Catastrophic Change
Despite all the financial rumblings and the more geological rumblings of earthquakes and such, this time is a relatively peaceful moment in the short history of mankind. When I step back and look at what might have been and what might yet be, the little bumps and excursions of human history seem a lot less demanding on the road travelled, whether more or less.
Take for example the Zanclean flood. In a period of months, the entire Mediterranean basin was filled by the Atlantic Ocean. The water rise was something like 10 metres per day.
Or consider the Yellowstone supervolcano (graphic here). If it blows, at some unknown future time, the Americas will consist of Laurentia, South America, and a lot of tiny bits.
Catastrophes like that go beyond the normal human scale of activities. Our thin veneer of global civilisation would be struck a hammerblow which, even if not fatal, would be crippling.
As it is, we already have lost our sense of proportion. I read the daily and weekly newsdumps, and they are often about 'the Rise of China'. Well, China has long been the world's #1 economy; only in the tiny period of time from the 19th century till today has it been weakened in relation to the rest of the world. It is more accurate to say that the resurgence might be under way, and that certain western powers might seek to stave it off for as long as possible.
Change is the quick eyeblink of history. We look at the very large and the very small, the stuff of physics, and are happy that we seem to be heading towards the limits of knowledge. But everything in the middle is up for grabs. Predicting the behaviour of dark matter does not tell us anything of the role of India in the 21st century, let alone the 22nd.
In that perspective, nothing is catastrophe, merely apostrophe. And what becomes important on the human level is trying to make humans work as best as humans can, with all the accumulated advantages of whatever sort that are useful to humans.
Perhaps what might be most important, then, is not the very large or the very small. What would be most important is helping humans come to terms with each other, to stop frittering the moments away on accumulation of artificial wealth (stuff gained by computed point-scoring mechanisms) and to work towards accumulation of real things.
Assuming, of course, that we can tell the difference anymore.
Take for example the Zanclean flood. In a period of months, the entire Mediterranean basin was filled by the Atlantic Ocean. The water rise was something like 10 metres per day.
Or consider the Yellowstone supervolcano (graphic here). If it blows, at some unknown future time, the Americas will consist of Laurentia, South America, and a lot of tiny bits.
Catastrophes like that go beyond the normal human scale of activities. Our thin veneer of global civilisation would be struck a hammerblow which, even if not fatal, would be crippling.
As it is, we already have lost our sense of proportion. I read the daily and weekly newsdumps, and they are often about 'the Rise of China'. Well, China has long been the world's #1 economy; only in the tiny period of time from the 19th century till today has it been weakened in relation to the rest of the world. It is more accurate to say that the resurgence might be under way, and that certain western powers might seek to stave it off for as long as possible.
Change is the quick eyeblink of history. We look at the very large and the very small, the stuff of physics, and are happy that we seem to be heading towards the limits of knowledge. But everything in the middle is up for grabs. Predicting the behaviour of dark matter does not tell us anything of the role of India in the 21st century, let alone the 22nd.
In that perspective, nothing is catastrophe, merely apostrophe. And what becomes important on the human level is trying to make humans work as best as humans can, with all the accumulated advantages of whatever sort that are useful to humans.
Perhaps what might be most important, then, is not the very large or the very small. What would be most important is helping humans come to terms with each other, to stop frittering the moments away on accumulation of artificial wealth (stuff gained by computed point-scoring mechanisms) and to work towards accumulation of real things.
Assuming, of course, that we can tell the difference anymore.
Labels: Catastrophe, Change, Humanity
etched with acid at 11:41:00 am
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