This may so like an odd question which you may think has a very obvious answer, but me and my friend we discussing this the other day and I came to the personal conclusion that humans are at best an anomaly of nature. And this next bit is going to sound very much like the Matrix.
Every other animal on the planet lives in equilibrium with its habitat. Numbers are almost constantly controlled by predators higher up the food chain, and if there is any sudden population growth or decline it is quickly curbed by an insufficient food supply, thus killing off the necessary number of the problematic species, returning things to normal. Climate change also plays a major factor in determining the long term survival prospects of a species, and the species which adapt the best to the new conditions will continue their existence.
However, humans do the exact opposite. I am only going to focus on the western world here, because Africa/the subcontinent currently lacks the means to do the following, despite them having the potential.
The Western world appears to have absolutely no balance with nature. If food supplies get dangerously low to feed their populace, we have both huge amounts of food reserves, and if needs be we will turn to GM crops to ensure our survival. We cause widespread damage to the environment, destroying huge areas of forest, dumping toxic waste in landfills and bodies of water, and spewing out greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere; even if you don't believe in global warming, you cannot deny that because of us the planet is in a very unhealthy state. And if there is ever any really serious change in global temperatures, we can survive those too, be it through a large rise or a large fall. I'm sure we could live on the water, in the air, or in space if we really wanted to.
Therefore I have come to the conclusion that the Wachowski brothers have come up with one of the most profound truths about our species: humans are not actually mammals, they are a virus. Or at least a mammilian virus
Edit: Edited title upon suggestion by someone who crapped all over the previous one ('Are humans natural?'), along with several others...I shall eat your souls.
Every other animal on the planet lives in equilibrium with its habitat. Numbers are almost constantly controlled by predators higher up the food chain, and if there is any sudden population growth or decline it is quickly curbed by an insufficient food supply, thus killing off the necessary number of the problematic species, returning things to normal. Climate change also plays a major factor in determining the long term survival prospects of a species, and the species which adapt the best to the new conditions will continue their existence.
However, humans do the exact opposite. I am only going to focus on the western world here, because Africa/the subcontinent currently lacks the means to do the following, despite them having the potential.
The Western world appears to have absolutely no balance with nature. If food supplies get dangerously low to feed their populace, we have both huge amounts of food reserves, and if needs be we will turn to GM crops to ensure our survival. We cause widespread damage to the environment, destroying huge areas of forest, dumping toxic waste in landfills and bodies of water, and spewing out greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere; even if you don't believe in global warming, you cannot deny that because of us the planet is in a very unhealthy state. And if there is ever any really serious change in global temperatures, we can survive those too, be it through a large rise or a large fall. I'm sure we could live on the water, in the air, or in space if we really wanted to.
Therefore I have come to the conclusion that the Wachowski brothers have come up with one of the most profound truths about our species: humans are not actually mammals, they are a virus. Or at least a mammilian virus
Edit: Edited title upon suggestion by someone who crapped all over the previous one ('Are humans natural?'), along with several others...I shall eat your souls.
