The Human Animal

We are still animals, tied to our animal instincts. We think we’ve evolved, but we still wince when attacked, can’t sneeze without blinking, still yawn, still can’t overcome imprinted fears, remain subjugated by reproductive urges, still eat, sleep, shit, and dream. We are still tied to our environment, still driven by circadian rhythm, even in space. We have not learned to unlock our genes, unable to regulate our own psychology through epigenetic manipulation. Legacy systems predominate over innovation. We resist change, even when we know change will benefit us. We hold each other back. We still hunt and gather, though money substitutes for food. We are symmetric. Our DNA runs uninterrupted to stardust. We are creatures of habit. We are social; left in isolation we go insane. From the outside intelligence only slightly greater than our own, we would appear as predictable as ants. And we know it. We are cognitive animals who can clearly contemplate our own inevitabilities, yet we are powerless to do more.