I’ve been knocking around an idea in my head for a while. I want to understand some of the things that are really impactful to humans but seem to be modern enough that I don’t know how or why it’s impactful without an evolutionary link.

For example; writing on physical paper has been linked to better memory retention. Why is this the case if written language is so new (in terms of human history/evolution). Also, the widespread knowledge of reading/writing is really only 150 or so years which is way too short of a time to be impactful on an evolutionary scale.

I’ve done a little bit of poking around for books on the topic but haven’t really been able to find anything relevant at local libraries. I’m guessing I need to dig into research journals to find studies related to the topic. If I had any clue where to start, I would consider trying to research and write a book on it myself, but that’s just not going to happen. I can barely keep up with posts here.

I ran across a study recently on different strategies to alter your mood. One of the options was using music. Music has certainly been around longer than written language but to have such a deep influence on our brains feels surprising to me.