Feeding Our Inner Lizard Keeps Us Unsatisfied

How the world of instant gratification preys on the oldest part of our brains

An iguana crawling around Uxmal in the Yucatan, photo by the author

I saw a set of lizards scurrying over the Mayan ruins in Uxmal and was reminded, as they sunned themselves, that we share a pretty important part of our brains with them, and it’s a part that lets modern companies effectively prey on us. Let’s heed the warnings of our lizard brain buddies.

A Tale of the Three Brains

Simon Sinek understands the way humans think. He might lump Apple in with MLK in the linked talk, but I think his overall understanding of the human psyche is pretty spot on. We’re a layered creature: an automatic, instinctual system at the base, an emotional middle, and a social/rational outer layer.

These three brains equate to the brains of creatures we share ancestors with. The innermost brain often termed our “lizard” brain. While we can lambast the lizard (haha they have those weird eyes that move on their own), the lizard is a species that has spread everywhere except Antartica. This literal lizard brain paired with a highly adapted and unique skillset is a winning recipe for survival.

The next brain is our mammal brain; lizards and their kind are egg layers (figure it out yourself, kids!) who are adapted for killing and procreating, but not much else…