Survival Of The Friendliest

Survival Of The Friendliest explains why the #1 thing you can do for success is to focus on your social connections, how friendliness was the reason that our early ancestors survived as well as they did, and what you can do today to grow your social capital.

One of the greatest achievements of the human species is our ability to understand that others have intentions and knowledge separate from our own. It may seem simple and obvious that other people can think for themselves. But this is a sophisticated concept only we humans have that has come through our evolution to help us communicate.

You can test this concept with a baby around nine months of age. If you hide a treat under one of two cups and give them hints by gesturing to the correct cup, they will find it. This is just the beginning of their understanding that others have knowledge outside of their own.

If you try playing the game with a chimpanzee, you will become frustrated because they will not understand the concept you know something they don’t. Maybe eventually they will learn through repetition what you pointing at the cup means, but change the gesture, and you’ll be back to square one.

Dogs fare a bit better in this game. They seem to instinctively follow our gestures. The authors say this is likely because they have been domesticated for so long and the ones who cooperated well with humans had the evolutionary advantage.

In 1959, geneticist Dmitry Bylaev conducted a long-running experiment in a far-off town in Siberia. His experiment involved domesticating wild foxes. He let foxes with ample affinity with humans breed, while others couldn’t reproduce.  Over time, the friendlier group of foxes developed a whole new set of characteristics while the wild ones remained the same.

The friendlier foxes have softer fur, shorter snouts, and floppier ears. Even their teeth are less sharp.  In a lot of ways, they resemble other domesticated animals like dogs. None of these traits were selected for, but are side effects of the selection for friendliness.

But the difference isn’t just physical. The friendlier foxes actually possess greater mental ability and communication skills.  They are able to communicate with humans much better. Wild foxes who are presented with the cup game fail half or more of the time, while domesticated ones follow human gestures. Impressively, their ability to follow gestures is even found in their offspring who were raised by the control group.

This research highlights the fact that sociability and communication skills are genetically linked. If evolutionary pressure selects for one of these traits, the other improves also.  This is seen in many other domesticated animals.