The First Men.
I would like to think we didn't start with a lot of people. We really, in factuality didn't start with a lot of people but how do we imagine it? How do we put ourselves in the shoes of the first man, did he have shoes? I would assume not.
But I would like to think that the world's population was but a small family. A small family of humans in a world greatly unexplored by them. This premise might seem unfamiliar because we have grown up to know that the earth has seven continents. That at the end of that ocean, there is dry land that has four seasons. Money, which is physical and also an idea is imperative and we need to earn to live. We need to cook the food we eat, we cannot imagine cooking had ever not existed. We have grown up with concepts that are integral and embedded with our lifestyles that we can't possibly see a world beyond and without it.
But that small family was not familiar with the concept of money. They would probably think that they were the only ones. The first solstice would scare them because night was not supposed to last that long and they would cower under eclipses when it happened. They would build shelters of stick which would be carried by strong wind and would curse their creator for their difficult lives. Every animal attack was new, they had to observe them and identify them.
That is the basis of humanity, a species of skin without fur to brave the winter cold, unable to run as fast as most apex predators. The only features the family possessed was a S shaped backbone, two opposable thumbs and curiosity. Being a herd animal, they stuck together and held their own close. The family braved odds and eventually discovered the first fire, the curious ones among them touched the fire and got burnt, and then the others observed it to understand the concept of heat. Of cooking food.
In the violent wild, they made weapons of sticks and stones, to battle other predators in the jungle, fighting for turf and keeping their turf. In time, they learned that putting a seed in the ground and covering it with earth meant it would multiply. They failed, they got sick. They died. The rest buried their dead and moved on.
But it was not only curiosity that made that small family. Would a wolf not separate from the pack for but a moment to investigate the bush if it heard a noise? And after exhibiting that curiosity would it not learn from such actions and investigations? And the wolf being a herd animal, would it also not educate it's peers and also the coming generation? If it does, how come the wolves are still using the same hunting techniques they used a thousand years ago? Why don't we have schools for wolves and why do they not mine the earth's rich resources? So what does the Wolf lack that the small family had?
The small human family were made by the information passed down through generations, making sure after they discovered water, they never had to discover it again. Communicating their findings with a small vocabulary made of gesticulation and grunts, of course, it was an ever-expanding vocabulary because everything was new.
And they knew that a life time was too short. Too short to accumulate all knowledge and so, they instill themselves in their children. So I , in all conviction can say we are all still living the life of the first man and every human who has ever walked through this earth are not only connected through genes and blood, but through knowledge and curiosity.
Of course, the small family grew larger. They had laughed at the first joke. They had had the first meeting of all the heads of houses. And they had been divided into different small families which in coalition would be called a settlement. The oldest or the most respected would head such a settlement. The first murder had been committed and the leader mets out a defining punishment. Never draconian, if it was, the altruistic would protest and the leader would either cave or use more violence. As the people's excesses increased, laws are added.
But laws then were not as abstract or as numerous as they are today. They were just the things you must abide by to reside in the settlement. And so, the legislature and government was born. A social contract was signed.
And now, the small family is no longer small, the settlement has morphed into a megacity and everybody does not know everybody anymore. But we still meet, we still share the same society, we meet in churches, restaurants and our children meet in school. Subconsciously we are still as tightly knit as our forefathers wanted.
And so, the next time you want to commit a crime and you are fed up with the government. Just think about all the past leaders of the herd, think of their experiences and how circumstances pushed their hands to what things are now. From wild cards to apex predators, the small family braved all odds. And we are still living their life.
****ominous VSauce theme song*****
But I would like to think that the world's population was but a small family. A small family of humans in a world greatly unexplored by them. This premise might seem unfamiliar because we have grown up to know that the earth has seven continents. That at the end of that ocean, there is dry land that has four seasons. Money, which is physical and also an idea is imperative and we need to earn to live. We need to cook the food we eat, we cannot imagine cooking had ever not existed. We have grown up with concepts that are integral and embedded with our lifestyles that we can't possibly see a world beyond and without it.
But that small family was not familiar with the concept of money. They would probably think that they were the only ones. The first solstice would scare them because night was not supposed to last that long and they would cower under eclipses when it happened. They would build shelters of stick which would be carried by strong wind and would curse their creator for their difficult lives. Every animal attack was new, they had to observe them and identify them.
That is the basis of humanity, a species of skin without fur to brave the winter cold, unable to run as fast as most apex predators. The only features the family possessed was a S shaped backbone, two opposable thumbs and curiosity. Being a herd animal, they stuck together and held their own close. The family braved odds and eventually discovered the first fire, the curious ones among them touched the fire and got burnt, and then the others observed it to understand the concept of heat. Of cooking food.
In the violent wild, they made weapons of sticks and stones, to battle other predators in the jungle, fighting for turf and keeping their turf. In time, they learned that putting a seed in the ground and covering it with earth meant it would multiply. They failed, they got sick. They died. The rest buried their dead and moved on.
But it was not only curiosity that made that small family. Would a wolf not separate from the pack for but a moment to investigate the bush if it heard a noise? And after exhibiting that curiosity would it not learn from such actions and investigations? And the wolf being a herd animal, would it also not educate it's peers and also the coming generation? If it does, how come the wolves are still using the same hunting techniques they used a thousand years ago? Why don't we have schools for wolves and why do they not mine the earth's rich resources? So what does the Wolf lack that the small family had?
The small human family were made by the information passed down through generations, making sure after they discovered water, they never had to discover it again. Communicating their findings with a small vocabulary made of gesticulation and grunts, of course, it was an ever-expanding vocabulary because everything was new.
And they knew that a life time was too short. Too short to accumulate all knowledge and so, they instill themselves in their children. So I , in all conviction can say we are all still living the life of the first man and every human who has ever walked through this earth are not only connected through genes and blood, but through knowledge and curiosity.
Of course, the small family grew larger. They had laughed at the first joke. They had had the first meeting of all the heads of houses. And they had been divided into different small families which in coalition would be called a settlement. The oldest or the most respected would head such a settlement. The first murder had been committed and the leader mets out a defining punishment. Never draconian, if it was, the altruistic would protest and the leader would either cave or use more violence. As the people's excesses increased, laws are added.
But laws then were not as abstract or as numerous as they are today. They were just the things you must abide by to reside in the settlement. And so, the legislature and government was born. A social contract was signed.
And now, the small family is no longer small, the settlement has morphed into a megacity and everybody does not know everybody anymore. But we still meet, we still share the same society, we meet in churches, restaurants and our children meet in school. Subconsciously we are still as tightly knit as our forefathers wanted.
And so, the next time you want to commit a crime and you are fed up with the government. Just think about all the past leaders of the herd, think of their experiences and how circumstances pushed their hands to what things are now. From wild cards to apex predators, the small family braved all odds. And we are still living their life.
****ominous VSauce theme song*****
Wow! Just wow!
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