I always knew that cowardice breeds fear.
I would think it's the other way around.
Cowardice is a response to fear.
Of course, this could be one of those chicken egg things.
However today I learned something new, that extreme fear also lowers one's IQ.
This has been known for a long time.
Nobody thinks rationally under extreme fear.
That's the whole point of the fight or flight response.
Sending all the energy to the muscles for maximum chance of escape.
Several studies have been done to show that one's average Sudoku score, for example, is significantly lowered while being chased by lions, tigers and bears, compared to sitting in a relaxing coffee shop.
Of course, when test subjects are sitting in relaxing coffee shops WITH cute baristas, the Sudoku scores drop back down.
The evidence suggests that fear of baristas is not as large as fear of getting eaten by lions, tigers, and bears.