Love the piece. Looking forward to digging through your archives.
I think the closest analogy in evolution to the emergence of humans was the appearance of the first trilobites. They were the first animals with slicing jaws and hard armour, meaning they could feast on all the over soft bodied creatures in the ocean without any opposition. Soon enough other lineages imitated their methods, and eventually the trilobites died out (kind of like the betamax technology of arthropods). I would argue evolution is ultimately driven by changes in metabolism (which is in turn limited by global conditions). Increasing oxygen levels probably made exoskeletons possible. I've seen it argued that an unprecedented period of low CO2 levels probably stimulated the emergence of humans. Maybe humans are just the first in a long line of intelligent tool and fire wielding species. Maybe humans will fundamentally change their metabolism again in the near future. The genetic tools for doing so just feel into our hands (though I doubt we will be able to maintain them for much longer as civilisation simplifies again).
I loved this piece so much, it was rattling around in my brain ever since I read it. I appreciate particularly your articulation of the layers of radicalism -- and how many leftists are stuck in the middle layer. I was keenly aware of this the other day when at a reading for a leftist book launch -- the book was Cory Doctorow's Chokepoint Capitalism, and its main argument is that media monopolies (Universal Music Group, Spotify, Amazon Audiobooks/Audible etc.) are taking over and creators are being paid less than ever. It was an event oriented against domination, but at the same time I couldn't help but think, there is the domination of humans over one another, but what of the domination of the natural world? I admire intellectuals like Doctorow usually, but this time I kept staring at the stack of shiny hardcover books, and the new books all around me in the bookstore, and thinking: how many of these books would have been better left alone as living trees?
If I ever write a book I'll be very careful to think about what it's printed on, and why...
Anywho just wanted to drop in because I recently wrote an essay vaguely inspired by yours. It's about the loneliness of living without an ecological community -- something I call bioloneliness. If you have the time and/or interest to read it, it's here https://sundogg.substack.com/p/bioloneliness .
Thank you again and looking forward to your next letter!
Love the piece. Looking forward to digging through your archives.
I think the closest analogy in evolution to the emergence of humans was the appearance of the first trilobites. They were the first animals with slicing jaws and hard armour, meaning they could feast on all the over soft bodied creatures in the ocean without any opposition. Soon enough other lineages imitated their methods, and eventually the trilobites died out (kind of like the betamax technology of arthropods). I would argue evolution is ultimately driven by changes in metabolism (which is in turn limited by global conditions). Increasing oxygen levels probably made exoskeletons possible. I've seen it argued that an unprecedented period of low CO2 levels probably stimulated the emergence of humans. Maybe humans are just the first in a long line of intelligent tool and fire wielding species. Maybe humans will fundamentally change their metabolism again in the near future. The genetic tools for doing so just feel into our hands (though I doubt we will be able to maintain them for much longer as civilisation simplifies again).
That's a really interesting take, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hi David,
I loved this piece so much, it was rattling around in my brain ever since I read it. I appreciate particularly your articulation of the layers of radicalism -- and how many leftists are stuck in the middle layer. I was keenly aware of this the other day when at a reading for a leftist book launch -- the book was Cory Doctorow's Chokepoint Capitalism, and its main argument is that media monopolies (Universal Music Group, Spotify, Amazon Audiobooks/Audible etc.) are taking over and creators are being paid less than ever. It was an event oriented against domination, but at the same time I couldn't help but think, there is the domination of humans over one another, but what of the domination of the natural world? I admire intellectuals like Doctorow usually, but this time I kept staring at the stack of shiny hardcover books, and the new books all around me in the bookstore, and thinking: how many of these books would have been better left alone as living trees?
If I ever write a book I'll be very careful to think about what it's printed on, and why...
Anywho just wanted to drop in because I recently wrote an essay vaguely inspired by yours. It's about the loneliness of living without an ecological community -- something I call bioloneliness. If you have the time and/or interest to read it, it's here https://sundogg.substack.com/p/bioloneliness .
Thank you again and looking forward to your next letter!