Subscribe to PostsParenthetically, when I write at the end of a blog post, “what do you think?” I am asking for a response of your opinion. A dialogue, right?
Thus, it feels to me that all forms of social networking, social media, are overtures to commune. “This is what I think, so what do you think?”
Many believe this new age of instantly exchanging ideas at the speed of light will result in an evolution of knowledge. I think, though, it is humans as we all have always been. Lonely. We’re a lonely species in a vast cosmos, and even though we have each other (lots of each other, to the tune of like nearly 7 billion of us) both men and women alike are lonely and wanting to commune.
But why are we so lonely when there are so many of us, and we are all so good at communicating?
A lonely species gazing heavenwards to the stars and pondering, “why aren’t there any others like us here?”
Man has woman, and woman has man. And man has man, and woman has woman. We have each other. But it seems our brain has made us more isolated from the universe than akin with it. I mean, who hasn’t seen the fraternity of wild animals in nature and felt a bit of longing deep inside.
My one great hope for the earth (and indeed my strongest argument for preserving our natural habitats and wildlife) is that we humans are but the first harbingers of evolutionary change, and not merely an anomalous outcast. Maybe other species we now share the earth with will one day awaken as primates once did. Imagine a future where children hold long conversations with tigers, or become pen pals with whales, or hear eagles explain firsthand what machine-less flight feels like.
Before you laugh, consider how inane the idea of talking primates was no more than a million years ago on the earth. That you can even consider a laugh is exactly what separates you now from then. Is it really too much of a leap in logic to consider other species might one day follow in the footsteps of humans? Or are we just too self-centered to imagine any other species, save for primates, could ever accomplish the feat?
So what do you think?
Leave a reply
Leilani
July 23rd, 2010 at 09:58
You posit an interesting theory about inter-species communication. At this point in our evolution, such communication appears fantastical. It would make a great story similar to the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Perhaps, it would be more in line with your logic to wonder how those long conversations would be held. Isn’t it more self-centered to assume that the animal species would be communicating in our human tongue. Perhaps it is the human species that needs to develop further in order to understand the unique communication of the animal world in order to converse with them about their everyday lives. It occurs to me in your blog that animals already communicate quite well. We are simply unable to understand their form of communication.
But on a purely reactionary note, I would love to envision a world where I could have a grand conversation with a tiger on the savannah or a conversation with a bald eagle and a great swim with a dolphin. Thank you for jogging me out of that sense of plainness and making me think outside the box.