You mean rationally from an evolutionary point of view? You have less to lose from a bold decision, but perhaps you have much less to gain and that predominates. As a young guy you can take off into the wilds with a young wife and another few couples. Chances might be 90% you’ll be killed, but if you do make it to the new land, you might start a whole new population of people.
I think if you look at deciduous trees of the same species, the young trees get their leaves earlier in the spring than the mature trees. I think I’ve observed that. They’re “gambling”, because a late frost could kill them. But their chances of becoming a mature tree aren’t that great anyway, and they need to grab light before their elders shade them. The older trees can afford to be conservative.
As people in our modern society, there’s some tendency to relax as you get older. Older people encourage you to dance as if no one is watching? Not sure I believe that myself, though. :-)
You mean rationally from an evolutionary point of view? You have less to lose from a bold decision, but perhaps you have much less to gain and that predominates. As a young guy you can take off into the wilds with a young wife and another few couples. Chances might be 90% you’ll be killed, but if you do make it to the new land, you might start a whole new population of people.
I think if you look at deciduous trees of the same species, the young trees get their leaves earlier in the spring than the mature trees. I think I’ve observed that. They’re “gambling”, because a late frost could kill them. But their chances of becoming a mature tree aren’t that great anyway, and they need to grab light before their elders shade them. The older trees can afford to be conservative.
As people in our modern society, there’s some tendency to relax as you get older. Older people encourage you to dance as if no one is watching? Not sure I believe that myself, though. :-)