Michael Jackson’s death is a reminder of the vitality of America’s (and the world’s) cult of celebrity. The intensity of the global public response leads one to wonder: why is society so deeply affected by the death of a person who was known for his bizarre behavior and questionable judgment? Evolutionary psychology provides a useful perspective.

When evolutionary psychologists see that a behavior is widespread and common in a particular species, they first look to find out if the behavior is “adaptive”—that is, reproductively beneficial. Hero worship is interesting in this regard because we find versions of it in all societies. Our first recorded literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh, dealt primarily with the lives of two heroes. From Odysseus to Elvis, great artists have been revered. Because?

Public performance can be understood as a form of genetic signaling. This is one of the reasons why young animals play. When pups romp and run around playfully, they are sending very serious messages to future competitors and future mates about their genetic fitness. A pup who is especially big or fast at play communicates with competitors (“you won’t want to mess with me when I grow up”) and future mates (“my genes are the best, you’ll have great kids with me”).

It makes sense, therefore, that youngsters enjoy the game (they do) and are big “show-offs” (they are). In fact, the whole purpose of the game, from an evolutionary perspective, is precisely to “show off” our exceptional genetic fitness. As we get older and become sexually active adults, we don’t really stop playing. Instead, our game gets deadly serious (we start calling it “work” or “art”), and many of us become even more extreme “show-offs.” It will be better. Our “performances” at work or at social events are the most likely indicators of whether or not we will be successful in the reproductive market.

Although there are many ways to display genetic fitness, humans appear to be especially attuned to verbal, musical, or athletic performance. Our top politicians, actors, musicians, and sports stars receive overwhelming adulation. Verbal and musical displays likely evolved as a form of competitive play intended to signal intelligence. “Touching the Dozens” and hip-hop contests likely have roots in human behavior dating back hundreds of thousands of years. As humans evolved into more intelligent creatures, the pressure of sexual selection put a premium on displays correlated with intelligence.

Therefore, when musical superstars perform in public, they are inserting an ancient evolutionary key into a special lock in our brains. When the key turns, we receive an exhilarating burst of dopamine, the brain’s version of cocaine, the ultimate feel-good drug.

The fascinating thing about public performance is that it feels good for both the artist and the audience. Again, from an evolutionary perspective, this is to be expected. The actor’s brain is being rewarded because evolution has provided us with a great boost (a dose of dopamine) so that we can show off successfully whenever we can get away with it. If he does, he maximizes our chances of attracting a desirable mate. Showing off feels good. Showing off in front of a large audience feels excellent.

The audience also finds their brain rewarded by evolution, but for different reasons. Why do we enjoy watching exceptional performances? There are three reasons. First of all, spectacular performances are, in a sense, “instructive”. Humans are the most imitative species on earth. Much of our intelligence has to do with our ability to model and imitate adaptive behavior. It makes sense that we’d be especially vigilant about top performance of any kind: the more we enjoy it, the more we’ll pay attention to it, and the more likely we’ll learn something from it. Second, if we feel that we are socially or emotionally attached to the actor, we are encouraged by the greater possibility that we or our offspring will share the genetic bounty represented by that actor. Third, the more we ingratiate ourselves with the performer, for by displaying submissive and adoring behavior, the more likely we are to earn the performer’s esteem, and with it, the opportunity to mate with him and endow our offspring with the superior genes of the artist. .

It seems likely that humans have been programmed by evolution to become rock stars or groupies (or both). The path we take depends on our location within the competitive space of our generation’s gene pool. If we’re the best singers or dancers of our generation, we’ll be tempted to perform: The rewards, both in terms of dopamine delights in our brains and attention from sexually attractive partners, could be enormous.

Unfortunately, while it makes sense, from an evolutionary perspective, that members of our species would be drawn to musical genius, it doesn’t necessarily make sense from an individual perspective. Many people have learned this in the most concrete way, marrying musicians (I did). My eldest son inherited exceptional musical talent, so my genes are happy. My genes never cared about my wife’s operatic temperament (she’s a mezzo-soprano), that’s been purely my business. Evolution promises us adorable children; does not promise us a rose garden.

Michael Jackson fans have been fooled to some degree by evolution. Watching the Gloved’s strange twists and masterful singing released whole oceans of brain dopamine, but that didn’t change the fact that his hero was a very strange man.

In fact, the life of Michael Jackson represents the complete opposite of wisdom, the opposite of what one should admire or try to emulate in a role model. Dopamine rushes can be addictive, just like cocaine. Young Michael’s success as a child prodigy may have destroyed his chances of being happy as an adult. He could never get over the Peter Pan ecstasies he achieved as a child star, so he spent his life in a perpetual attempt to remain a child. This is already very unhealthy in your 20s or 30s. At 40 or 50, it’s a sign of mental illness.

Evolution has left our brains vulnerable to tricky evolutionary clues. Fortunately, it has also provided us with an alarm system called “reason.” We can learn to recognize our ancient evolutionary triggers for precisely what they are: stimuli to do things that may or may not be good for us. Nothing can stop the dopamine from flowing once our fingers start snapping “I’m Bad,” but our reason can prevent us from taking the whole matter too seriously. and should

We must not underestimate the pleasures and delights of participating in shows. Whether we find ourselves cheering at a sports arena or at a jazz concert, our delight is deep and real. We should enjoy this joy: it is one of the highlights of the human experience. However, we should look to the people we really know and trust around us for role models, not the music superstars, no matter how talented they are.