why do we get sweaty palms if we’re doing something dangerous like climbing? Isn’t that counter-productive?

Question

why do we get sweaty palms if we’re doing something dangerous like climbing? Isn’t that counter-productive?

In: 3370

Answer 1

It might be counter productive when climbing, but it might be productive in other dangerous situations that are more likely to happen during our evolution. For example if you’re running for your life, sweating is massively beneficial. For example if someone has grabbed you and you’re trying to get away, sweating is beneficial because it might make your hand slip free. During a hand to hand fight with a chimp that’s trying to catch your hand and bite your fingers off, sweating and getting slippery is beneficial.