I gotta say, we are awesome. I mean have you ever taken a second to really think about how the world is great? I cannot even begin to list all the things humanity has created and achieved. From our newest technologies to our insightful thoughts of the universe, we truly are an astonishing species. The steps we have taken in such little time is absolutely remarkable.
Okay, here’s an example: take a second to consider what this little electronic box you are looking at is. This device has capabilities that can range from watching a show about the daily life at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company to sending texts across the country in the blink of an eye. Like… what?
Not to mention what a text message is. I mean how in the world did we go from grunting and groaning at each other to creating words like gabelle (which means a tax on salt for some reason). Somehow we were able to create a system that allowed for our thoughts to be presented in a structured way so that others could literally read about them. This system was then spread and understood by billions with slight variations depending on the region.
So what else? Oh right, has anyone else taken a second to admire our ability to keep one another alive? Sure we have individuals that try to shorten our lives, but wow do we have a lot of systematic ways to keep each other going. Medicine is a compound, created by us humans, to prevent or treat most known diseases. Somehow we figured out that by combining certain herbs and chemicals we could create a remedy that not only improves our health but can also treat and cure certain illnesses. I would love to give a high five to the first guy who did that magic trick.
We can also look at the outstanding structure of our communities. I can literally get hurt almost anywhere and then a fancy motor vehicle will cruise in and take me to a place that is strictly designed to handle people in physical need. And if I get hurt by someone else’s actions, a much scarier vehicle comes over and handles the situation with a bit more force. These services just happen. I do not know these people, but regardless they come and save my ass.
Once they are done doing that, I typically get billed money. Now, although money can be the root of a lot of evil, it is also a super helpful solution to an assortment of other problems we take for granted. Money lets us work together. It gives us a numeric way to trade services so that we can pursue almost any job we want. Without money, I could really only feel safe being a farmer, as that is the only job I would be guaranteed a steady income. If I was a carpenter, I would not be useful to a doctor, since we both have to eat and neither of us would have much food to trade. Money lets us work together in just about any profession we choose.
What baffles me the most about all of these luxuries we take for granted is that we barely even know how they work. The majority of us have no idea how it is possible to read this post I have written in a location different from the one you are in now, at a time different from now. Or how the first person was able to make the sound of the word “thank you”. Or how medicine even begins to work. We have these luxuries and only understand each enough to use them, which I think is the coolest thing we have done yet. Our ability to share and save information. It only takes one person’s discovery to improve the lives of billions.
Now yes, I know there are a ton of problems in this world. I know that billions suffer every day. I know that many of our discoveries eventually backfire or become used for the wrong purposes. But I also know that the majority of them turn out to help everyone, even if it’s just a little bit. So as you sit in your cooled off room on this hot summer day because of a magic box that produces cold air, remember that although we have our problems, we also have found so many solutions.