Humanity Stories
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#4
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lolollo (12/01/2015) [-] Of all of the social interactions I studied in school, spite has to be my favorite, by far. You go to any classroom centered around evolution and you'll see it treated like this advanced, subconscious equation of give and take with advantage and adaption always being on top. Even in the psychological science you see it treated like this I ternal drive to come out on top in every social interaction. Mutualism, commensalism, and even altruism are a struggle for advantage as we try to curb losses for gain. We give up what we have in abundance to gain what we lack and call it a system of trade and barter. Even in altruism, where you bleed for the sake of others, you see theories spring up on what sort of long term benefit you're meant to gain.
Spite, however, doesnt fit. Spite is bleeding to cut your enemy. Spite is accepting a stab wound not because you want your mugger to leave empty handed, but because you hate what the guy stands for with every fiber of your being. On an individual level, it makes no sense, but that's because so many people ignore the larger impact. If you bleed to cut someone, suddenly you garner a reputation. Even if you die, that reputation persists. It becomes the difference between 2 choices, a moderate reward for free, or a moderate reward where every 5 times, on average, you receive a potentially fatal electric shock. Even if its a matter of the later reward being bigger, which is the more adaptive choice.
And in the end, that's what humanity has been about, taking some misc. maladaptive trait and turning it into an adaptive force for the whole species.
Spite, however, doesnt fit. Spite is bleeding to cut your enemy. Spite is accepting a stab wound not because you want your mugger to leave empty handed, but because you hate what the guy stands for with every fiber of your being. On an individual level, it makes no sense, but that's because so many people ignore the larger impact. If you bleed to cut someone, suddenly you garner a reputation. Even if you die, that reputation persists. It becomes the difference between 2 choices, a moderate reward for free, or a moderate reward where every 5 times, on average, you receive a potentially fatal electric shock. Even if its a matter of the later reward being bigger, which is the more adaptive choice.
And in the end, that's what humanity has been about, taking some misc. maladaptive trait and turning it into an adaptive force for the whole species.
#2
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anon (12/01/2015) [-]
havet really seen any new /tg but reddity hfy is a growing community of stories; not all of the same calibre but some pretty good ones, and some greats
