Panic is bad if you're in an evolutionarily novel emergency (like losing your mask when scuba-diving 30 meters down) where reason should over-ride instinct. But our ancestors faced infectious diseases for millions of years. Contagion-induced panic might often be adaptive.https://twitter.com/primalpoly/status/1236665501754904576 …
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Was infectious disease really a large problem? I thought that was only after the advent of agriculture.
Agriculture & urbanization certainly increased contagion risk for humans. But most animals evolved some form of 'behavioral immune system' to avoid infections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_immune_system …
