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Aldiss' capricious temperament

Brian Aldiss, ostensibly inspired by an exhibition (The Starry Messenger: Visions of the Universe) about visions of the future, has a few visions of his own. Noting his profession as author of science fiction novels, he notes that they are "hardly a judicious study of discernable reality, but rather the realities discernable through a capricious temperament." Ah so. [Link]

Science over the past century in the west has brought many comforts and blessings including longer lifespans. Yet here that ominous phrase, "Research shows ..." beloved of journalists, enters; there are surveys that indicate how frequently men and women suffer as greatly as Wagner without having an ounce of his genius. There is reason to believe that the human brain has developed rather on an ad hoc basis - chance again - and is not without its imperfections. How else could warfare be so endemic? It is generally considered impolite to speak of self-styled homo sapiens in derogatory terms, but the question remains. Why are we not by now living in a utopia?

Archaeologists and palaeontologists provide us with a possible answer to the riddle. It is a cause for amazement that skulls of men are dug from the ground where they have lain intact for centuries, long after the softer materials associated with the skull have disintegrated. How much reckless evolutionary energy nature has expended on bone and the durability of bone. If only more of that energy had gone into building bigger and better-integrated brains.

jon posted this at 9:37 AM
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