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Why are we attuned to the latest headline, diet craze, smartphone, fashion statement?  Why do we relish a change of scene, eye attractive strangers, develop new interests?  How did Homo sapiens survive near-extinction during an environmental crisis 80,000 years ago, while close cousins very like us have died out?  Why is your characteristic reaction to novelty and change the key to your whole personality?  Why do we enjoy inexpensive pleasures, like fresh flowers or great chocolate, more than costly comforts, like cars or  appliances?  How can a species genetically geared to engage with novelty cope in a world that increasingly bombards us with it?    Follow a crawling baby around and you’ll see that right from the beginning, nothing excites us more than something new and different.