A Brief History of Us
By: Yuri Zavorotny
Tags: Knowledge, Humanity, Philosophy, Psyhology, Hope

† umm… Olympia?

‡ Not long ago I’d be quick to point out that I didn’t invent trolling, Jesus did (maybe throw that proverbial stone at him, when you have a chance). But it was before I read the Job. I don’t know who wrote that book, but I want to apologize for what I said about Jesus. I’m sorry.

¹ Not a perfect analogy, but imagine a laptop with no software preinstalled -- only BIOS and physical keyboard / display as its only I/O devices. It boots into >_ command prompt as the only means to type in its programming. If you have, say Linux source codes, for example, you can type them in — it would take years, but you will have a functional laptop eventually… IF you have sources — but what if you haven’t? You’d have a zombie of a laptop, neither dead, nor really alive.

² Being “fully rational” by no means makes us cold and emotionless. Rather, “rational” means “explainable”. We act rationally when we know -- when we know what we are doing.

³ The same point can be explained in purely scientific terms, of course. Our animal ancestors already had some of that amazing capacity to understand some aspect of reality by creating and running, in their minds, a 3-d simulation of it. Coupled with symbolic language, however, it allowed for something no other species on Earth are capable of -- it lets us share our individual experiences with every other person on the planet.

Like, no, I cannot directly experience what it means to be a black person in North America. But, yes, through my imagination, I can relive their experience as my own, in every minute detail they are willing to share… I wish I hadn’t, I really do -- but if there is something I would want even less, it is to have a choice in that matter, to make compassion a choice. To stop being human.

⁴ Which is easier said than done, but, at least, not impossible… maybe because this wouldn’t be her first traumatic experience. That honor goes to the time very early in her childhood. Soon after after she opened her eyes and realized that Mommy and Daddy managed to get themselves banished by their tribe. Which not only meant she’d be raised by two certified psychos, but soon to be starving at that.

She cannot be explained that she was born into the world very different from the world her brain had evolved to face. So different that even the most basic truths are N/A, truths like “you cannot survive outside the family that is your tribe”. She’ll figure it out eventually, but till then, “alone in the room” = “left for dead”, a.k.a. the Early Childhood Development trauma.

⁵ I can re-tell every single word in this story in purely scientific terms. My using archaic-turned-religious terms is a way to remind you, the reader, that I didn’t came up with this stuff after spending 2020 in and out lockdowns, watching my world going mad, with the empty rooms, drugs and marbles on the floor keeping me company. Rather, I spent 2020 at home etc. re-discovering the truth we knew literally since forever. The truth from before we forgot it, from before the Apocalypse.

⁶ OK -- and only to stay impartial, as promised -- it should be noted that a null-avenue had been brought up earlier, and by Job’s wife no less. “Just curse God and die!”, she said. No less. Clearly a regretful choice of words even in the best of times, and Job’s reply, predictably, didn’t disappoint. Not just the part aimed at the poor woman, that goes w/o saying.

It’s the following part that stood out by mentioning God explicitly, in the same context, suggesting the same implications. Perhaps God wasn’t above regrets after all. Perhaps He wouldn’t be above a simple apology either — His choice, of course, but would be nice. And that’s just how Job was — honest to God, his Self righteousness pulling no punches.

Perhaps it was that side of Job’s personality was the reason for what happened next. One can think happy thoughts, even tho in reality, God doesn’t play favorites. It must have been Job’s lucky day -- except God doesn’t play dice either. Who knows really? What I do know, is that for someone not famous for their texting etiquette, God’s reply that day was so swift, so unambiguously on point, it was nothing short of a miracle. Job too must have thought of it as a miracle. Maybe not right away or in the following days, but he did eventually, upon regaining consciousness. He was alive, tho he knew it won’t be long now.