On my way back from lunch this past Monday–following Saturday’s “Remedial Car-Bombing 101″ Final in Times Square–I was crossing 40th on 8th when a team of fire engines raced toward a freshly billowing cloud of smoke rising from the center of the street half a block down. Naturally, instead of getting the h*ll on outa dodge, I walked toward the danger and loitered long enough to get a satisfactory camfone pic. Apparently, my need to twitpic outweighs my natural instinct to run away from danger. Has the impulse to “first respond, share” in social media decreased the evolutionary fitness of our techno-savvy, social media hungry culture ? If 9-11 had happened in 2010, would a see of pedestrians be running toward the burning building instead of away from it, their out-stretched iPhones on record, leading the way? Let’s hope not)…

Officially Vetted on CNN’s iReport