“You don’t have to be an engineer to be a racing driver, but you do have to have Mechanical Sympathy.”
- Sir Jackie Stewart (probably)
When attempting to get the most out of a machine, it can be helpful to pierce abstraction and consider anew how exactly it works. This concept is frequently invoked in software when performance is important. Rather than a high level conceptualization of a program’s execution, software engineers sometimes need to dig deeper and start thinking about how the deeper levels affect how their programs operate: the libraries, operating systems, and hardware all working together towards the desired result
Consider the variation of this theme applied to the self. At some level, there exists conscious thought and the rational human. However, below that is a biological system culminating from eons of adaptations to changing conditions. The environments of our ancestors, even relatively recent ones, are totally alien to the way we currently live, but the underlying machinery that governs our experiences has changed little. To make the most of ourselves, we have to harmonize our grand conceptions of ourselves with the legacy of our humble origins. Call this Simian Sympathy
Revenge of the Inner Ape
What does it look like when we focus solely on the higher level abstracted version of ourselves? A lot of confusion and frustration.
- “I should be able to do this!”
- “I don’t feel how I think I should.”
- “Not sure why I did that”
If this sounds familiar, something is going on in the realm of synapses, neurotransmitters, hormones, etc, that does not match your model of how things work. Fundamentally, what you “feel should work” is irrelevant unless it actually does. Focus instead on what is actually effective. Here are a few areas where we see mismatches between a common conception versus underlying biological mechanisms
Inputs
In general, we tend to think that our ability to try hard and do great things is related primarily to our character as a person. More accurately, it is a function of our system’s inputs — think of things like food, sleep, physical activity, or social connection. Drop the quality for any of those low enough, and the “Great Rational Mind” crumbles. Despite how central these are to the human experience, each category is in decline today. Further, the antithesisis is glorified in the hustler Übermensch: building the future by sacrificing friends, hobbies, working late and waking early, subsisting on energy drinks and delivery junkfood. It does not work and sets up the entire body for a nasty revolt
Anticipating Homeostasis
Another widespread myth is that feeling good is free; that if you just keep doing the things that make you feel good, you can avoid bad feelings. Unfortunately, there is a biochemical fight within your body to get your average experience back to “normal”. Like a spring, the more you pull against it, the harder it pulls back towards equillibrium. This is called homeostasis and it always wins. The lows will come, so you might as well be ready. Want to get a strong start on Monday? Put your highpoint of the weekend on Saturday, and expect less of yourself for Sunday. Monday will see you back at equillibrium ready for another week. Do not chase the high — you will feel good again, but not until you let yourself feel worse for a little while. Conversely, if something is unpleasant but helpful, consider that engaging with it is like pushing the spring in the opposite direction. You will get both the benefits you expect plus expanded capability to feel good afterward
Motivation and Feedback
You need dopamine to take action. Concentrated power of will is not enough. In studies, animals without dopamine starve because they cannot muster the motivation to eat. You will need it to achieve any meaningful goals, but what can you do if it is in short supply right now? Recognize that this crucial neurotransmitter comes from the anticipation of a rewarding stimuli. Maybe the inherant reward of the tasks or achieving the goal itself is too small or too far in the future to be of help now, but you can put your finger on the scale by making a contract with yourself “If I make a certain amount of progress now, then I will reward myself with XYZ”. The effect strengthens dramatically if instead of rewarding every time, the reward at the end of the task comes unpredictably. You can try this by flipping a coin or rolling a (virtual?) dice. However, the best way will be to use an intermittent reward management app like the one we make, TantalusPath, which is available for iPhone on the App Store. We also have a longer guide if you want to focus on the application of this powerful technique, available here
Conclusion
You don’t have to be an evolutionary biologist to be an effective human, but you do have to have Simian Sympathy. The pragmatic approach recognizes how profoundly our biological systems affect our experiences and aligns our high level goals and values with the underlying biological mechanisms so we strive alongside our inner ape rather than against it