by Christyl Rivers

Created on: July 28, 2011

Flaws, if there are any in our evolved brains, are those things which force us to behave, or rather persuade us to behave in self destructive ways. 

Nature always strives for survival and for life to perpetuate life.  Only human beings, with highly evolved brains, have arisen (so far as we know—none of us were around ten minutes before the big bang, or have visited other worlds) to create systems that actually run counter to nature.

What could a natural organism create that is counter to nature? Trash, war, insanity and pollution all run counter to survival, not only of our species, but to many, many species upon which we depend for air, water, and food.

Some scientists point out that there are many flaws in evolution.  Why does an avocado pit need to be so large? Why have vestigial tails? Why are swallowing and breathing tubes in organisms too close together? And, every sophomore’s snickering favorite, why are our food waste and sexual recreational areas uncomfortably located near one another?

These are all valid questions, but they have valid and factual answers.  All of these adaptations are still, of course, evolving, and all have been driven into existence by stages.  All also have been changing according to what the environment of each generation favors. Evolution was never “designed” to work perfectly, only to work slowly and inexorably over time toward co-existent systems that thrive.

The only non thriving organisms are those that find ways to self sabotage.  Human beings contest with one another to have more wealth, land, power, and so on, and these micro contests have enormous macro results on a global scale.

Right now, for example, a fierce and astonishing political fight is being waged over how and why we should raise the debt ceiling in the USA.

As this goes to press, both sides are losing the faith of the public, and nothing is getting done. Important, even critical issues, such as creating jobs with alternative energy systems rather than risking global catastrophe due to overpopulation, the next Tsunami, fallout, or Yellowstone eruption, pandemics and climate change are completely ignored.

People, the most “highly evolved” as we are often said to be, are the only organisms on the planet that have such influence and take so little interest in using our influence wisely.

This denial of our own abilities appears to be a possible flaw in evolutionary drive.

Or, it is just as likely, since earth is a self regulating system, perhaps evolution is far wiser than we give it credit for being, and this is just one more way for life to balance itself out, much like a fever burns out a bad infection.

This is not to say human beings are an infection, it is all a matter of perspective. We are the ones who gained enough consciousness to be self aware. We invented science, poetry, the Sistine chapel, the nuclear bomb, Jersey reality shows, and the moon landing. 

But what we are best at creating, does appear to be the ability to delude ourselves, and that certainly tests as a failure of evolution from the human perspective.

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