This is in continuation from the previous post “The problem from hell…” discussing how we are causing, and why we are so incapable of dealing with Anthropogenic Global Warming, and what it means for us as a species, and as individuals. If you haven’t read that yet, I would suggest you to read it first.
The last few posts in this series might seem dark and depressing to the casual reader. But to look for solutions truly and deeply, an insight into our state of being is in order. Gauguin[1] asked them more than a century ago. We need to ask them again.
Where do we come from?
What are we?
Where are we going?
— Paul Gauguin
The story begins like this…
In a time long before there was time, the cosmos exploded from an infinitesimal point spewing out radiation and hydrogen gas in every direction. Then, slowly, over billions of years, those molecules of hydrogen gas formed clouds attracted by their own gravity. Those clouds grew heavy, dense, and, because of friction, hot. Insanely hot. So hot that it gave birth to a new kind of process — Nuclear Fusion. Stars were formed, and in their hearts Hydrogen atoms started to fuse together into bigger elements — Helium, Carbon, Nitrogen and so forth. Eventually, these earliest stars died, and when they did, they spewed out their remains out into space — stellar ash consisting of these elements. Out of these, one element was special — Carbon.
In the cosmos, nothing is wasted. These elements over time fell together under their own gravity. More stars were formed with orbiting planets composed of these and still more complex elements. One day, quite by accident, on one remote speck of rock circling an obscure star, under the right conditions, Carbon atoms started forming longer and longer molecules. Carbon is special in this way. It can conveniently combine with up to four other atoms. One or more of those atoms can be Carbon itself, giving rise to incredibly long and complex chains — billions of atoms long.
On this remote unaddressable speck, the right conditions persisted. The molecules grew longer, until one day a molecule arose which could make crude copies of itself. This was the ancestor to what we know today as DNA. Life had begun. The cosmic algorithm of evolution was now underway. In the following time, those initial few molecules made more complex copies of themselves until they became a cell. Then from single cell to multi cellular to yet more esoteric stuff, life began to give rise to complexity from thereon in. Four billion years later we humans are the result of that initial chance encounter between those early fleeting Carbon molecules and a few stray cosmic waves.
We are made from star stuff.
The great demotions
Homo sapiens on planet Earth are a relatively recent phenomena. We have been intimately shaped by evolution, which gave us the skills at first to survive, and then thrive. We acquired social skills, which allowed us to work together in groups for a common cause. We were gifted with the amazing ability of pattern matching. Looking at the stars in the night sky, we could deduce what the season was, which animals may likely be hunted, and later, which crops may likely be grown.
However, along the way, we came to see ourselves as special — distinct from everything around us. The sun rises and circles us everyday (to this day, we use the terms sunrise and sunset to describe this). So do the stars and constellations. They show us patterns with meaning. We saw fit to use the elements provided by nature as we willed. Characteristically, we imposed our nature onto nature. We started finding patterns even if there were none. We were convinced that we were the central elements of a great plan conceived by the creator. Religions formed — great texts were written, oppressive power structures assumed control over our lives.
However, human curiosity is unbounded. Through the tireless, hazardous work of generations of searchers and explorers, we began to unravel the mysteries hidden deep. What followed were a series of great demotions.
First we learned that our home planet, the Earth, wasn’t flat. Neither was it the center of solar system. Our solar system wasn’t at the center of the galaxy. Our galaxy wasn’t at the center of the cosmos. There was no great plan behind all this. We do not live in a privileged reference frame.
Down on our planet, we discovered that we are made of the same stuff as everything else, long chains of replicating carbon based molecules. There is nothing that makes us humans inherently special, any more than the rest of life on this planet is.
The knowledge of these facts can be justifiable cause for dismay. Discovering that you are not special, not the labor of love of some infinite creator, not the apple of god’s eye can bring consternation, but it shouldn’t.
Even without a great plan, we have come to be. Life has come to be. You can search a billion other galaxies, and the only humans you will find will be on planet Earth. We evolved, gained intelligence, began asking questions, finding answers, appreciating beauty, contemplating our existence. All of that is special.
Once we have gained this cosmic perspective, we can ponder our existence more meaningfully.
In the previous few blog posts, we have seen a description of the myriad problems and challenges we face as a species and as a civilization.
Carl Sagan said that “The Earth is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark… There is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves”. Even in the midst of all these crises and the damages that are already baked into the system for future generations, there is one hope. It starts by recognizing the core problem — Human Nature.
If the cause of our problems is human nature, then the solution must lie there as well. Everything else is kicking the can further down the road. This is starting to be recognized by the world’s premier scientific research bodies. In the 2016 edition of the WWF Living Planet Report [2], after describing all the challenges we are creating for life on this planet, this graphic appears when solutions are discussed.
As evident, we most often see and respond to (distinct) events. If we are lucky and persistent, we might recognize the patterns behind those events. Rarely, if ever, we will recognize mental models and the underlying human values under the surface.
I believe that if we are to have any chance of fixing the mess we are in, a deep introspection is overdue. This article has started that process by scratching at the surface…
[to be continued…]
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