Dr. Bill von Hippel

You know, I could spend my huge amounts of time studying Greek or I could shove one of those in and now I can go to Greece and speak with the locals, right? Without my phone telling me what they're saying.

You know, I could spend my huge amounts of time studying Greek or I could shove one of those in and now I can go to Greece and speak with the locals, right? Without my phone telling me what they're saying.

So remember that with every generation of sexual reproduction, you're going to have people who have things that maybe evolution wouldn't like. Remember earlier we talked about homosexuality, that if you have more gay genes, women like you more. But then if you have too many, you don't like them in return, right?

So remember that with every generation of sexual reproduction, you're going to have people who have things that maybe evolution wouldn't like. Remember earlier we talked about homosexuality, that if you have more gay genes, women like you more. But then if you have too many, you don't like them in return, right?

So that's a case where a little bit is a good thing evolutionarily and a lot is a bad thing evolutionarily because you're not going to have offspring. Not a moral judgment, just a judgment based on what evolution cares about. Well, with anxiety, that makes perfect sense, right? So animals that can't envision the future have no anxiety. All they feel is fear in the moment. Oops, there's a lion.

So that's a case where a little bit is a good thing evolutionarily and a lot is a bad thing evolutionarily because you're not going to have offspring. Not a moral judgment, just a judgment based on what evolution cares about. Well, with anxiety, that makes perfect sense, right? So animals that can't envision the future have no anxiety. All they feel is fear in the moment. Oops, there's a lion.

I'd better run as fast as I possibly can. And then as soon as they've run away, oh, no lion. Life is, everything's copacetic. I'll go back to eating grass and being happy. Whereas if I'm a human running away from a lion, I'd be, oh my God, that was really scary. I wonder when there's another lion coming. Now, the biggest gift that evolution gave us is the capacity to simulate the future.

I'd better run as fast as I possibly can. And then as soon as they've run away, oh, no lion. Life is, everything's copacetic. I'll go back to eating grass and being happy. Whereas if I'm a human running away from a lion, I'd be, oh my God, that was really scary. I wonder when there's another lion coming. Now, the biggest gift that evolution gave us is the capacity to simulate the future.

Evolution doesn't give any gifts without cost. You pay a price for every one of them. And the capacity to simulate the future also comes with the realization that, first of all, it's not always going to be good. And second of all, it's always going to end badly. Once you understand life, you understand, I'm going to die someday. And the other animals don't have that realization.

Evolution doesn't give any gifts without cost. You pay a price for every one of them. And the capacity to simulate the future also comes with the realization that, first of all, it's not always going to be good. And second of all, it's always going to end badly. Once you understand life, you understand, I'm going to die someday. And the other animals don't have that realization.

They can't project themselves forward in time the way we can.

They can't project themselves forward in time the way we can.

If you didn't think about the future, you would not be anxious. If you could get yourself to be mindful in the moment and set aside the future, your anxiety will disappear because it's all future-based.

If you didn't think about the future, you would not be anxious. If you could get yourself to be mindful in the moment and set aside the future, your anxiety will disappear because it's all future-based.

Yeah. The effect is remarkable. And so you can look at it in two different ways. One is just the effect of believing, right? So lots of people worry about a life without meaning. You know, people of religion have solved that problem because religion gives your life meaning. There is a point. If you believe any of the religions that exist, you're part of this never-ending chain, etc.

Yeah. The effect is remarkable. And so you can look at it in two different ways. One is just the effect of believing, right? So lots of people worry about a life without meaning. You know, people of religion have solved that problem because religion gives your life meaning. There is a point. If you believe any of the religions that exist, you're part of this never-ending chain, etc.

And it doesn't—they can be wildly different religions, but they all hold this notion that there's something before and something after. Now, you can look at the effect of that by saying, all right, let's select only people who never go to church. So we'll take the sociality part out of it. And then we'll look at people who pray versus people who don't pray.

And it doesn't—they can be wildly different religions, but they all hold this notion that there's something before and something after. Now, you can look at the effect of that by saying, all right, let's select only people who never go to church. So we'll take the sociality part out of it. And then we'll look at people who pray versus people who don't pray.

And we can do this with these national samples where we say, let's look at the general social survey. And in fact, anybody who wants to can get online and look at the general social survey and answer any question that's available in that. It's a remarkable publicly available data set, which I used repeatedly in this book.

And we can do this with these national samples where we say, let's look at the general social survey. And in fact, anybody who wants to can get online and look at the general social survey and answer any question that's available in that. It's a remarkable publicly available data set, which I used repeatedly in this book.