I watched a program (I think it was the Discovery Channel) called "The History of the Earth". There were pictures so I was able to follow along. In the 4 billion (that's BILLION) years since the earth was formed, modern human beings have existed only within the last 100,000 years or so. We are nothing more than a speck; a blip in time.
To steal a line from a famous book: In the Beginning, the big bang, cosmic dust, and various gases created the heaven and the earth. Since then, there have been life forms that have dominated the planet in it's many states, only to have a natural event - a crashing asteroid, volcanic eruptions, or cyclical ice ages - have a profound effect on those species...in most cases it was extinction. Those poor bastards never saw it coming.
But life went on, and by some miracle (divine?), human beings took their turn as the rulers of the earth. We are the smartest species in the 4 billion year history of the planet. Yet we are screwing the whole place, and each other, up. I have no doubt that eventually we will go the way of the dinosaurs by our own hand... directly or indirectly. But unlike them, we are the only ones who could see it coming.
What, did you want only my happy thoughts?
To steal a line from a famous book: In the Beginning, the big bang, cosmic dust, and various gases created the heaven and the earth. Since then, there have been life forms that have dominated the planet in it's many states, only to have a natural event - a crashing asteroid, volcanic eruptions, or cyclical ice ages - have a profound effect on those species...in most cases it was extinction. Those poor bastards never saw it coming.
But life went on, and by some miracle (divine?), human beings took their turn as the rulers of the earth. We are the smartest species in the 4 billion year history of the planet. Yet we are screwing the whole place, and each other, up. I have no doubt that eventually we will go the way of the dinosaurs by our own hand... directly or indirectly. But unlike them, we are the only ones who could see it coming.
What, did you want only my happy thoughts?
2 comments:
Scott,
I just read your complete profile - there are a couple of parts missing; however, as your faather-in-law, I will refrain.
I just read five entries - very impressive - not just the material but the writing style. You have a unique touch, my son.
Please remind me to check this periodically.
Happy adventures.
Me
I don't think we'll every be the cause of our own extinction... We are getting closer to interplanetary space travel by the decade... I can imagine a moon habitat by the time my daughter is a grandmother... Who knows what time will bring.
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