Paradoxically, despite our ability to adapt, we now find yourselves caught in the insidious trap of our own success. Progress has accelerated so quickly over the past couple of centuries, and especially over the past few decades, that we have not left ourselves a chance to adapt to our new circumstances. The gears of evolution and environmental changes no longer fit together, they don’t spin in unison. It is possible that were our civilization to advance at a measured and steady pace for at least a couple of millennia, we would have been able to adapt even to smog and reduced physical activity. Our nature would have evolved to cope with these and other problems; however evolution is a slow process that takes too much time.
Adaptation has always protected us from an aggressive environment and its dangers, however, now that we can no longer rely on its protection, it is up to us to stand up for ourselves. Unfortunately for us, this valuable understanding could not have been a selection factor for the preceding generations. This is probably why it is so hard for us to force ourselves to do something about our own salvation. In the past, natural scarcity kept us from dangerous excess but now to avoid it we need to use our heads – a most unpleasant chore. So instead we sleep through half the day, get drunk and hardly move. In other words, for thousands of generations, we only had to deal with immediate problems – how to get food and survive. Everything else was solved naturally, and there was no need to think ahead. Thus, when the balance of our environment was suddenly disrupted, we were unable to see into the future, much less act strategically. Even when we clearly understand the fatal danger, it fails to turn on the mechanism of an adequate response because it simply does not exist, it did not have time to evolve in the context of the new threats to our well-being. This is perhaps the only explanation for our criminal carelessness towards ourselves and our bodies.
However, Houston, we have a problem! Sure you cannot rely on your determination and insight alone in such a serious situation? Once again: we are not genetically predisposed to long-term planning, it is our weak point. That is why almost all of our grand plans, be it dieting or jogging every morning, are soon shattered by the harshness of reality. How can we possibly take on the monumental task of caring for ourselves if can’t even cope with the little things in life! How many times, for example, have we lost our phone within the four walls of our apartment, or forgotten about important meetings? Those are such simple things, in comparison to the dozens of factors you’re now being asked to monitor and keep in mind. Let’s be honest: the emotional motivation you’ll feel after this book will last at best for a couple of weeks or months, and then almost everything will return to the way it was before. Even the thought of passively committing suicide will no longer be powerful enough to scare you straight. That’s the way it always goes, isn’t it?
In other words, if we rely on our consciousness alone, we are almost guaranteed to be steamrolled by our altered habitat. Of course, at first, you will work hard to quickly raise your overall score on the M99 test but eventually, it will collapse back into the critical zone and, slowly but surely, you will forget all about it.
Thus, we have two problems:
1. The disruption of natural evolutionary processes;
2. Insufficient cognitive adaptation.
Fortunately, we have scientific and technological progress at our disposal, and in this case, it can give us a helping hand. Since we are unable to keep all the risk factors in mind, we need regular and automatic reminders to keep us in check. It is for these purposes that we have developed a free M99 smartphone application. Not only does it automatically tests the user at certain intervals, allowing you to track your progress vis-à-vis key indicators by way of figures and graphs but it also offers solutions for areas where you struggle. If difficulties arise, it will also offer the assistance of specially trained experts. Just a few minutes a week will be enough to keep you abreast of the main trends in your health, allowing you to make long-term progress despite the cognitive limitations that afflict us humans.
And for a more objective test result, in some cases, it can be beneficial to have a close friend or loved one complete the test on your behalf, and vice versa. In the future, the application will acquire new features that will automate the assessment of key factors. Other ways to control the situation may also become available in the near future, in addition to the app.
The fact is that this symbiosis of mind and technology is the only possible solution to the health problem at the moment. Essentially the M99 Standard is a set of factors for the techno-cognitive adaptation of human beings whose environment has changed so as to disturb natural evolutionary processes.
In other words, compliance with the M99 Standard is this is the only way for humans to lead a full-fledged existence in constantly changing conditions, wherein genes do not have time to adapt, and the human mind is not able to keep track of the multitude of new elements. M99 is not a whim, not a blessing or a spiritual revelation; it is the baseline for how to conduct our lives, a means of elementary survival.
As you can see from all of the above, almost all of our troubles – be it weight problems, depression or premature death – arise from common roots. Fortunately for us, we still have a say when it comes to our health, and the power to radically change our fate. You have all the instructions you need. In conditions where natural mechanisms no longer work, our only recourse is a thoughtful response with the help of modern technologies that compensate for what we lack in cognitive capacity.