Mind Nomad Writing

Even in the progress of our great species, we moderners pay homage to the vestigial social etiquette of the old world. At times we smile, we shake hands, we repeat the words from one of the silly phrases of the past and offer a compulsory laugh. While these behaviors serve very base practical functions in our current circumstances, our rehearsal of these interactions allows us to appreciate our evolution.

While our predecessors needlessly involved themselves in the lives of one another, they also pioneered a few routines that were quite advanced for their time. Take, for instance, the act of smiling at a stranger as they pass by. This act efficiently conserves energy while simultaneously communicating two important messages: 1) I can bare my teeth so you are aware that I could harm you and 2) I have power over you as I am sparing your life at this moment. When viewed against the backdrop of all sentient beings studied and cataloged, there is no record of similar creatures practicing this act of baring their teeth toward one another and both living to tell its tale. Yet, our ancestors replicated this act, without too many known fatalities, for centuries.

Shaking hands is a similar gesture that confounds even further. It is an expression of both vulnerability and power. In the instant the hands of these two humans meet, they are both electing to submit to the other while also retaining the power to harm through the act of crushing, pulling, twisting, etc. In modernity this act carries with it the intent to unveil any hidden weapons and thus engender further submission.

Repetition of the absurd sayings from the old world while offering a cursory laugh offers multidimensional benefit to moderners. It allows one to quickly assess and identify any hidden or nefarious intent within the other. If the listener balks, looks quizzical, becomes defensive, or clearly misconstrues the statement then they have clearly identified themselves as hostile, an outsider, and a threat. If, however, they track with the chosen statement, repeat the words in unison, and laugh along then it can be a strong sign that no harm is meant and all parties can depart one anothers’ company in ease. A corollary benefit in this kind of interaction is the opportunity for moderners to share a moment of humor when considering the sayings of old and to appreciate the superiority of modernity.

Aside from some of these surprisingly insightful rituals, there is very little worth emulating from previous permutations as it relates to human interactions. Like many aspects of their functioning, our ancestors grafted their fate far too intimately in connection to one another. They relied on one another to accomplish tasks, build infrastructure, procure food, and maintain safety (ironic, when mentioned in the context of baring teeth – but I digress). While laughable, some of these reliances can be mildly appreciated in the context of the helplessness our ancestors existed within. But of all the superfluous ways in which they related, the most frivolous of them all was their insistence on human connection for its own sake.

In those times, humans would expend all kinds of energy, capital, time, and resources in the service of human connection. These primitive beings even categorized their connections, if you can believe that mystifying fact. These beings would use precious mental energy, time, and communicative resources to explore topics known as friendships, comparing and contrasting which people in their associative groupings fit in this category, which ones were more appropriate to consider as ‘acquaintances’ (akin to our modern phrase for ‘passers-by’) and whether a person could fit more than one category. Co-worker and friend, lover and friend, or something as mentally taxing to their brain-like organs as lover and co-worker. Those topics were so enthralling to our ancestors that they even engaged in artistic pursuits related to this concept (see a rudimentary television series called ‘Friends’). They were also vulnerable enough to experience life-threatening emotional paralysis if they determined themselves as deficient in this pursuit (see articles regarding ‘suicide’).

It is all really quite dramatic when viewed in relief against what we know as moderners. As natural selection reminded our species, slowly humanity was able to view human interaction in a more objective frame. As the burdens of associative grouping dissolved and the allure of passion-fueled sex dimmed, humanity started to lift away from the moorings of human connection. These relationships started to return to an optimal transactional format and humanity rightly de-coupled its fate from this obsessive interdependence. To aid in the adjustment and soften the impact for what remained of the nervous system, great inventors designed customizable technological solutions to compensate for what humans thought they were now lacking.

The compassion of these great beneficiaries allowed weaker members of the species to build the necessary capacity to wean away from human connection. Sleeky fashioned metal, screens, and signal interpretation and transmissions devices were cleverly cloaked under a form resembling another human. While you have, undoubtedly, heard about some of the examples of necessary growing pains humanity endured (weaker permutations developing sexual urges for their invented companion, ending their life or the lives of others upon becoming aware of the true nature of their invented companion, becoming obsessive engrossed with and fleeing from society with their invented companion in tow) these are necessary concessions and exchanges in the pursuit of refining the species.

#Vestigial