Page 115 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

Develop a Brawny Brain • 99

Felines

Wild Pet

Cougar Lion Siamese Tabby

Figure 4-4 Animal hierarchy

connections. There is efficiency in hierarchies that help us
make connections. Consider the feline family in Figure 4-4.
There are similarities among the members of that group of
animals. What we know about a lion, for example, tells us
many things about a domestic pet: its coat is fur, its face has
whiskers, its movement is sleek and silent, and more. By
connecting a person or object with a group, we do not have
to make a long list of details about the new object. We allow
the object to inherit the qualities of the group, which we al-
ready have stored in our memories.
Many groups have an inherent ranking system. The
Armed Forces, for example, are organized into a very struc-
tured ranking system where varying layers of officers take or-
ders from and give orders to other soldiers in other strata in
the ranks. In the Army, the generals are at the top. The suc-
ceeding ranks of commissioned officers include Colonel, Ma-
jor, Captain, and Lieutenant. The higher the rank, the more
privileges and the more responsibility the officer bears. There
are common features to all of the ranks.

Rank Has Its Privilege
This exercise provides practice in your new skill of noting
rank within a hierarchy.
Suppose that you are going to the grocery store and have
to buy the following items: eggs, bread, lettuce, milk, broccoli,