What do humans bring to the table?

[GreyCarpet]

Just a musing. Would be interesred ro hear others thoughts. What am I missing?

I was thinking this morning about a man I met a few years ago who was brought up in a small village near Chernobyl. He had been back to visit with his wife the previous year. The village had obviously been evacuated after the disaster in 1986 and the photos he showed me were really eerie. Abandoned houses with picnic tables set up outside almost untouched by the passing of time without human interference with one exception. Nature had returned and was thriving. The area was filled with lush green plants. Animals had returned.

Anyway, it just got me thinking about what humans actually bring to the table.

We know that every other creature interacts and operates within a delicate ecosystem. They manage and control their own populations when left to their own devices, land is fertile and plants grow etc

What do we bring to the table? As a species, everything we do is for our own benefit. The world would thrive without us here.

Why do we assume such authority when, we deliver so little?

I think the fallacy, OP, is in thinking that without humans the rest of the earth's inhabitants would continue on in a perfectly harmonious balance. The reality is that countless species have come and gone over the lifetime of the earth - one becomes dominant, wiping out others, then the balance shifts again over time, with intermittent natural disasters/weather phenomena thrown in for good measure. The difference with the human race is quantitative, not qualitative - we are vastly more intelligent than any species which has gone before and therefore our impact on the earth is greater and more complex than any throughout history. But it's not a case of "humans bad, all other species good" - all living things act in their own best interests and, in fact, we're probably the only ones capable of genuine altruism.

@TwigTheWonderKid

"It's pretty much impossible for a single individual to have any impact on climate change."

Possibly. But not having children would help.

BTW are you the same twig who used to post on Pistonheads?

No, what's Pistonheads?

Nothing. The planet made a mistake letting us evolve and hopefully will correct that mistake while it still has a chance of recovering.

We would have done, once. Just like any other Apex predator, we'd have helped balance out the number of species lower down the food chain.

The issue is we got too clever. Rudimentary tools became sophisticated tools, we learnt how to not just eat what we found but plant and farm it which meant clearing land and killing and that gave us power.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely....

I don't understand the people who hope that the planet will come and wipe themselves and their families out ASAP. If your desire to live is so poor, please talk to someone in RL

Nothing wrong with my desire to live hinny. The human race, collectively is a joke. The planet is far more important than our species and it's destructive ways.

@TwigTheWonderKid

It's like MN. Originally set up for owners of TVRs.

It's just an astonishing coincidence that someone on MN has exactly, (not similar, but exactly) the same user name as someone on PH.

Important to who, though? And for what purpose? Do you think the universe exists to some greater end?

We also have vets that invest huge amounts of time and resources so that they can mend the dog's broken leg.

Left to nature it would've been torn apart and eaten alive by a predator before sunset.

What does a lion bring to the table?
I’m sure the opinion of their prey would be “not much”.

I think the question should be “name the species that contributes and helps other species with no gain for themselves?” Humans, only humans randomly help other species with no gain. We kill and destroy them too, not arguing that, but a lot of humans do contribute.

Man, Cancer, sickness and disease are humans main predators.

I don’t think mother nature is too concerned with humans, when (not if) we overstep the mark I have no doubt she will rectify it however she sees fit, she wiped dinosaurs off no problem, I don’t think she will struggle with humans.

Natural disasters have been far more catastrophic. The Toba volcanic eruption has been linked to a genetic bottleneck in human evolution about 70,000 years ago. We were nearly wiped out due to the effect on global climate.

Art, literature, music, etc

Animals just shit and eat

My username is a line from a quite well known David Bowie lyric (referencing the model, Twiggy).

What's a TVR?

We are a species that rescues each other, and also other creatures.

Britain's loneliest sheep stranded on a rocky beach for two years is finally rescued and taken to a Scottish farm park (dailymail.co.uk)

Absolutely nothing. We're a virus.

@TwigTheWonderKid t

Fair 'nuff. As I say, an astonishing coincidence.

A TVR is a, probably now defunct, British sports car manufacturer.

We bring everything to the table. If we didn’t exist you wouldn’t be sat there pondering this thus nothing would matter if we weren’t here.

All that would be left is different animals all killing each other. They might not destroy the planet so quickly, but there’s be no humans around to care about that so what would it matter?

The natural world is red in tooth and claw, nasty brutish and short. We can show love and compassion to our fellow humans and to animals too. Some of the comments on this thread are horrifying in their hatred of humanity - next step serial killing or mass death camps.

Animals can love us if we care for them - the domesticated ones at least, who some environmentalists would like to be rid of. Other species are only looking out for themselves. We have at least some higher thinking skills and can find solutions to some of the problems we have made.

We are all only here for the blink of an eye, enjoy it and try to do good to others - rather than detesting humanity.

Love.

Name me another species that adores and protects its young like we do; a dog does not love its puppies the way I love my children. That sheds tears over the young of others (indeed others in general) being massacred (if it’s all just controlled by “nature” we should be celebrating this, since that’s less competition for our genes. If sounds hideous, is that because we’re actually more than other species, for whom survival trumps everything…?). Which strives to help others, even if at great sacrifice and risk. Yes there are corrupt, hideous examples of humans doing the opposite of these things.But there is also a huge amount working in the other direction. And these awful things shock us, suggesting that’s not actually how it should be.

We’re not all bad. Love distinguishes us as something remarkable.

What about hate?

What other species can hate as much as humans do? What other species deliberately kills and stars wars?

Animals do it for survival, humans do it for fun.

Generally speaking humans don’t just wage war for the fun of it

Yeah, I’m sure there’s always a good reason for it.

You don’t think animals kill just for the sake of it? Try taking a swim with a great white shark or a crocodile and see what happens. They do kill for food but they are basically killing machines.

Most of us would not willingly kill anyone. Meat eating is part of our culture but it’s possible to manage without. It’s probably hard to get buy without killing the odd fly or ant.

There are many good things about people. This thread shows such a hatred for humanity that it’s easy to understand that AI in the hands of certain environmentalists could lead to extermination of millions of people.

We live in this world with all its flaws. We didn’t create it, it evolved. We can try to improve it but we are unlikely to achieve perfection. Yes, there has been lots of damage to other species but they also prioritise their own interests. We should look after the natural world as best we can and celebrate the good in humanity, rather than focusing on the bad.

@ChardonnaysBeastlyCat

Have a look at dolphins, lions and chimps amongst others. Red in tooth and claw.

@VeniVidiWeeWee
exactly.