What is the smallest set of things that we need in a modern consumer society?
ON SOCIAL media site Instagram, thousands of people in the US post photos with the hashtag #edc, meaning "everyday carry". These show the tools, weapons and accoutrements that they haul around day in, day out. Men also show off the contents of their pockets through #pocketdump (currently 17,900 photos), whereas women tend to favour #whatsinmybag (25,450 photos).
The core stuff is remarkably similar for both groups. Those possessions we keep closest on a daily basis have a special practicality, concreteness, intimacy and symbolic importance. As the tool-making species, we are what we carry. And what we carry might offer a guide to what we really need, stripped of the clutter of overconsumption.
For an evolutionary psychologist like me it is natural to wonder if we can link our everyday stuff to that of our distant ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.
