WILL INTELLIGENCE BE OUR DOWNFALL?

 

WILL INTELLIGENCE BE OUR DOWNFALL?

 

We share the planet with millions of other lifeforms and all display a degree of intelligence.  Out of all those millions only one species decided to leave the natural world behind in exchange for a life filled with artifice and the ability to radically impact and change its immediate environment.  Which begs the question; was this a smart move, was it intentional or is it turning into something we’re about to regret?

I have stated in numerous articles and books that I refuse to attach the moniker “superior” to human intelligence.  In Energy & Origin I explained how it was perhaps inevitable that sooner or later a species would emerge with a higher degree of intelligence; how that intelligence would be applied and how it would impact on the rest of the world.

Humans equate intelligence with advances and achievements, but we’re well aware that a higher intelligence doesn’t include making better choices.  Judging from our past and present behavior and relying on historical records dating back from the time we were able to track the human journey, it has been a rather checkered experience with moments of glory and exultation offset by barbaric atrocities.  We’re so predictable at our worst that we don’t need soothsayers and crystal balls to predict an outcome

Some like to refer to humanity as a work in progress, as in, there is hope yet for that critter, just wait and see until we channel all that intelligence in a more positive direction.  Putting a positive spin on everything is a typical human characteristic.  From cradle to grave we’re conditioned to comply, to follow, to obey and to talk things “right” even if they’re wrong.

Why did some apes leave the safety of the jungle behind in exchange for a life as uprights?  Let’s not stick to a definition of intelligence but define instead where that extra intelligence came from.  Or . . . what provoked it?  Was it necessity?  Was there a watershed moment, some kind of awakening that affected the species and caused a sudden giant leap forward?  Or was it pure happenstance?  Inevitable?  As in, it would have happened sooner or later?

Those believing in divine intervention may at this point rub their hands in glee.  Yes, could it be, is it possible that we were planned after all?  Did something or someone interfere in the evolutionary process?  No such luck.  Sorry.  You’re not special and being part and parcel of the most destructive species to have ever emerged on planet Earth is not a cause for celebration.  The headings of all my articles should serve as a caution.  They’re usually a hint as to what is about to appear on the pages.

Evolution is about things that work.  We know that millions of species have come and gone before us and die-off or extinction is part of life.  One of these days the Piper will come knocking on our doors to collect his due but not a single species will be in a rush to meet payment.  Hanging on and hanging in is what we do best.

In Energy & Origin I explain how all life is energy driven.  Everything in and around us is energy driven and it is a force that is unstoppable, relentless and ongoing.  A ready supply of energy and a judicious use of energy determines how well a species will do.  It is a force as old as the universe based on primordial instincts and needs.  Combine this with intelligence, aggression and supremacy and all bets are off as to where this will take us.

We know from fossil records and anthropological postulations that many species of hominids existed before it ended with Homo sapiens.  What happened to them?  Did they leave a note and cancelled with regret or did we help them along the way?    We never have been kind to species that are not quite like us.  How kind were we towards the Native Americans?

Within Homo sapiens there are different markers that identify race, color and culture, but that’s the only difference.  Beneath that veneer we’re all the same.  Neanderthal was a subspecies most of us are familiar with and there has been much speculation as to what happened to them.  Absorbed?  Exterminated with extreme prejudice?  If we look at the historical track record of Homo sapiens, past and present, we come across wars, genocides, ethnic cleansing, slavery, forced labor, colonialism and outright occupations, even exterminations.  You name it, we’ve done it.  When it comes to our treatment of certain groups within Homo sapiens it must be obvious to even the most ignorant and jaded that the ill-treatment of fellow human beings is testimony to the fact that our so-called humanity must be taken with a hefty pinch of salt.  I will get back to intelligence.

For humanity to emerge as a superior force it didn’t require a magic moment of discovery or enlightenment.  No pixie dust required.  No wizard waving a magical wand to make things happen.  Nothing starts out fully formed and that includes intelligence.  We’re talking thousands of years of slow changes, of adapting, of learning and all that is required is the odd spark.  Now we’re slowly getting to the exciting points.

Profound changes can be provoked by a few brilliant minds.  

And I will illustrate this with a simple example almost all of us are familiar with.  It took individuals like a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates to create and initiate the computer landscape as we know it today.  It was true genius that came up with the concepts, but you don’t need to be a Bill Gates to operate one.

