Overcoming our psychological traits will determine our future

 

Selection shaped our brains and bodies to maximize reproduction at enormous costs to human happiness - Randolph M. Nesse

Arun Kumar

AI Generated Image

Consider some numbers along the timeline of the universe. The age of the universe is estimated to be about 13.3 billion years old. The age of the Sun and the Earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old. The age of establishment of agrarian societies is estimated to be 10,000 CE (Common Era) or about 12,000 years ago from now. The age of emergence of writing was 3,000 CE or about 5,000 years in the past. The age of the World Wide Web is about 35 years old.

To put these numbers in a relative context, if we consider a year as the lifespan of the universe, the human civilization (beginning from the agrarian societies) would be about 15 seconds of that year. We are just a small flea in the vastness of time, and yet, we have already reached a stage in our evolution that we now hold a position from where we are flexing our muscles.

We are now in the enviable position to be the self-appointed managers of the Earth (although by looking around, our management responsibility is not going too well).

In a relatively short span of time, we have made astounding strides. We have unraveled basic laws of nature (physics), we have understood how atoms and molecules interact and made some new ones (chemistry), we have deciphered the basis of living entities (biology).

We have managed to leave our home, the Earth, have learned to manipulate genes, have developed artificial intelligence. On top of what we have already achieved, there are lots more technologies on the horizon.

We are beginning to think about the old age not as an inevitable part of the natural process but as a disease that can be cured, and talking about the natural process like aging…

… relying on our advances in technology and medicine, we have also freed ourselves from the pressures and constraints that natural selection traditionally operated under. We have overcome diseases, and along the way, have doubled our life expectancy; we can move faster than a cheetah, we can put on a skin tougher than a rhino; we can move in the air, in the water, and on the land.

We have reached a state of development where we use our consciousness to question the meaning of our own consciousness.

And yet, standing at this juncture we do not know where we would end up in 100 years, 10,000 years, or a million years from now? We do not know whether in future there will be us around wanting to look back wanting get familiar with our history?

Can we consciously engage in activities that would enhance the probability that from 10,000 years from now we will still be around? Just like eating healthier foods, exercising regularly, avoiding risky behaviors can enhance the probability of our lifespan, can we do the same and enhance the probability that as a civilization we will continue to exist.

By overcoming physical and biological challenges that governed natural selection we have certainly enhanced the probability of our continued existence. Advances in medicine have reduced the chances of extinction due to pandemics becoming a reality. By finding new ways to tap energy we have managed to sustain our growing numbers on the planet.

By adding to the advances, we have already made over a short period of time, we are also trying to develop technologies to reduce the probability of our future extinction due to other exogenous possibilities. We are working on technologies to deflect large asteroids that might be on collision course with the Earth with the potential to wipe us out. Venturing into space travel we are setting the stage for technologies that one day would allow us to leave the single point of failure our current home could be.

Are those measures sufficient? Possibly not.

In addition to what we have already done to improve the probability of our survival, an additional effort we need to urgently make is to conquer some of our psychological traits that benefited us during the evolutionary process. These are the psychological traits that we now carry as a consequence of evolution and natural selection itself because having those traits helped in our quest for survival and reproduction.

Some examples of these psychological traits include preference for people of our kind (kinship), being more attuned to negativity (that helped us to recognize dangers lurking in the wild), engaging in risky behaviors (in our quest to be the alpha male), discounting the future (present being more important than an uncertain future) to name a few.

It is overcoming those psychological traits and that would further enhance the probability that we would be there.

Collectively we need to rise above the psychological traits that aided our journey through natural selection, but going into the future, the same traits could be detrimental to our futures. Now the biggest possibility of future extinction is us, and collectively we have to overcome our own undesirable shortcomings.

Collectively we have to agree on what it would take to be there in the future, and then agree on actions to take, and then make those actions a reality. As we already know, it is not going to be an easy task and will require a whole lot of things to happen just the right way.

As we stand here we do not realize that an infinite number of things had to happen in a certain way for us to be here. A small deviation in the trajectory of the universe and who knows what may have happened. In an analogous manner, things have to play out in a certain way for us to be there in the future. Technological solutions may widen the cone of our misbehavior that universe would tolerate and without driving us to self-extinction, but technological solutions cannot give us a blank check to mismanage the world we live in beyond a point.

