Hurricane Irma is providing us with examples to buttress the argument made by cognitive scientists that natural selection did not develop our brains (and linguistic thought) as logic machines. It’s true that we can reason a bit from time to time, but rational behavior isn’t central in our decision-making process. If reason were central, we would not have elected a string of Presidents who were paranoid, senile, stupid or Donald Trump.
Governor Rick Scott of Florida made evacuation of southern Florida mandatory several days ago, and he is a climate-change denier. Scott hasn’t noticed yet that hurricanes have, as predicted by science, become enormous. He lacks reason but seems good at what may be basic to the evolution of our brains: warning others of danger and getting them to cooperate. You can see these same primitive virtues among crows and barking dogs. Unfortunately there are usually a few crows who pay no attention or dogs who ignore warnings, so as Irma strikes, we can only hope for the best.
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