Rocket Scientist

I read a very interesting article in the New York Times (yes, it’s the only newspaper I read daily).  In this article, about the book “Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding” by Dr. Hrdy, Dr. Hrdy contends that the glue behind our society, what makes humans really out of the ordinary is not our thumbs or our brains but our babies.  See, babies top the scale on charisma.

Duh! you might be thinking, so?  Ah, but according to the article/book, Dr. Hrdy thinks that this appeal to more than just a baby’s mother is the key to our society and our success.   See, in nature, babies of all different flavors come into the world with different levels of autonomy and different levels of risk.  In the insect/fish/reptile worlds, young are usually laid as eggs (some exceptions) and left to fend for themselves after hatching, often laid by the millions with only a few escaping the hungry mouths of predators (which in some cases, include their own kind).  True, there are some fish that look out for their young, often denoting a bit more brains that average (like octopi), and some insects that actively care for young, though these are often societal insects like ants, bees or termites.  But, for most insects, fish and reptiles, egg abandonment is the norm with the luckiest getting parents that at least leave them on a food source, like parasitic wasps and flies do.

Move up the chain a bit and birds and mammals generals expend some effort caring for their young, protecting them even at the cost to themselves.  However, in most cases, this dedication to young is limited to the parents in question.  You kill a mama bird or a mama bear, the babies will die from neglect.  Even social animals largely leave unclaimed children to die (with mothers unwilling to share their newborns) unless they have cooperative breeding like some species of birds and lions and wolves and handful of others have developed.  In a wolf pack, for example,  which is usually 2-20 wolves, all take care of a single litter of wolf pups at a time (usually the alpha male and female’s pups.  They are born helpless and generally stay with the pack until fully mature, say 2 years or so.  This is a contrast to chimpanzees and other primates where multiple mothers likely give birth and care for their young exclusively.

 Humans, however, are a pretty unusual animal, not just for the helplessness of their young but for how very very long the young are unable to truly care for themselves.  Humans are not really suited to taking full care of themselves  for a dozen years at least (and most of us with teenagers would say much longer) and, truthfully, one person is really not capable of watching a child (or actually children) 24/7 for every minute.  So, we need help.

And that’s one reason why babies are so darned cute and giggly and googly and charming.  Even contankerous old men can be undone by that toothless grin.  Women completely unattached can be enticed by that baby smell and cute little baby feet (Don’t you just love baby feet?).  And mothers, unlike other primates, will let others hold and coo and play with their children.

Dr. Hrdy contends that it is this cooperative reproduction that led to our emotional maturity, that sense of something beyond oneself, not just one’s own progeny, but children in general.  It’s why we grieved for the broken bodies pulled from the Murray Federal Building in Oklahoma City and why we support school lunches and schools even when we don’t have children ourselves.

I’ve been talking about the big picture.  Look at my little Roxy.  That’s what I’m talkin’ about.  Roxy and children all over the world just like her.

I strongly recommend reading the article .  I found it very thought-provoking.

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