Therefore, this evolution has caused what he calls 'self-inflicted extinction.' This can be applied to an array of things, however an urgent topic would be global climate change and pollution. We are quickly extincting ourselves. Our advances in technology and agriculture are leading to our earth's decay. Since we have come from monkeys, we have become more intelligent. We have adapted our environment to our needs instead of adapting ourselves. There is no need for change in our DNA, which is why it seems we are stangent, because anything we need we have the ability to create. This idea, though it is an advance in humanity, will ultimately lead to our downfall.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
self-inflicted extinction
Phelan in his piece, "How We Evolve" speaks of the new findings of evolution. Thousands of years ago, we stopped migrating and started agriculture with different food and started living in cities. This caused us to become a large population and allowed our numbers to grow. However, "our DNA is still catching up" (196). This means, that despite the wide spread thought that our evolution has stopped is false, it has nearly begun. In fact research has shown that the "maximum rate of change ... was within the past three thousand years, even though the gene originated eight thousands years ago" (197). As we evolve, we have the ability to create weapons and machinery that will help us with daily activities, in war and in the future. However, he points out that what we create could also harm us. He uses the example of CFCs in refrigerators. They were intended to keep fridges from over heating, but what was released over heated the earth.
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You have definitely trapped (captured?) the most haunting parts of Phelan's piece. Good eye!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we are quickly extincting ourselves. We do have the ability to create whatever we would like, and in some cases, this may not be the best thing.
ReplyDeleteGiven your viewing of George Carlin's "Saving the Planet" stand-up routine, what do you think now? Is his counterpoint relevant?
ReplyDeleteagree with what you wrote "We have adapted our environment to our needs instead of adapting ourselves". We do ot even need change necessarily today because most of what we truly need to survive can be created and manufactured somewhere. We create our own evolution in a sense that we make all things which might be important to our survival.
ReplyDeleteI thought Carlin's point was comical, but extremely interesting. Phelan's point is that we re killing ourselves. Carlin's point is that although people say they are worried about the earth, we are really just worried about the earth because we need to live on it. Carlin's point is that the earth doesn't really care about us. It will mend itself in year to come after we're long gone. For all we know, the earth created us just so we can make plastic. So I'm not really sure if they are counterpoint views... they just highlight a different angle of the situation.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I agree with your last observation. The planet is like that shitty friend that we're being nice to just so we can use her for something. Carlin is being the rational friend telling us to get with it and stop being fake because the planet really doesn't care about us whatsoever and will eventually screw us over on her own time.
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