The Obtuse Procrastinator

Our forager ancestors roamed about the earth, eating what nature provided them well. Satisfying the ID is probably the most important need for survival. Therefore, nature looked after the fact that her most intelligent children are not excessively mistreated by other fellow animals. Human Evolution thus, continued. The hunter gatherers were indeed sharp, they concentrated on eating. In order to gather food, they imprinted the entire geography of their locality in their brain. They could differentiate among two trees of the same species. Developed strategies to protect themselves from dangerous predators. Invented tools to make their life easier. Agile and quick-witted, they could manufacture weapons in minutes!!

Being a descendant of such an ingenious species, why are these qualities not hereditary to me? A question, that I have much pondered upon. For, I was always a bad student in school who apparently sucked at numbers. Mathematics is not Hebrew and Latin to me, I don’t find languages that difficult to grasp. However, for me, it is something that can be equated to quantum mechanics for lay humans. One abstract thing explained by another of the same. Memorizing and processing information imbibed externally into my mind, happened to bounce back to its original place.

It was not long ago when humans started cultivating their lands and the Agricultural Revolution took place. 12000 years ago, to be precise. The evolution further continued and we set forth on the path of “civilization”. More agricultural produce meant bigger settlements. Eventually leading to the creation of cities. Complex bureaucratic structures called for the need to process large amount of data. So, in between 3500 BC to 3000 BC the Sumerian geniuses came up with an extraordinary method for dealing with the teeming millions and their harvests. Numbers, in the form of symbols written on clay tablets. The hunter gatherers on the other side, never had to count how many apples they were eating. Or how many they would require the day after. Talking in modern terms, the brain of the hunter gatherers was not programmed to process information related to numbers.

Now, that explains a lot of my questions. Coming down to the evident conclusion. It seems, that I happen to possess the brain of a hunter gatherer trapped in a body used to 21st century lifestyles.

To Be continued….