Are humans naturally lazy?

It turns out we are not biologically programmed to do as little as possible. Indeed, we thrive on activity. Or at least, a good balance between being busy and being able to rest.

bbc.com - Are human beings naturally lazy? - BBC Future

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You may be among the more than three million people who’ve seen a short film issued by the Governor of California’s office. It’s all over social media. In the video, the comedian Larry David, in his trademark sardonic style, urges people to follow the official advice and stay at home to stop the spread of Covid-19. What’s the matter with you "idiots", he says, you’re passing up a fantastic opportunity to sit in an armchair and watch TV all day! We’re used to health warnings that urge us to do things that we don’t really have a great urge to do: to exercise more, to eat five or eight or even 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. But for once the official advice sounds easy; loaf on the sofa, binge-watch box sets, stay at home. This all sounds as though it should appeal to our lazier sides. In fact, it is not as simple as that, as you’ve probably already found out, after a few weeks of lockdown. It turns out we are not biologically programmed to do as little as possible. Indeed, we thrive on activity. Or at least, a good balance between being busy and being able to rest.

It’s true that we often look for the easy option, the path of least resistance, the shortcut to success. If you have a remote control, why get up and switch channels on the TV itself? If you have a car why cycle to the supermarket? If you can get away with doing half as much work than a colleague, then why not?

Any sort of work or effort involves mental and physical strain, so it makes sense to avoid it where possible. And sometimes we do just that. This is sometimes known as the principle of least effort or Zipf’s Law, a law you might think no one is ever tempted to break. Except that we break it all the time.

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