Evolving in Paris

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

By Brooke Williams

On a recent trip to Paris, I was reminded of something I read a few years ago. In his book, American Mania - When More is Not Enough, author Peter Whybrow, speculates about why Americans are so consumptive. As I recall, he says that of all humans who have ever lived on earth, only 2 percent have ever traveled more than 50 miles from where they were born. What these 2 percent have in common is a higher frequency of the “exploratory and novelty-seeking D4-7 allele” in the dopamine receptor system.

This had great benefits for our ancestors, and may have contributed greatly to the success of our species. Imagine a small nomadic group of early humans. They’re hunting and gathering in a particular area when they begin to notice that food is becoming more difficult to find. A few members of the group (say 2 percent) wander off to explore and look for rewards. They show up back in camp with news of abundant game and lush plant life a two days walk across the savannah. The hungry group is eager to follow them. If you believe that our species emerged in Africa, then we took only 75,000 years to inhabit every possible corner of the earth, moving an average of 8 miles per year - driven by the drive of particular individuals to explore.

The point of Whybrow’s book is to suggest that those people whose direct ancestors had to travel more than 50 miles from their birthplace to get to America are more likely to have that allele. In other words, a higher percentage of Americans have this D4-7 allele than the rest of the world, which means that more of us are driven to explore and seek novelties. In America where there are unlimited, easily accessed ‘rewards,’ this is turning us into workaholics and obese individuals who are destroying the planet with our obsessive consumption.

In preparing for Paris, we developed a list of great restaurants from friends we trusted in such matters. We had four open nights and made plans for checking off four of the restaurants on our list. Three of them were far enough from our hotel to require a taxi and the driver dropped us off in front. The fourth one, we were told, was difficult to find but within walking distance. We set off with map in hand, following curving back streets and alleyways in search of our reward. It was late and raining. Looking back, the fact that we needed to hurry to make our reservation was only a small factor in the feeling of excitement we had moving through the dark and quiet streets.

Finally, we reached the end of our directions and the point on the map where the restaurant should have been, but we couldn’t find it. As a last resort, we wandered across the street to a small opening in a large wall, with an awning that in the dark seemed to be decorated with gang graffiti. We peaked through the window into a long room, lit mainly by candles. We had ‘discovered’ the place we’d been looking for.
During our flight home, we were reviewing all we’d done in Paris.

Terry asked me which restaurant I liked the best. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized that while the food and ambiance and service in all four restaurants completely outdid my imagination or expectation, that small hole in the wall we’d searched out and ‘discovered’ stood out. The only possible difference: the stimulation of the “exploratory and novelty-seeking D4-7 allele” which I’d inherited from my ancient ancestors, whose survival may have depended on it.
PERMALINK:
Evolving in Paris | Planet JH News Article: Left Wing Local

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