from the pen of icarus blake

Short answer: yes.  

Long answer:

Instinct is just pattern recognition, taking slivers of information presented to you by a third party and running them through the immense meaty computer of your brain until it prints out something that says “I’ve seen this before”.  Before we settled into tidy little farms, we used it to pick out the leopard in the brush, hear the ever so slightly wrong crunch of snow beneath your feet before the bank gives way, decide whether the red berries in front of you are good to eat or not.

I had a fun run in with that last one when I encountered a bunchberry I’d never seen before on a hike, and promptly ate it (don’t do that btw).  It was a thimbleberry, so I was right — very edible and tasty — but the wisdom of feasting upon berries you’re not familiar with in the mountains is questionable.  I didn’t consciously know it, but every bunchberry (think raspberries or blackberries) that occurs in North America is edible, which is why I felt fine popping an unknown plant in my mouth.  That’s instinct for you!  Brain says the berries are safe to eat!  It then promptly started storming, which I should have expected since I was hiking with my partner and he brings rain with him whenever he goes outside.

Aside from pure survival, honing your instincts in the modern era is… complex to say the least.  Is that Craigslist ad a scam?  Does this Nigerian Prince really need $2000?  Are there hot singles in my area?  Then, of course, there are the dropshipping sites hocking cheap junk, your classmates hocking essential oils to anyone who will listen, the guys taking $1500 worth of steroids per month promising you the warrior body of your dreams if only you eat raw beef testicles.  It all makes you want to go sit in the woods and wonder if those berries are safe to eat.  Seems like a more peaceful option, no?