Evolutionary Mismatch

Hey

Today, I’m kicking off a new snacks series, co-authored with edu-genius Dr Jen Barker, on some of the deeper issues facing schools and society. As ever, if it’s not your vibe, you can unsubscribe at the bottom. Otherwise, strap in…

Big idea 🍉

In many ways, it's the best time ever to be a kid. For most of human history, around half of all children died before 15, and only the most privileged could read. Today, fewer than 5% die young, and the vast majority can access wonderous stories.

In short, there is much to be grateful for, BUT… it's clear that not everything is heading in the right direction. Childhood obesity has ballooned, short-sightedness has doubled, and mental health issues are rising fast.

There are many attempts to explain these issues: smartphones, social media, processed food. Each is only partly satisfying. In our opinion, there's one idea which sits beneath all of these and helps make sense of many of the problems of our time: evolutionary mismatch.

For almost all of human history, we lived in small groups where food was scarce, life was tough, and what felt good was mostly good for us. We became tuned to thrive in that world.

But cultural evolution has since sped far ahead of biological evolution. We're now living digital lives in the city, running software designed for the savannah.

In the past, our sweet tooth led us to make the most of rare fruit and honey when we found it. Today, that same instinct leads us to sugary snacks, fizzy drinks, obesity and diabetes.

Today, what feels good and what's actually good for us have drifted inexorably apart. These mismatched instincts lead us to over-consume social media, over-coddle our youth, and under-exercise our bodies.

Looking at the world through this lens can be hugely powerful. When children struggle, it nudges us to look for the problem (and the solution) in the fit between them and their world. And unlike our instincts, our environment can be redesigned.

Over the coming weeks, we'll further unpack how evo mismatch can help us better understand social issues, and what we can do about it. Till then, keep your eyes peeled for how our instincts can lead us astray.

🎓 For more, check out this paper on evolutionary mismatch.

Summary

• For many reasons, being a child today is better than ever before, yet not all things are improving.

• Beneath many issues is a deeper mismatch between the world we evolved for and the world we live in today.

• Looking at social issues through this lens is a powerful way to understand (and eventually improve) our world.

Little updates 🥕

• Paper on knowledge retention → finds 1 error-free retrieval session supports short-term retention, with 3 sessions helping stable retention over 56 days.

• Paper on reading tutoring → suggests 50+ sessions produced substantial gains in word reading & fluency whether the tutor was an adult or older learner.

• Meta-analysis of argumentative writing → finds instruction improved writing skills, with instruction focused on strategy showing lasting effects.

• Meta-analysis of teacher wellbeing → finds small associations with student motivation & achievement, with stronger associations in secondary schools.

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