It only takes a few superior minds to inspire the masses.  Almost every decade, every century, spawns a few of these bright minds and we call them geniuses.  As a species we have moved forward based on their presence and inspiration.

Progress is combining old knowledge with new learning.

What we really need to study is the phenomenon of genius, because it is rare and not hereditary.  Smart parents for instance don’t necessarily produce smart children.  We do need to make a distinction between a true genius versus someone who is gifted or talented.  Some of these individuals, like Leonardo da Vinci or Einstein, were multi-talented.  Preoccupied with their preferred disciplines they rarely ventured into the public eye, but it was through their inventions and breakthroughs that they expanded humanity’s horizons.  Science, politics, warfare, engineering, agriculture, mathematics, chemistry, physics.  It doesn’t matter in what discipline genius appears but throughout human history it is these particular individuals who have made the difference and provided us with the breakthroughs we needed.

It takes an army to wage a war but it doesn’t take an army to start a movement.

Only one Jesus was needed to jumpstart Christianity.  One Mahatma Gandhi to put India on the road to independence.  Sadly enough, on the opposite side of the coin, it took only one Adolf Hitler to unleash Nazism, Fascism and the worst global war thus far in human history.  We know when genius does appear, but not the why and the frequency.  For a true genius to prosper and thrive a lot of favorable conditions have to be met.  Life is a crapshoot from start to finish and no one is exempted and that includes genius.  I have a sneaky suspicion that the percentage of genius versus the masses may not have changed, but our numbers have and within the more than 8 billion people currently spread out across the continents, we can already observe

an accelerated change.

The impact of accelerated progress and innovation

At a snail’s pace we moved away from the caves, our numbers only slowly growing and the setbacks were numerous because of our slow physical and mental development and incredible needs.  We’re not like little chicks that within a day independently forage for food.  We didn’t pick up the pace with that greater brain of ours.

We’re not evolving faster, we’re simply moving and progressing at a faster, accelerated pace.  This doesn’t exclude intellectual, spiritual and emotional growth.  However, intellectual growth doesn’t move in tandem with progress and achievements.  Change and progress have now become interchangeable, driven by our increased numbers and needs.

Aggression and supremacy have left their marks.

Isn’t it concerning that out of all the millions of lifeforms to emerge on planet Earth only one escaped the norm and evolved totally differently?  Billions of years of planetary splendor, of renewal and rebirthing, of natural wonders and we are the only species to have taken a sledgehammer approach to the planet we call home.  That added bit of intelligence allowed us to move away from an objective natural reality into the realm of a subjective reality that allowed us to escape the boundaries of an objective reality, an existence solely based on satisfying immediate and daily needs. 

If you stay with logical pathways and explanations it shouldn’t come as a surprise that only one hominid species would eventually emerge victorious, banishing all others.  Such is the lethality of a superior species.  It doesn’t allow for seconds, it doesn’t share and it lacks compassion.  It is all or nothing.  All other lifeforms lack our level of cognitive awareness and they don’t have to justify their actions or existence.  They simply are.

Homo sapiens emerged with some dominant evolutionary markers that explain our presence and impact.  The two most important are aggression and supremacy.  Going back to my work, Energy & Origin; we’re not driven by intelligence, but by energy.  It is the superior intake and use of energy that dictates how well a species will do and you only have to look at the behavior of the superior forces currently dominating the global political pack to see how energy use plays out.  The urge to rule, to reign with supreme power, overrides any social engineering that has taken place.  Energy dominates and overrules any scruples we may or may not have.

Whether aggression and supremacy are embedded in our DNA, in our overall makeup or are simply part of our overall design is a moot point.  We are what we are and our actions speak louder than words.

The power and impact of aggression. 

None of the conflicts currently raging around the world make any sense at all; there are no real geopolitical, strategic or economic advantages behind any of them.  For reasons I cannot comprehend we have a morbid fascination with selecting or electing the worst kind of leaders imaginable, some who are outright psychopathic autocrats.  Bad people make bad decisions and all conflicts are energy fueled, usually promoted by a leader thinking they have an advantage, a leg up.  Energy comes in many forms and disguises; land, resources, technology, people, weaponry, whatever a nation feels gives it an edge.  It could even include a political climate clamoring for change!

