" When do nervous systems enter the evolutionary march? One good estimate is the Precambrian period, which ended 540 to 600 million years ago, an old vintage for certain but not that old when we compare it with the age of first life. Life, even multicellular life, managed quite well without nervous systems for about 3 billion years. We should reflect on this time line before we decide when perception, intelligence, sociality, and emotions made their first appearance on the world stage. "

― António R. Damásio , The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures