I, Mammal

Without conscious effort, the adolescent brain builds a mental model of social dominance. Experiences relevant to a teenager are the raw material of this model. Where to sit at lunch and what to say in class may not seem relevant to later life, but the brain automatically extracts the patterns

Each mind learns what it can about how to gain status. Frustration is inevitable as we see others getting recognition and learn that we cannot always dominate. This dilemma is universal, but we feel the frustration individually

A species only survives if its children learn to survive once their parents are gone. Each mammal must learn to meet its own social needs as well as its physical needs. A young mammal must learn what it takes to attract mates in order for a species to reproduce itself

As a teenager, you notice that some people dominate. Some people get more attention. When you are the person getting the attention, your happy chemicals flow. Those chemicals automatically connect all neurons that are active at that moment. This prepares you to seek happy chemicals in similar situations, automatically

AutoPilot is the fact that we have ten times more neurons going from the brain to the eyes as we do from the eyes to the brain. That means your brain tells

The competition for mates was built on violence in the distant past, but less violent ways of competing for status and mates gradually evolved

The last man standing gets most of the girls

he makes sure his daughter saves herself for the best possible candidate. A young male zebra has to strut his stuff to win over a girl’s father

His daughter will have only so many offspring in her lifetime, and they need to survive for Dad’s DNA to survive.

Researchers have observed male chimps offering meat to their female companions. Meat gives a female the strength she needs to nurse and protect her child. Extra meat makes her milk more nutritious, which makes her baby grow faster, allowing her to have another child sooner. A higher status male has more meat to offer the ladies in his life. And females remember these allies when fertility time finally arrives