The Curse of Intelligence
Prithviraj Saha
Let’s take a moment to look around us and evaluate. We’ve come a long way evolving and constantly strive to be an advanced civilization. Especially when analyzing the course of the last century or so, there has been a substantial jump in the number of innovations that have made our lives as we see them now possible. But as we delve deeper into the human mind today, we still find inhumane instincts engraved deep within, as is evident from the crimes, homicides and wars we witness.
Why is it still around? Is it an innate trait that resides at the very core of any living being? The cost of survival? As it turns out, it has been around for a lot longer than humans have. But what we shall seek is why it is so pervasive in humans, especially when many other traits that we consider inhumane have long been lost in the pages of evolution. The ability of complex thinking is almost exclusive to humans. In parts, it lays the foundation of our intelligence.
We are the only kind to comprehend the harm we cause. In theory, this, in conjunction with effective communication, should’ve given us the blessing of harmony.
The only places we find unity are based out of constraints, like religions that were preached, localized languages and communities. While they originated to bring people together, we shall never know whether they’ve caused more good than harm. In our books, the human race finds its value to be supreme. The belief that increased intelligence translates to having an edge at natural selection might be flawed. As with time, we’ve harvested knowledge. Whether that will push us to the pinnacle or decimate our entire race is a question only for time to answer.
Richard Feynman received his Nobel prize in physics in 1965. He was one of the leading physicists to help in the development of nuclear weapons. In his famous book, “The meaning of it all”, he quoted: “Is science of any value?” “I think the power to do something is of value. Whether the result is a good thing or a bad thing depends on how it is used, but the power is a value”.
On August 14th, 1945, the Emperor of Japan overruled and unconditionally surrendered. Men had leapt of off cliffs for him, but in his own words, “the enemy has for the first time used “cruel bombs”. The heavy casualties are beyond measure.” Feynman further elaborated by talking about keys. Everything we learned about the universe, everything we invent or discover within it, is a key to the gates of heaven. But the same key will also open the gates to hell.
