the violent caveman

[@harpothekidrs3282]

New gender unlocked, "Little Dirt Guy From The Dirt"

[@JosephLMcCord]

"Homo lutensis".
I had to look that up - I think I might have gotten it more or less right.

[@joetilman7227]

I remember being taught that "our soul separates us from the animals." Then it was our thumbs. Then it was our ability to reason. Now, (I think) we've settled on it is our society or civilization. I'm not sure any of those ever separated us from the animals, much less made us "better" than them, but it is what has gotten us into this seemingly "dominant" position (perhaps "dominating mindset"?). I think it suffices to simply say that we are social animals, for better or worse.
Not sure if you are interested in reading recommendations, but: "Humankind A Hopeful History" by Rutger Bregman is an interesting read, both about how we view ourselves, and about some scientific missteps.

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

Yeah we've got some things more than other animals, but even like elephants have generational knowledge.
As to if were dominating.. well, a successful species is one that finds a stable place in the ecosystem, and I dont quite think our presence is stable regarding stuff like climate disasters, its too soon to say I guess

[@PGHEngineer]

We change our environment faster than the environment changes us. There are huge implications for this. It makes us entirely unique in the animal.kingdom. The level of intellectual ability required to achieve this is so great, we have become fully self aware. We can say ",I think therefore I am". No other animal can achieve this.
It is worth noting that the reason why you cannot measure the intelligence of a chimp.on the human IQ scale is that a human child with Downs Syndrome can readily outwit a chimp. The other animals are so low in IQ they can't get onto even the bottom rung of the human IQ scale.

[@virgilxavier1]

Reminds me of a quote "to call a man looney is a great compliment to the man and a great insult to the loon". Henry David Thoreau

[@RangoonRen]

"In the tree, part of the tree. In the tree, part of the tree"

[@jimgilbert9984]

We are ALL connected.
Welcome to being a Shaman and Druid.

[@LexYeen]

I came to this conclusion thanks to Carl Sagan's COSMOS, years ago.
Everything you have ever seen, everyone you've ever known, the entirety of life's existence as we know it can be directly traced back to _phenomenal_ cosmic explosions - supernovae - in a very concrete fashion. And I think that's beautiful.

[@jimgilbert9984]

@@LexYeen
We are all made of stardust.

[@RyanBrockey]

"It is neither healthy nor existentially inspiring to want to transcend being a living thing."
That rocked me. I struggle so deeply with being a living thing. I spent a lot of years rejecting it and *trying* to transcend it. And it left me broken and miserable.
It is only recently that I've even realized how many of my struggles were linked to that rejection. I'm now trying to learn to appreciate being a living thing.
Thank you for this inspiring video.

[@thijsjong]

Humans and animals both have instinct. Humans can reflect on our instinct. Some humans not all.

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

I agree, connection is strength

[@MatthiasStone]

Beautifully written excerpt, thanks for sharing.

[@SingleTrackMined]

Humans' hubris - the inexhaustible resource.

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

Astrid putting into words everything that makes me so happy to be alive and combining my biology nerd side with my sentimental side once again. this is why i love this channel so much!

[@brianholmes1812]

To me, with a background in archaeology, its evidence for a civilisational hubris. People like to believe that us, the current human civilisation, is the best and smartest to ever live, evidenced by our technology. Of course, your average person is no different to your average person 100, 500, 1,000, or 2,500 years ago on a base level. But people like to believe we are smarter on a base level than our ancestors, maybe as a way of telling themselves that of all the civilisations to ever exist, this one is different. This one won't fall, because we're smarter than the people in the past. Anyway by that logic, the further back you go, the less sophisticated the individual becomes, leaving the stone age person to be the dullest most brutish person to ever live

[@ailixchaerea9510]

I have a lot of memories of those arguments from childhood and I’ve always wondered about the deeper motivations. Thank you for sharing

[@sdfan8822]

I agree completely, I think.
No notes.

[@JosephLMcCord]

I had to listen to it again.
That is a very lyrically inspiring essay. Please do keep working on it, and finish it.

[@mattmettaljus]

Love your brilliant challenging of ignorant arrogance and engaging with the beauty of better open perspective that is so much more inspiring and finer a direction to aspire for.

[@KateMondor]

They’ve evidently never spent a Saturday night in Halifax town centre.

[@paulleemathes]

Well said yet again, Thanks Astrid.

[@aMulliganStew]

At the peril of person projection, I hear all this as an uptick in cacophony of the war between physical reality and that which exists regardless. Wishing to be of aide, I propose a truce. The combatants need not reconcile -- for this is truly impossible. They need only allow the peaceful existence of the othe other. May your days be continued to be filled with both inspiration and practicality.

