I love this comment by Michael Edge on the post "Junk Food Tastes Good, Eh?"
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This is a very interesting problem that frequently crosses my thoughts. The growing discrepancy between the modern civilized environment and the human animal little changed in fifty thousand years.
Short of using genetic engineering to realign our bodies with our newly created environment, there isn’t much we can do physically – biological evolution is too slow a process. Our bodies need to be physically active, yet our society no longer requires us to be. Often we have to go out of our way to be active. Bad food tastes better than good food, since in developed countries at least, food is plentiful. Eating your fill of high energy density food is now a very bad thing to do, since you can now do that multiple times every day.
If physical evolution isn’t an option, then mental adaptation is the only real alternative. Our minds have to be trained to be aware of our bodies limitations. I think that willpower is the dominant trait possessed by those who best adapt to modern society. You have to be willing to force your body to act against it’s instincts.
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That comment is so perfectly dense with information... one of the most spot-on accurate comments I've seen on this site. Matches my exact beliefs - willpower and thinking ability as chief traits for success in the modern world, biological evolution too slow to provide a relief, and genetic engineering as a potential to remove or regulate unwanted destructive urges.
Really good stuff. Matches my thoughts almost exactly. Thanks Michael.