Afraid of the dark, can’t stand snakes? Perhaps we should blame (or thank) our distant ancestors for this: the fear of animals and natural phenomena saved their lives more than once. So your aversion to reptiles is the result of thousands of years of natural selection.
Biologist Gordon H. Orians argues that the following six fears are ingrained in us by evolution.
Snakes
Our ancestors needed to instantly recognize hidden, motionless and camouflaged predators. Studies show that the eyes and brain of a person instantly react to any ornaments and patterns that look like scales or the typical color of snakes. Especially quickly we notice them with peripheral vision.
Microbes
Although people did not know about the existence of microorganisms until the 17th century, and their ability to cause disease was discovered even later, we have an innate aversion to the sources of dangerous bacteria – wounds, spoiled food, dead bodies, bowel movements.
Sharp objects
The African savannah, where our distant ancestors lived, is full of plants on which prickly thorns grow. The ability to quickly notice them, especially on the run, has always been a very useful skill, and often necessary.
Leopard skin
Big cats have hunted our primate relatives for thousands of years. Even today, leopards kill quite a few people in Africa and India. The coloring, similar to the skin of a leopard, attracts the attention of babies from the age of seven months.
Rugged terrain
To avoid injury, it is important to remember the features of the terrain. It seems that our brain often even overestimates the danger. For example, we tend to exaggerate the height of any bumps and places where you can fall and get hurt, because for our distant ancestors, such a mistake could end in death.
Eyes
Much evidence has been given that a variety of animals pay special attention to the eyes and objects similar to them. Babies always turn their heads if they are “looking” at large eyes or something resembling them. And even the rear lights of a car attract more attention and cause pronounced physiological reactions (dilation of the pupils) if they are made in the form of concentric circles.
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