Science Friction

Man is the undisputed ruler of Planet Earth. This is because he is far more intelligent than any other specie on the planet. Many other creatures might be more physically powerful, but non can match the intellectual prowess processed by man. But does this give man a right to interfere with the lives of other residents of the planet. Does it give him the right to clear off thousands of acres of rain-forests every year? Does it give him a right to relentlessly poach wild animals to the brink of extinction? Does it give him the right to irrevocably damage Earth’s eco-system? Are the other inhabitants of the planet not equal stake-holders in deciding it’s fate?

Before this post begins to seem like one written by a Green Peace activist, let me come to the central theme. It is widely believed that Dolphins are very close to humans in terms of intelligence. It is just that they have not had a need to hone their mental faculties in the same way that humans have, because they are so well equipped to live in their habitat.

Consider this, suppose Mother Earth’s evolutionary mechanism had conspired in such a way that another equally intelligent specie had began to evolve at the same time as humans. Would these 2 independently intelligent species have found a way to mutually co-exist in peace? Or would both of them have considered the other’s presence as a threat on it’s own existence? Would they form a symbiotic relationship, and help each other in their growth and evolution? Or would they fight a cataclysmic battle for sole supremacy over Planet Earth?

I am not sure how the other intelligent specie would have behaved. But I damn well know what we humans would do.

“..Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with its surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply, and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.. ” Agent Smith to Neo- The Matrix