Survival: The Ultimate Mission. Robert M.D. Skaf

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of a new concept that could be useful for every generation to come. Not only did we acquire an inventive mind, but we were able to put it to good use first by developing a language and later on by introducing writing. Inventing the alphabet is a simple concept created by a forgotten civilization called Phoenicia, yet it is the essential tool that gave birth to writing - an art that enables us to store documents and thoughts in such a way where our memory alone would be inadequate to handle even a small portion of any work. Indeed, writing has turned our memorizing capacity from being limited to being an infinite one. In fact, Gutenberg moving press, which is undoubtedly the most important gadget in the human history, would be of no use had it not been for writing. Intelligence and awareness can tell you that the temperature is cold and heavy layers of cloths or leather are essential, however, vision, imagination and creativity go a step further by presenting you with a picture on how to overcome this problem. In essence, they reveal to you how cloths and mittens can be made from different materials to protect you from the element. Although today we take this invention for granted, our ancestors had to work very hard before they were able to create proper and protective attires. Even when an invention takes place, the creative process continues. For after invention, innovation never seems to stop. Edison himself is credited with inventing hundreds of new gadgets, yet without innovations his inventions would have stayed the same. As significant as his inventions were, not too many people would want to see them back in use today. After discovering the new CD player who would want to go back to the phonograph. A recycled idea can only stay interesting for a certain period, without fresh thoughts, creativity becomes stale. There is no doubt that biology and chemistry are able to create intelligent life. I am even inclined to speculate that somewhere in space some chemicals are the host of such intelligent life. Still any intelligent life form must adhere to new rules that have been necessitated by intelligence itself. We have seen how in the case of matter and biology things must continuously change and recreate. It is no different when it comes to ideas and thoughts. However, in this case the creation is more intellectual and visual as opposed to being of chemical and biological nature. Thanks to vision, our species was able to avoid creating an all-powerful genius that knows and controls everything and needs no assistance from anyone else. This is not how creativity works and such a super being would not be creative at all. Instinctively, most of us would be inclined to be powerful, strong and independent. However, we have a better shot at surviving when we can coordinate our skills and knowledge. No matter how powerful and clever one individual can become, he or she would be in a better position if other members are willing to share their resources. This sharing is a two way street. A person can depend on the group but the group should be able to depend on the individual as well. We happen to be the first species to realize that by working together, we stand a better chance at surviving. It was this realization that compelled us to evolve socially. In retrospect it is obvious that a push toward a totally independent individual would be a big mistake. One person may be able to acquire a huge repertoire of knowledge, but what good would that be if he or she did not have the ability to communicate and create. The ability to create, invent, imagine and foresee, is a necessity not a luxury. Parents rushing in the future to alter their children genes hoping to make them smarter will be shocked to know that if scientists were to promote one individual to a status where he or she can do it all, humanity would be doomed to self-destruction. Our evolution as humans was made possible by our need for one another. Take this need away and we would be talking about a different species. Again, here on earth, we never could have developed a brain that is capable of solving any problems - let alone having the capacity to predict unforeseen events and visualize long term plans. Other species may exhibit signs of intelligence, yet no other species have proven to be visionary, except ours. Why? They did not have to; foresight and vision were never needed to survive for them. If we were physiologically developed at the same level we would not need them either. Indeed, we would have developed like the dinosaurs. Vision is but one of many tools we acquired as an intelligent species to help us stay creative, inventive, innovative and inquisitive. Like space, creativity is boundless. Intelligent life happened to be the domain of a whole species and not confined to certain individuals for a good reason: intelligence without interaction is a ticket to death. Regardless of how powerful, knowledgeable, intelligent or great one person is, without interaction, he or she would have no creative mind. Conversely, without having an inquisitive mind, it would be impossible to discover anything. From what we see, it is easy to conclude that there is a clear danger in being alone, however powerful one might be. Ironically, even doctors need patients to stay in business. Think of how powerful the dinosaurs were and of their demise. The conclusion here is simple: a human being is an intelligent being that cannot exist without an intelligent species. To stay alive, the spirit of creativity requires a continuous interaction of numerous minds. Long before the Internet was created, we had our own network of information in the form of a civilized society. Without this perpetual exercise nothing new could ever be created- a condition which would spell the end of the creative spirit. Not only must this spirit stay active to help us lead a better life, but as we shall see it is also needed to help us survive beyond this planet. For a species to acquire this ability, its survival as a whole entity must be threatened on many occasions, yet, despite all odds, it had managed to survive. For the entire history of life on earth, there is not a single species that had experienced such events. In most cases the species succumb to the first threat and dies off. Dinosaurs are the perfect example. There are thousands more. The evolution of the creative, inquisitive, inventive and visionary mind is not accidental; it was made possible by our quest for immortality or to be more precise by the process of continuous creation. Think of it this way: an evolution strictly confined to biology and physiology is very limited, whereas on the other hand, creativity, vision and imagination are boundless. Still, on earth, all other species, excluding ours of course, have been able to survive by evolving biologically and physiologically. Without a doubt, had our origin been this planet, we would be evolving in the same way. But we didn’t’t, and this is why it is clear to me that these intellectual assets were acquired long before we made our appearance on this planet. More to the point, our planet is home for millions if not billions of different species; it has been established, according to our study and that of many scientists that every living thing eventually succeeds in developing a brain and acquiring a mind. However, no species other than ours has been able to develop an inventive creative mind. It was deduced from our discussion that this inventive mind was not needed to survive on earth. In my opinion, the fact that our mind differ so much from any other ones known to us, ought to prove that the evolution of our mind could not have taken place on earth. Most biologists tend to paint our species as a close relative to many primates. This comparison is flawed even from a biological perspective. The dissimilarities become more clear when we examine the evolution of the mind. Certainly, the behaviour of many animals may be connected to an intelligent mind, but no other species has ever proven to be inventive or creative. Needless to say that there is a big difference between a creative mind and a mechanical one.

      Not only is static intelligence incapable of becoming creative, not only does it fail to support humanity as a collective cause, more importantly at times it might act as an agent to harm this cause. Most serial killers, for instance, are believed to have very active minds. Napoleon was a genius for war, yet his insatiable hunger for power led to many tragic deaths and caused humanity to suffer. Intelligence without vision, wisdom and respect for justice could easily turn to madness and cause all kinds of atrocities. Look at Hitler, whether you consider him to be insane or not, his intelligence was greater than most individuals, yet his obsession with ruling the world led to the destruction of civilization and caused the death of millions of people. Stalin was no different. But why go to such extremes! Are not most crimes in this world committed by intelligent people? Definitely, our brains would have evolved differently if it were the end product of terrestrial biology. Having a powerful brain is meant to help us compete for survival, yet over millennia it was used to destroy us. No biological life would be stupid enough to create an apparatus which could lead to its destruction. Cannibalism is a dirty word, but senseless killing is even worse. Not only has the brain been the tool used to wage wars, but it also made easier for all types of thugs and psychopaths to find ways of tortures and devise methods of killings that are not to be practiced by any other predator on earth. A brain is a very powerful apparatus, its use, misuse or lack of use could lead to tragic consequences. When under used, if leads to boredom if not depression. Even awareness leads to all sorts of mental anguish and emotional

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