We can see in every generation our roots. Just as we can see embryonic stages reticent of our special ancestors. Children and teens show us the way.
We were pack hunters not herd animals. There were alphas. Children played. Adolescents competed with one another. The strong mated as they chose, the weak had limited options. But, we were different. Our strength could be varied. We began devising different ways to hunt. The individual that could throw a rock the furthest may not have been the individual that could throw with the most accuracy. However, simple competitions could resolve rank.
And then we shifted. The pack became the tribe. A tribe generally has 2 leaders. Although a chief may make the ultimate decision, most seek the advice of a wise woman or shaman. Roles start being assigned. Those roles still have a hierarchy. The tribe generally prefers the best hunter to the best gatherer. However, as hunting moves from innate ability or talent to skill, it becomes an occupation. Individuals arise that take on tasks for the whole tribe. Weapon quality varies by the maker and the tribe benefits from well equipped hunters.
And so professions arose. Humans stopped moving. Farming and raising of livestock allow us to settle. The tribe becomes a village. A village may have one leader, but generally it does not. Elders are respected for their knowledge and so are cared for. Trades form. Metalworking, masonry, carpentry; these can only be sustained while food is plentiful. Commerce must begin. It becomes nearly impossible to designate an alpha. The blacksmith's forge allows the plow. The plow allows the harvest. The harvest allows the blacksmith to eat. Just as evolution always had, we filled niches. Now, those niches were among ourselves. A new ecosystem built on top of the existing one composed entirely of 1 species.
However, no resource is unlimited and the need to hunt has been replaced with the need to protect. It is easier to take than to grow and so another niche arises. Super predators arose: pillagers. The need for alphas returned. However, pillaging is not sustainable. The enemy will only be at the gates every once in a while. The professional soldier is not necessary at first. The blacksmith makes weapons, a basket weaver turns fletcher, a carpenter becomes a bowyer. The fighters are often praised and success is often rewarded just as it had been in the pack, but a town guard is not promoted to high ruler. The pillagers are not always defeated. From time to time the take control and demand tribute. However, a dictator can not be sustained by a village, that requires a town or city.
For better or worse, we continued to specialize.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
One hell of a week...
I usually remain abstract. After all, this blog goes under the heading "Random Thoughts" not "Random Events", but I felt the need to write. 1 week ago, I went through "voluntary sterilization".
I know. That phrase alone could cause someone to walk away. Vasectomy seems to lack any connotation related to atrocities performed in the last century.
I did not discuss or even indicate to many that it was planned. In truth, reproduction is not something I discuss often with anyone other than my wife. The idea that I was not going to have children seemed to inspire disbelief very often.
Based on the indication of medical professionals, I should be healed with the next few days. Throughout my life I have healed remarkably quickly. My immune system is a little overactive in some respects and youth does offer the benefit of accelerated rehabilitation.
That being said, I do find myself wondering if this is changing. Part of that is simply random discussions about aging I seem to stumble upon. Part of it is simply knowing that time effects all things (that experience it). The end result is a little bit of uncertainty and a little bit more resolve.
I tend to feel that humans go through stages. This concept was much more popular in bygone eras. We unfortunately tied it to numbers somewhere along the way and so many rebelled against it. In cultures much less focused on time, it is still the prevailing wisdom from what I have been led to believe. I think that many people find the transition between these phases difficult. After all, we have given up many of the ceremonies used to mark them. Commencement has never held the same weight as graduation. We do not maintain any secular coming of age ceremonies. We no longer transition to the role of elder or matriarch with a marked event.
And so, we still change our role but we don't note it outwardly. In my case, I feel that the time of planning has ended. The time of viewing things as means to an end has passed. I did not purchase a starter home. I do not own an "interim" car. I do not have an "interim" job. Now is the time of doing one's life work. I have never been one to put things off or wait for a more opportune time. But, I have always looked forward and prepared. At this time, the plans are laid. It is the time of implementation. The only outward ceremony will be this blog. There is no title to confer, no passing of torches or laurels.
In truth, nothing has changed. A slight shift in an electrical impulse. The bridging of a neuron perhaps. A thought. An idea. A background process indicating that the time is now. A change in perspective towards the present. A slight reminder that we must all live for the moment.
I know. That phrase alone could cause someone to walk away. Vasectomy seems to lack any connotation related to atrocities performed in the last century.
I did not discuss or even indicate to many that it was planned. In truth, reproduction is not something I discuss often with anyone other than my wife. The idea that I was not going to have children seemed to inspire disbelief very often.
Based on the indication of medical professionals, I should be healed with the next few days. Throughout my life I have healed remarkably quickly. My immune system is a little overactive in some respects and youth does offer the benefit of accelerated rehabilitation.
That being said, I do find myself wondering if this is changing. Part of that is simply random discussions about aging I seem to stumble upon. Part of it is simply knowing that time effects all things (that experience it). The end result is a little bit of uncertainty and a little bit more resolve.
I tend to feel that humans go through stages. This concept was much more popular in bygone eras. We unfortunately tied it to numbers somewhere along the way and so many rebelled against it. In cultures much less focused on time, it is still the prevailing wisdom from what I have been led to believe. I think that many people find the transition between these phases difficult. After all, we have given up many of the ceremonies used to mark them. Commencement has never held the same weight as graduation. We do not maintain any secular coming of age ceremonies. We no longer transition to the role of elder or matriarch with a marked event.
And so, we still change our role but we don't note it outwardly. In my case, I feel that the time of planning has ended. The time of viewing things as means to an end has passed. I did not purchase a starter home. I do not own an "interim" car. I do not have an "interim" job. Now is the time of doing one's life work. I have never been one to put things off or wait for a more opportune time. But, I have always looked forward and prepared. At this time, the plans are laid. It is the time of implementation. The only outward ceremony will be this blog. There is no title to confer, no passing of torches or laurels.
In truth, nothing has changed. A slight shift in an electrical impulse. The bridging of a neuron perhaps. A thought. An idea. A background process indicating that the time is now. A change in perspective towards the present. A slight reminder that we must all live for the moment.
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