The funny thing about disasters is that they tend to bring out the best in people. Read Solnit’s A Paradise Built in Hell for a good survey of the phenomenon. Elites tend to panic and get the rest of us killed during a crisis while we the people are unfucking things cooperatively.
Evolutionary speaking, it makes sense to compete within your own species when times are good, cause there is no threat to the survival of the entire group.
Conversely, when times are bad and the entire species is threatened, it’s best to cooperate as much as possible instead of compete.
It’s a great book. I listened to the audiobook from the library.
I was introduced to the concept from the Behind the Bastards episode “Elite Panic” which is a great introduction to the topic and my favorite BtB episode of all time.
The funny thing about disasters is that they tend to bring out the best in people. Read Solnit’s A Paradise Built in Hell for a good survey of the phenomenon. Elites tend to panic and get the rest of us killed during a crisis while we the people are unfucking things cooperatively.
Ooo I know:
Evolutionary speaking, it makes sense to compete within your own species when times are good, cause there is no threat to the survival of the entire group.
Conversely, when times are bad and the entire species is threatened, it’s best to cooperate as much as possible instead of compete.
Checking this out based on your epic summary alone.
It’s a great book. I listened to the audiobook from the library.
I was introduced to the concept from the Behind the Bastards episode “Elite Panic” which is a great introduction to the topic and my favorite BtB episode of all time.