View From the Bushes

I read this interesting article today on procrastination. At one point in the article, the author seems to make the point that our "hunter-gatherer" nature is what causes us to procrastinate. He doesn't elaborate on this point, nor does he even explain it very well. I guess that is left as an exercise for the reader. So that is what I'm going to do today explain the evolutionary underpinnings of procrastination (in less than 250 words with a happy ending, a moral, two car chases, a come from behind Shaolin soccer match and time-travel).

The question in its most simplified form would be, "How does putting off important tasks help your genes survive?" As Despair.com says (and the article cited above), "Hard work often pays off over time, but laziness always pays off now." If you posit that a person's primary goal is to goof off then that statement is certainly accurate, but if your goal is secure food so that you don't starve, it's hard to imagine that putting of hunting and or gathering pays off at all let alone immediately. I guess you could argue that saving your energy has some benefits, but it would all come down to a ratio of energy expended vs. food secured and if you're not securing any food it doesn't matter how little energy you use you're still expending infinite energy per unit of food.

But perhaps by procrastinating long enough you can get other people to gather the food for you? Or perhaps (going back to the original question) it has nothing to do with food, but is all about passing on your genes. Having recently read the " The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature," I have a very sexualized view of all human activities. Through this lens, it would seem that the evolutionary advantage is obvious. While all the other men are out hunting procrastinating you stay back and shag all the women.

Carpe Diem Quam Minimum Credula Postero,
Ross