Pit of Vipers

When Robert Altman was given a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars a year or two before he died, (aren’t such awards always a death sentence?) he said to the star-studded audience, “I’m not interested in stories, I’m interested in human nature.” This struck me as bordering on heresy since he was addressing a crowd who had become wealthy and famous in the storytelling business. But it stuck with me. After all, aren’t we all fascinated by human nature? And, to some degree, our love of stories comes from the fact that they are illustrations of human nature in action.

I grew up in a fairly religious family and believed in the soul for a long time without questioning it. There’s no doubt we have a god-like element in us that is the best and most noble part of our nature. Call it what you want. Personally, I don’t believe it lives on after we die, except in the most abstract way.

According to a great book I read a couple of years ago, Younger Next Year, the human brain is comprised of 1. the physical brain, which controls breathing and other bodily functions, 2. the instinctive brain, which controls fear, aggression and basic sex drive, and 3. the limbic brain, which controls thought and emotion. This is, no doubt, an over-simplification but it’s based on real science.

Let’s posit that the physical and the instinctive parts comprise half of the brain’s functions. That means we’re 50% reptile. Sound like an exaggeration? Look at how much of our behavior is based on fear, aggression or sexual predation. Look at how people act when they get behind the wheel of a car—a situation in which there’s often no accountability for their actions.

I’ve found the 50% reptile concept to be a useful model for explaining human behavior. When somebody cuts me off or honks or acts obnoxious in any number of ways, I tell myself, “It’s just the reptile in him/her.” It can be quite helpful in controlling my own reptilian reaction.