Each of us has a cave-dweller inside of us. I have decided to call mine Claire. Most of the time she's pretty quiet—I can go about my daily life making conscious choices about what to wear, in what order I need to get things done, and who I want to spend time with. But fairly predictably, Claire takes over. Most of the time she is backing me up. She helps me defend myself if something comes flying in my direction, makes me yawn when I am getting tired, and causes me to crave certain foods when I need nourishment. But once in a while, she motivates me to do things I don't understand. That is because she thinks it is still thousands of years ago and I am part of a tribe that is not only hunting and gathering, but also is seen as prey—and Claire wants to survive to see the next day. The world is not safe in her eyes, and there are certain instincts she feels I should be employing. And in most cases, she is right. But there is one area of my life where Claire has been p
Explaining fandom from an evolutionary point of view.