I WANNA GO FAST, DAD.
I WANNA GO FAST!
But what's the evolutionary basis of wanting to burn rubber?
speed demons Speed is a thing y'all.
The fastest freefall, the fastest sprinter, the fastest jet, the fastest swimmer, cars
that go zero to sixty in 2.5 seconds, and on and on!
Humans seem to be obsessed with speed.
People just cannot keep off the throttle, but why do some of us seem to be addicted
to it?
Well, a 2009 study in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, that took FOREVER
to find, looked at the testosterone levels of men driving a sports car or a family sedan.
They then had them drive down streets crowded with women, and streets that were empty; testing
their testosterone after the experiment, and regardless of their audience, the men in a
sports car had elevated testosterone levels, while the sedan guys remained low.
When driving fast, squirts of adrenaline cause our blood pressure to spike, heart to race,
and body to tingle as we prepare to spring into action.
After the moment of fear and mortality fades, we're left with euphoric withdrawal.
Some people respond to this feeling more than others, but men tend to be more susceptible
than women, indicating it's related to testosterone.
Which is why men tend to drive like… well.
you know.
When we get into a car, something happens to our psyche and the car becomes an extension
of our ego!
And the lead researcher believes human males use the sports car as a status symbol, and
a method of "sexual signalling," akin to the feather displays, dances, constructions, songs
or displays of other animals.
We are literally peacocking, though, according to the study, we're not doing it for an audience,
we're doing it for ourselves.
Of course, then we have to get out there and USE that giant thing underneath us and go
fast!
Right?
Yes, it depends on your levels of testosterone, sure, but also the levels of the enzyme monoamine
oxidase (MAO).
MAO is a regulator in the brain which is linked with a dopamine receptor called dopamine-4.
Dopamine is one of the reward chemicals floating around in your gourd, it makes you feel good
and is connected to mood so strongly that antidepressants keep more of it floating in
there.
People with low levels of MAO are correlated with high-levels of sensation-seeking, the
name psychologists give to those who take risks for the thrill of it.
When humans feel excitement and fear, our brains are awash in a myriad of chemicals
and hormones, stimulating here, tweaking there, rewarding and dampening our feelings and emotions;
and those chemicals can be habit-forming, sometimes resulting in sensation-seekers driving
faster and faster and more and more dangerously.
So, there's some level of genetic and hormonal influence involved in speed demoning, further
supported by evidence that the children of sensation-seekers tend to themselves fall
into the euphoric trap!
We've talked about sensation-seeking before, and when applied speed demons, it makes all
the sense.
In the book "The Speed Handbook," UC Santa Barbara professor Enda Duffy explores how
the automobile changed human experience.
We became psychologically averse to slowness, the media, movies, and television have all
seduced us into speed.
It's exciting, and also (often) illegal.
According to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration "speeding is one
of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes."
In 2010, 31 percent of ALL fatalities on the road were due to speeding, and 77 percent
of all car-related deaths involve men.
Sensation-seeking is fun and exciting and gives some of the best natural-highs in the
world, but it can ALSO be dangerous.
Slow down, don't speed.
Grab a spot on a racetrack if you want to test your limits.
But also keep in mind, we get flashes of these feelings when dating, exploring new places,
and even having sex.
Without sensation-seeking, we'd never have left the trees, the plains, or the shores
of Africa.
And definitely never have gone to space, or broken speed records.
It's a part of us, a risky part, but important nonetheless!
But if you enjoy thrill of a new vehicle, check out the Toyota TRD.
Toyota has been doing some tinkering of their own with the TRD line of Toyota Trucks.
Enhanced to rule the off-road!
What was your first car?
Mine was a 1988 Volkswagon Vanagon, it was sweeeeet top speed 70 mph.
No thrill-seeking for me.