https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz8iEJeh26E It is said that survival instinct is not learnt as we grow up, instead it lies at the root of the fabric of our existence. The whole idea of survival of the fittest begins with this survival instinct. Consider a thought experiment questioning this. There is an island with a certain number of people who do not have a regular contact with the outside world. It is a mountain island with water all around it. A high and steep cliff facing the huge ocean waves forms most of the boundary of this island. On top of this mountain, there are some plain areas where people live. For some reason, these people started following a crazy tradition twenty years back. According to this tradition, there is a particular day of the year when all the children whose age is ten years as of that date jumps from the highest point of the cliff down in the rocky ocean. And die as a result. This day is celebrated as the biggest festival of that community, and all residents of that island come together to watch it. Every adult has gotten used to it now. All those children who are less than ten years of age have been watching this tradition since their birth and hence it feels normal to them too. They do not question it for they do not realise the possibility of continuation of life beyond ten years. It is an impossibility in their minds to avoid this tradition and none of them puts any effort in this direction. Living in this closed society for the last ten years has closed their minds to the possibility of not jumping and watching this celebration year after year, they have learnt that this is the only way to live a life. This is what must be done, this is what is supposed to be done. The question is if the human survival instinct is inbuilt in them, why would they still jump?