[@dem8568]

I'm currently reading Yuval Noah Harari's "Sapiens" and it really resonates with this video.
I would add, if our tendency to view ourselves as separate from the rest of nature has persisted this long, there's a good chance it has given us an "advantage" somehow. Perhaps only by placing ourselves outside of nature could we find the heart to become the most dominant, brutal creature the world has seen. It might have been too painful to do so otherwise.

[@PGHEngineer]

Surely it is because our ability to harness nature is precisely what has separated us from the other animals and made it blatantly obvious just how superior we are. Even a Downs Syndrome child can easily outfox the smartest of chimps.

[@thork6974]

Beautifully expressed. But please also talk some day about that T-shirt, which if I am not mistaken references the theory that King Farouk was a secret Yeti

[@stiofanmacamhalghaidhau765]

the videos are coming in thick and fast! no complaints!

[@JelMain]

That's why there's the NeuroTypical - NeuroDiverse dichotomy. NTs are very happy in their acquired rights environment, thank you very much. not realising they're not contributing a thing towards developing it and their carry cost is actually threatening it. History has established that tribalism's been a trait since the start of the written record, which is just a parochial version of the same thing, whereas the ND Community's been on the receiving end of a lot as ostracised outcasts. We succeed precisely because we ARE better than your average warthog.

[@JosephLMcCord]

Very _very_ well said.

[@Sylvie_without_surname]

I enjoy some good transcendentalist pantheism, and the image of the tree is a good one, all the more mysterious because of the (so far as I know) assumed abiogenesis somewhere in the far distant past. And even beyond life, we are a part of a universe that is constantly changing. The water cycle or a nebula might not be strictly alive in a biological sense, but there's certainly a lot in common there. Surely if divinity means anything it must mean everything.

[@rob8167]

You are incredibly articulate and inspiringly intelligent

[@ocstiggs8836]

Preach sister! 😊

[@DEPARTMENTOFREDUNDANCYDEPT]

As far as the supposed special status of human life over other life forms is concerned, much of the surface of the Earth is inhospitable to human life while primitive, non-human life thrives literally everywhere, even around geothermal vents in the deep ocean and in lightless, frigid bodies of water lying under thousands of feet of Antarctic ice. If supernatural entities created life on Earth, the evidence seems to indicate that "intelligent design" was creating habitats meant for forms of life other than human, while the god of the bible seems to have been utterly unaware of the existence of forms of life such as bacteria and viruses.

[@martymoo]

Fighting the good fight ❤

[@argonianale5716]

I've always said Mother Nature is my god and it has always bothered people lol

[@user-hh3cz1km6h]

(cough), not accusing or anything, but hitler claimed the earth is man's only god. My respect to you and hope no harm was done you.

[@cammi_dmg]

Okay but how do you get your hair to do that?

[@user-hh3cz1km6h]

While I will disagree more or less, I enjoy listening to you expound philosophy. Please, keep it going!

[@Wild_Bill57]

I believe in God and though he doesn’t, Neil Degrassi Tyson describes what is truly important to me and I offer to everyone: We are made of star stuff. Our Universe is a huge and complex machine responsible for generating all the ingredients of life. We are composed of all that stuff and consciousness. We have the power to use our world as we choose. What we choose is what we have to live with, like it or not.

[@shannonjade1480]

❤

[@PGHEngineer]

You are barking up the wrong tree. Humans are self aware animals that are capable of changing their environment far faster than the environment changes humans. The reasons for that are of less important than the actuality of it.
It is of no great consequence if you eat the unintelligent biomechanical machine known as the fish. It is of great consequence if you eat a highly intelligent self aware animal such as a human being. The fish has never said to itself "i think, therefore I am".

[@owlsweaters5870]

assuming you aren't eating a human being who is alive (if you are, i'd tell you eating an alive fish also wouldn't be great since they can feel pain and fear), any dead body could be described as an unintelligent biomechanical machine though-- just one that's no longer running. there is no intelligence or self-awareness within it at that point. and if the presence of those in an animal is what makes eating it of great consequence, then a dead person is no better than a dead fish in that regard. eating another person is bad simply because we see ourselves in other people and so it makes us feel bad. (also because it's unnecessary if you can just eat something else, and it can make you very, very sick.)
it's good and natural to relate to and care more about people than animals. but just because we consider people more important to us than animals since we feel a connection there, that doesn't mean we're objectively more important than any other animal. like eating a farm pig should be thought of as having greater consequence than eating a dog since pigs have higher intelligence, but that's obviously not the case (at least in countries where dogs are common pets). we just have a stronger connection to dogs than pigs. it's okay to admit that's all it is

[@Yes-mh6wh]

grow your hair back and marry me my dear

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

what da-

[@LexYeen]

sir, this is the youtube comments section

[@dsrtsnw]

ew