Think down, not across

A buffalo proposes a break in the tradition of foraging migration.
...

Rebel buffalo: For ages we've traversed. West to east and back again.

Follower buffalo: Everyone does it.

Rebel buffalo: Maybe there's another way. I'm going down this time. North to south.

Follower buffalo: What will the herd think?

Rebel buffalo: No comment. The east coast is nice, the west cost is nice but there's just a vast expanse of nothing in the middle.

Follower buffalo: But if you go down from top to bottom, that vast expanse of nothing goes on even longer.

Rebel buffalo: Think of it this way. If you follow the coast all the way, the good bits last the whole journey.
...

Conversant version

Alfred has a passing knowledge of zoology. Erland has a nodding acquaintance with applied linguistics. Neither Alfred nor Erland has any knowledge of chemistry.

Alfred: Buffalo.

Erland: What about ‘em?

Alfred. They move in herds but it doesn’t mean they’re safe from predators.

Erland: No?

Alfred: They run at the speed of the slowest.

Erland: Like speed of a convoy is that of the slowest ship?

Alfred: Exactly. But the slow ones, they run behind, they’re the weak ones, they run slowest, get picked off by predators. Keeps the average strength of the herd up. Darwin’s Law.

Erland: There’s a parallel in our brains, you know. Weak cells slow our brains down. But if we drink beer, we…

Alfred: …kill a lot of brain cells?

Erland: Like buffalos, you kill off the weak ones first. So if you often drink beer, you eliminate weak links, and your brain works better.

Alfred: Ah. So that’s why we think better after a beer or two.

...

Stub

Alfred is a theoretical philosopher. Erland studies applied philosophy.

Alfred: A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

Erland: In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers.