Each layer of human ability can be understood as a distinct branch of intelligence, each as deep and complex as the next. No layer is inherently better or worse, as each one is limited on its own. Layer 1 provides the foundation for stability and vitality, but without support from later layers, lacks long term insight, direction, and purpose. In contrast, Layer 8 can move society toward deeper collective integration and alignment, but without support from earlier layers, it can become overwhelming, ungrounded, and detached from reality. The goal of the human life is to become aligned with layers you are naturally strongest in, while developing the weaker layers required to support them. Something that becomes easier and far more natural the more we interact as a species rather than as individuals. --- While human development generally follows the order of layers, different people will move through the layers at different speeds depending on whether a layer aligns or misaligns with their natural or developed strengths/weaknesses. - **Stronger Layers →** you will tent to go deeper into, understand more, and utilise more often and effectively. - **Weaker Layers →** you will tend to avoid, be less proficient in, and only engage with when necessary. We also move up and down the layers collectively across both societal and specie wide development. More developed societies tend to have greater stability over a wider range of layers, while less developed ones tend to remain more scattered, or fixated around specific layers. --- I believe we evolved with different processing preferences because it allows a population to cover more areas in greater depth. Each person only has a finite amount of energy, so if everyone was equally balanced across every layer, we may have fewer individual weaknesses, but we would also have a lower ceiling for specialised strengths and less diversity in thought. Because we evolved as naturally social beings, these weaknesses can then be balanced through cooperation, shared support, and collective integration, allowing us to act as a species rather than only as individuals. This concept expands further when we recognise humanity itself as one specialised expression amongst the larger ecosystem of our environment, with our own unique role to fulfil. <span class="nav-buttons">[[2.9 Layer 8 - Awareness (MMM)|« Back]] [[3. Our Behavioural Codex (Theoretical)|Next »]]</span>