Ciao.

Somewhere in the Lowcountry

 

Yesterday, sitting together,
At the two ends of our grey, worn-out sofa,
We looked into each other's eyes,
With a silent acknowledgment,
That our endless discussions on,
Where to retire, where to live,
Cannot drag on forever, for

Time, once abundant,
Now feels limited.

We realized, that now is the time,
To simplify our needs:
A small postage-stamp home,
Somewhere in the Lowcountry,
Where four seasons color the pages
Of the wall calendar in different hues,
Will suffice,
And yes, a Total Wine,
Within a thirty-minute drive.

In that place, we can settle,
Living together and learning,
How to be alone,
After one of us departs.

Ephemeral Possessions

The final evening, and it is time to inspect, then re-inspect, every drawer and the closet’s darkest recesses, ensuring nothing of mine remains, no trace for the cleaning lady to find come tomorrow, and discard into the bin beneath the table, mingling with the rest of the refuse.

It is easy to overlook the fact that one day, all that I possess, will be left behind, to be disbursed, scattered or discarded.

Dystopia or Utopia - Let us wager on their chances

 

Most dystopian, classic, and contemporary, paints a future world that puts a twist on present society — a future world that could plausibly happen — Lauren DeStefano

Arun Kumar

The word “dystopia” often conjures up stereotypical images, likely influenced by futuristic science fiction movies depicting dystopian worlds.

Imagine a world enveloped in darkness and cold, where people huddle around fires for warmth. Buildings, once bustling with life, now stand as hollow shells. The streets are eerily silent, save for the occasional gust of wind stirring up dust and debris. Suddenly, a drone whirs overhead, its red scanning light sweeping the area. Figures quickly take cover behind dilapidated cars, their breath hitching as they wait for the drone to pass.

Why are there more movies devoted to dystopian civilizations than their utopian counterparts?

It is because dystopian worlds are inherently more interesting and adaptable for compelling narratives. Emerging from a dystopian world makes for a captivating story, where the protagonist triumphs over the evil running the police state and restores harmony.

Dystopian worlds provide fertile grounds for heroic journeys and recreations of epic tales like the Odyssey.

In contrast, what story can one write about a utopian state? A place where every day mirrors the previous one, and nothing really happens. Meanwhile, in dystopia, a new story of bravery or treachery unfolds every hour.

Or perhaps the prevalence of dystopian movies is because science fiction writers’ sense that dystopia is a more probable outcome?

If I were to wager, that is where I would place my bet. Deep down, we realize that achieving utopia would require collective human traits we currently lack, and furthermore, what utopia may require could contradict some fundamental laws of nature.

Why so?

Maintaining a utopia would necessitate traits like empathy, compassion, tolerance, and a sense of equity. It would require humanity to adopt a growth mindset, devoting their time to constructive activities and defying the adage that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” After all, this proverb is rooted in the observation that a person with nothing productive to do is more likely to engage in harmful activities, and a bored mind is more prone to negative behaviors or thoughts.

Considering our current state and the state of our world, having such collective traits seems highly unlikely. Of course, we may wise up as we evolve, or after surviving a few calamities (for example, the inevitable consequences of climate change), we might finally realize that if we do not change, there may not be a tomorrow, or we may not get another chance.

The sight of everyone engrossed in their smartphones on the subway or at the airport does not inspire much confidence that we are collectively heading towards a growth mindset or wisely using our time.

Another formidable adversary of utopia is the universality of the bell curve.

The human mind and traits are bound to deviate from the norm necessary to maintain utopia, requiring external control to nip them in the bud. These deviations from utopian norms need to be weeded out before they amplify due to positive feedback. This scenario was vividly depicted in the novel Divergent.

Can we have a utopian society with the freedom for humanity to live on a bell curve? Can we have a utopian society whose norms include freedom of speech, lack of central authority control, and the right to bear arms?

Discussing external controls to minimize deviations from utopian norms certainly echoes elements of dystopia.

Returning to our initial discussion about the prevalence of dystopian worlds in science fiction and movies, it may be rooted in our gut-level sense that a stable state of utopia is an impossible achievement. Furthermore, it seems much easier to descend into a dystopian state than to ascend to its utopian counterpart.

And then there is the undeniable fact that dystopian worlds make for more intriguing and captivating stories.

Ciao.