind.

The modern colossumes pan am (bread and cirucus) is carried around in our pockets. The book 1984 warned us of wire taps from big brother and now we hit the allow access or accept cookies button in exchange for dopamine.

If our brains evolved under physical pressures, how will this algorthimic digital environment of anti-intellectualism shape them?

Receive Honest News Today

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Sign up today!