The dinosaurs ruled the roost 66M years ago.
Their gigantic posture, sharp teeth (and fire-breathing abilities shown by Hollywood) made the mammals of the day gulp with fear before stepping out in the day. Thus they became nocturnal - scouting for food at the night using and sharpening their noses and ears to navigate.
Then came an asteroid, about 10 km in diameter. Its impact wiped off 75% of the life on Earth - including the dinosaurs.
However, a few mammals that survived, woke up to a new reality.
They need not fear the day anymore.
They now walked the forests over the day, using and sharpening their eyes to navigate. And within 200,000 years (a small time period on the evolutionary scale) - mammals could be active both day and night.
Primates and later humans are the evolution of this adaptation.
It is because our mammalian ancestors stepped outside their night comfort zones, that we have a color vision today (of course we lost out on our smelling and hearing skills because it isn't a priority in the day).
The evolution of species required adaptation to the changed realities.
The evolution of individuals is no different.
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