Bad leaders are not bothered by bad decisions or by consequences.  Aggression and supremacy are fueled by absolute power and greed and the desire to control and dominate.  Something I have explained in great detail in my novel: Behaving Badly.

Lose sight of your humanity and it is humanity that pays the price.  I can’t explain why time and time again we elect and select the worst kind of leaders.  I can’t explain the lure of following them, voting for them, cheering them on.  Are we blind to greed and corruption or do we secretly crave to ride along on the crest of supremacy?  Who likes to be left behind?

Are we blind to our impact?  Everything we have thus far achieved and accomplished has come at the expense of . . . ?  I would like you to finish this sentence for me based on what you have read.  Who or what has paid the price, and continues to pay the price, of our human follies?

We need to appreciate the true power of aggression and supremacy and how it plays out throughout the human world.  These evolutionary markers are so strong that they continue to dominate everything in our lives.  The need to dominate, to be superior, to rule, is embedded in layers throughout society.  We glorify it.  We equate dominance with virility, strength and prowess and we cultivate it in sports, contests, the workplace and in politics and enterprise.  Beauty, strength, power, we want it all and dominance is bred-in, encouraged and celebrated.  We even discourage debate on the subject and that we should accept dominance as the natural order of things, the way the world works and the way it is supposed to be.

It has left us with the impression that it is okay to dominate and to oppress and rule with force if called for.  It neatly explains so many of the lukewarm responses coming from the floor of the United Nations when it comes to denouncing violations, war crimes and human rights abuses.

We have lost control.

Our ingenuity, invasive and pervasive presence, is now calling into question progress and change.

Losing control is no longer a concept, but a reality.

Progress and change are now measured in days, weeks and months.  There appears to be this insane push to rush things along; bigger, stronger, faster, even where it concerns the world of micro and Nano-technologies.  The material world, driven by science and engineering and powered by horrendous energy needs, shows no signs of slowing down.  It’s the opposite.  It is only accelerating at an increased pace.

The human world doesn’t play on a level playing field.  The inequalities that exist between nations are purposely widened by superior powers.  We play by their rules.  The right to strike for instance by a superior force is a moot debating point when they will do so with impunity anyway.

The scientists involved in the Manhattan Project—the development of the world’s first nuclear bomb—were also the very first to protest its use.  Their intellectual concerns based on moral and ethical objections took a back seat when the military and the political establishment took control of the practical implications; a powerful weapon that could end the war, a permanent threat and deterrence.  Instead we have learned to hold our collective breath and we hope and pray that nuclear Armageddon will never fall into the wrong hands.

Our technological achievements are increasingly taking on a dark and lethal side.  Artificial intelligence and the internet have spawned some incredibly negative and dangerous features.  Some of the brilliant minds responsible for their development are now having second thoughts.  From hypersonic missiles and drones, the dark web and cyber currencies, cyber attacks and crimes, the very foundation of our societies are under constant attack and the attacks are increasingly more sophisticated, deadly and costly.

Any “superior” intelligence is inherently self-destructive and therefore any attempt to alter its course is futile.

What started out as promising, moving away from a natural reality that is simple but enduring, has spun out of control.  Do bear in mind that I have purposely shied away from mentioning dozens of other pressing problems that threaten our existence and the viability of our planet.

Other issues we’re struggling with. 

The impact of gender inequality, weapons proliferation, illegal drugs, an opioid epidemic, starvation, civil wars, refugees, illegal immigrants, systemic poverty, resource depletion, climate change, pollution, dumping of plastics in our oceans, species extinction, vanishing fish stocks, open pit mining, global warming, food shortages, inflation, staggering debt and deficit levels, nationalism, populism, a worrying breakdown of civil morality and ethics, racism and discrimination, homelessness, housing shortages.  The list goes on and on and is not getting shorter.

Yes, in the evolutionary scheme of things we turned the wrong page and our intelligence will indeed be our downfall.  Had I been content to remain as an ape in the jungle I would never have written this, but I also would not have taken part in destroying a planet that I share with millions of other lifeforms.  I would have preferred to remain dumb, rather than destructive.  The world would still be a spectacular place with millions of stars brightly illuminating the night skies.  A world filled with awe and wonder.  Are we better off with what we have created?

Are we an asset or a liability?

Will our intelligence be our downfall?