Week 3 – The hunter gatherer brain

Lecture by Professor Alan Whitfield, National Institute of Design Research.

One of the best lectures i have seen. Based on the evolution of the human brain, and how it has survived the primitive ages to the present day. In many ways, our brains haven’t really changed all that much, we still think generally the same as we did back in Savanaah – the ancestral homeland. “Can i eat it, will it eat me, can i mate with it  

 As humans, we analysis things in particular ways, some of which is done before we can act, the brain already acts for us. This part of the brain is called the “Amygdala”. The brain has faster reacting speed to a threat than to pleasure, to quickly label an object as something “good” or something “bad”.

 In terms of our instinctual memories:

We have:

 • Poor taste memory

• Poor smell memory

• Poor feel memory

• Good Visual memory’s

It also seems to work to this very day that our instinctual way of surviving, is to from social groups. If you by your self as an individual, you were more likely to be targeted as prey, and be eaten. Today, although there Isn’t such threats that we have to worry about, we still form social groups. Groups which may all follow particular trends, or social patterns.

One question I have to ask is: Why do these social groups of ours have to follow trends?

Is it something instinctual that we must have the latest things, and highest quality products?

And how does branding and marketing tap into these instincts?

(AND CHECK HOW AWSOME THESE DRAWINGS ARE!!!!!, I JUST HAD TO WHIP OUT THE OLD MARKER PENS!!!)