8 Ways Evolution Has Made You Terrified Of Everything

2. Eye Contact: Alphas

Regardless of how sociable you think you are, staring into somebody's eyes for any length of time is exceedingly uncomfortable. For many it can even induce panic, anxiety and fear. There are now some scientists out there who think that shyness might actually be a key evolutionary trait in humans, and indeed many other mammals. This doesn't seem to square with the brutal "survival of the fittest" idea many people have of evolution, how exactly would meekness and an inability to hold someone's gaze win out over alpha displays of brute force? Well, displays of weakness and appeasement actually make you much less likely to get ripped open like a packet of Midget Gems. Holding someone's gaze is still seen as an act of aggression in our evolved, suit-wearing society just as much as with our gorilla friends. Evolutionarily speaking, the only thing that really matters is the likelihood of passing on your genes. If keeping you head down makes you more likely to mate with the other shy and demure proto-humans and pass on the beta genes to their little beta children and so on.