You, Me, and the Shortbus We Rode In On

[jmfargo]

Humanity is stupid. We're born useless but cute so that our parents will love us, and our defenses up until we're about 5 or 6 all swing around that fickle thing known roughly as "motherly love." It's all because of the cuteness that there are so many babies wondering this land, the cuteness and maybe one or two reasons that I can't think of because man, kids don't DO anything.

From an evolution standpoint I just don't get it. We don't have claws, or teeth capable of doing much more than tearing and chewing pre-killed foods; the only big amount of hair (for most of us) is on our heads where supposedly it helps keep our heat in but in actuality is little more than a pawn in the mating ritual games we play; our bodies are a joke when looked at compared to other animals, all our parts out there where they're unprotected, easy pickin's.

So here we are, the race that got the short stack when it came to "survivable qualities,"the race that just simply doesn't make sense as a dominant species and what do we do? We breed, take over the place, and rule with an iron fist.

I think we might be back-sliding.

We have this magnificent brain that we're told is the reason we were able to dominate and subjegate the planet around us. we've used it to invent things to make life easier and more fulfilling, we've even used it to go to the moon*! Our brain IS our huge survival factor in this world.

Somehow though, we debate that evolution is just a theory and that Creationism is a science. We destroy one another in war that is obviously very anti-survival behavior. We create wonderous beautiful things, art, music, theoretical sciences, and the things to crush it all beneath an onslaught of destructive sciences, some of which could simply happen accidentally**.

Everything is automated now. People can't do simple math because we have calculators for that; they can't be bothered to spell check because we have machines for that and besides who cares, right? People aren't learning the basics before they jump into the higher levels, they just skip what can be done by computers, trusting little things, big things, and all levels between to the machines that make life simpler for them. Simpler, faster, and more interesting, these are our overriding goals, even as it makes us less knowledgeable on those things that got us there.

We have our big brains making big machines, making up for parts of our brains that we don't want to have to use, like simple math. Eventually our brains degrade to the point where they're not a survival factor any longer because we rely on the computers to help us. The computers deteriorate because we don't remember how to fix the robots that fixed the computers. Everything falls apart and there we are, staring at the wild animals, holding our crude clubs, and freezing in the winter.

But hey, at least our babies look cute, right? That'll keep the species alive when our brains are no longer enough.


*Okay, we used rockets, I admit it..
**We are currently trying to create mini black-holes on Earth. This doesn't sound like a good idea to me, anyone else? Other things that scare me are attemping to reach absolute zero, messing with our ozone layer by using it as a radio transimission enhancer, and putting missles in space, pointing...outward?

Comments

[akdidge.livejournal.com]

When I was younger, I seem to recall a piece about what separates us from animals. What makes us so special, and whatnot. The big argument that I remember is that humans use tools, and animals don't. THAT was the big difference. That and our ability to adapt and overcome faster than other predators is what made us succeed.

Now, just for the record, we need to be watching out. There are other animals out there that have refined tool usage. Such examples of this are ravens. They have been known to use three, not one but three different tools to help create their nests. So watch out for that black feathered bird my friend, because one will never know in fact if the last words you breath will say, "nevermore."

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

There's another bird that uses shaped twigs to stir up ant-hills/termite mounds and in some cases actually spear larger insects to make them easier to capture and eat.

I'm just waiting for them to use them against each other, and then they'll develop The Bomb, and we'll be on the way out.