Thought 4: Major Hurdles for Present Humans

Imagine, if you will, the human species.  The human species is approximately 200,000 years into it's development.  We have changed so much as a species since then.  From our humble beginnings as hunter-gatherers we have become a species of civilizations.  There was one key technological advancement that allowed humans to form cities.  This was agriculture.  With the invention of agriculture it was possible for a group of humans to stay in one place and still provide a means of living.  This change in human behavior, brought about by us learning how to manipulate the Earth, happened only 10,000 years ago.  It allowed humans the ability to root themselves.  We could now build societies with governments, libraries, and armies.  Discovering that some people were more skilled at certain tasks than others, humans became specialized in different tasks.  Some became farmers to provide food for the city.  Some became builders.  Some became philosophers.  The human species started advancing rapidly.  Around 6,000 years ago humans began performing another action that would advance our species.  We started writing.  For the first time in the world, thoughts were able to be recorded.  Pieces of information, instructions, fables, all began to be documented for future inquires.  Reading a passage is similar to looking into the mind and thoughts of the writer.  All the information is organized and displayed, hopefully, in a manner that provides value.  Writing was another key technological advancement.

Now, instead of the past, lets look into the future.  The human species is 200,000 years old.  Lets take a look 200,000 years into the future.  What do YOU imagine?  Think to yourself.  What will the human species be in 200,000 years.  Look how far we've come only in recent history.  In a 200,000 year time period the human species may be capable of some of the most amazing feats, or some of the gravest tragedies.  Where will we be?  I can imagine several scenarios.  All of them are grandiose.  I let my imagination get carried away with thoughts of humongous cities with buildings the size of mountains and flying cars.  I also think we could become a space faring species.  Sending crafts into the galaxy to retrieve valuable resources from other planets or trading with other species we eventually meet in the distant reaches of the cosmos.  However, part of my mind cautions me.  Why would I be so naive to think we are capable of making it that far?  The human species is in the midst of a serious problem.  We are capable of completely destroying our planet.  This can happen two ways.  The first way:  we blow ourselves up.  The destructive power of one nuclear weapon is equivalent to the sum destructive power of every bomb dropped in world war 2 in Europe.  The destructive force of world war 2 in one nuclear weapon.  There are an estimated 23,000 nuclear weapons on our planet.  We are certainly capable of blowing ourselves up.  The second way:  we erode the resources on our planet so far that it becomes unlivable.  The tragic greed of humans, stemmed from a deep seated evolutionary stepping stone (the greedy humans were the ones who reproduced more), may just be our undoing.  We can't stop ourselves.  We know we are going about destroying our planet at a pace that is simply unforgivable.  We must find a way to overcome our shortcomings and shortsightedness.  I want to sit and ponder the future of our species in 200,000 years without the subtle tickling that we may not be a species in 200,000 years.  So, what must we do to put our species on the track to success?  The following 5 'Hurdles' humans must leap over in order for our species to make it another 200,000 years.

Hurdles:

1. Survive technological adolescence
2. Become stewards of the Earth
3. Develop resource management
4. End fanaticism
5. Align educational goals with the improvement of our species

I listed these hurdles here with no explanation after each one.  I did this because they are all so related to each other.  They all stem from the same shortcomings of our human mind.  All of these obstacles can be leaped over through science, technology, and learning.

Surviving Technological Adolescence
Our technological adolescence has put our planet at risk for destruction.  Our technology evolved way past what our human brains are capable of handling.  We put ourselves at risk.  Too soon, I believe we discovered the destructive force of the nuclear weapon.  It is a great testament to our species that we were able to discover such things, but we have put ourselves at risk.  Will our species survive this adolescence?  That is to be seen.  The steps we can take to ensure survival from this lies in the other hurdles, but I felt this was worth mentioning.

Become Stewards of the Earth
Unfortunately, we have been going backwards on this.  Human beings are fully capable of living harmoniously with the Earth.  We must take it even a step further.  We must protect our Earth.  For now, it is the only home we have ever known.

Look at it.  Look at this terraqueous planet we reside on.  It's beautiful and it's humbling.  From this vantage point the earth looks almost fragile in nature.  We live THERE.  We have nowhere else to go.  We must take care of our planet.  Failure to do this, will be failure of the human species.

Develop Resource Management
Wars have been waged on this planet for millenniums over resources.  Now, we're exhausting our resources at a startling pace.  Soon the most valuable of these resources, the ones used to make agriculture, transportation, and medicine possible will become scarce.  It seems inevitable that more wars will happen because of this.  So, as a species, we're rushing headlong, trying to suck up as many resources as possible before other people can use them up.  This is a phenomenon known as the tragedy of the commons:

"The tragedy of the commons is a dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource, even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen. This dilemma was first described in an influential article titled "The Tragedy of the Commons," written by Garrett Hardin and first published in the journal Science in 1968.^[1]"

It is clear that humans must use their collective brain power and technologies to find a way to end this tragedy.  Otherwise, we will suck the Earth dry.

Another reason for resource management is to help end poverty.  Every living person deserves a chance for an education, a job, medical care, and a respectful retirement.  I say every person deserves a chance, I'm not saying every person should be afforded these things without their hard work and passion.

End Fanaticism
Fanaticism must end.  Any person who would fight over any idea is a fanatic.  Fanaticism has been most commonly associated with religions.  If you need to see an example of the chaos and havoc these fanatics can cause simply rewind your mind to September 11, 2001 when 19 hijackers took control of 4 commercial airliners.  Crashing two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and thousands working in the buildings.  A third plane crashed into the Pentagon.  The fourth flight was crashed outside of Washington D.C. after the passengers attempted to retake control of the plane.  There were no survivors from any flight.

I don't believe that humans need to let go of religion all together, we just need to understand it better.  By nature our species is very spiritual.  We have fought for gods and goddesses for as long as 50,000 years.  Why?  Religion evolved out of myth.  Myths were used to explain away things humans did not understand.  Why is there thunder?  Oh, the gods are angry.  These myths are part of human nature.  We MUST understand our world, it's how we work.  Because of this, different civilizations each invented their own myths.  When contact occurred between civilizations each party was shocked that they had different myths.  This is how religion was created.  Some had the idea that they must spread and share their myths with all people for their understanding.  They were trying to help these people by explaining how the world works.  Humans as a species need religion.  We are incapable of understanding our universe without it.  There are too many questions left unanswered.  However, we MUST understand what religion is.  We can not let it hinder our progress any further.

Align Educational Goals with the Improvement of Our Species
200 million Americans are scientifically illiterate.  There are 307 million Americans.  This means 65% of all people in the USA won't be able to understand a damn thing I'm about to say.  Also, shockingly, 40% don't believe in evolution and 20% believe the sun orbits around the Earth.

"Ignorance feeds on ignorance" - Carl Sagan

Science.  Science is on the precipice of doing something amazing, in every single area of study.  Everyday scientists will do something, invent something, discover something that will have an impact on our future.  This is where the future of our species lies.  Yes, we need people to grow our food.  Yes, we need people to run our governments.  And yes, unfortunately, we still need people to fight our wars and defend our peace.  However, all people, scientists or not, need to understand what it is science is doing.  It is so important for our species to move forward.  We must do a better job of educating our youngsters on the scientific process.  It has long been my opinion that 'science' classes like biology and chemistry are more similar to a history of science class then an actual science class.  We need to, from the preschool level, teach our offspring how to conduct science not just what science has taught us.  Prefer the hard truth over your dearest illusions and you will be conducting science.