"In all exploratory behaviour, there is an ever present battle between the neophilic and neophobic urges.
The former drives us on to new experiences, makes us crave for novelty. The latter holds us back, makes us take refuge in the familiar. We are constantly in a state of shifting balance between the conflicting attractions of the exciting new stimulus and the friendly old one. If we lost our neophilia, we would stagnate. If we lost our neophobia, we would rush headlong into disaster. We explore and we retrench, we investigate and we stabilize. Step by step, we expand our awareness and understanding, both of ourselves and the complex environment we live in" (From 'The Naked Ape')
The former drives us on to new experiences, makes us crave for novelty. The latter holds us back, makes us take refuge in the familiar. We are constantly in a state of shifting balance between the conflicting attractions of the exciting new stimulus and the friendly old one. If we lost our neophilia, we would stagnate. If we lost our neophobia, we would rush headlong into disaster. We explore and we retrench, we investigate and we stabilize. Step by step, we expand our awareness and understanding, both of ourselves and the complex environment we live in" (From 'The Naked Ape')
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