265. Is TESTOSTERONE to blame for Homo Sapiens' woes?

VIEWS@17009

I had a conversation with a lady-friend the other day. She believes the chaos reigning over the world is due to TESTOSTERONE. As a skeptical elder male, I did not argue with her, but was motivated to look elsewhere for aggression. I found it with the almost blind and ferocious group of Army ants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UozWJTuhbMQ

"Although there are more than 200 species of army ants living on both sides of the globe, genetic evidence indicates that they may all have common ancestors and have kept their evolutionary advantages and disadvantages for more than 100 million years. As Frédéric Delsuc wrote in PLOS Biology in 2003, all army ant species share the qualities of collective foraging, nomadic living and wingless queens that can produce vast quantities of young. These morphological and behavioral similarities enforce their collective behavior, with individual ants unable to survive well on their own. While evolution gave the ants a successful strategy to survive as a group, it may have also left them with remnant behavior, a "pathological" behavior that can be seen "as the footprints left by the evolutionary trajectory in which these ants have been trapped."

The above para tells us they have been around a while, like 100 million years? Whereas we, homo sapiens (WISE man) a spit, at a mere 200,000 years. And WHAT we have achieved! If running our planet Gaia in to working towards our own extinction means 'achievement.' Wise indeed!

"...with individual ants unable to survive well on their own." 

One thing is not that hard to predict. Starting out as hunter gatherers, than quickly morphing in to a more stable, localized agriculture, our numbers so grew by leaps and bounds, that we are now having a sufficient effect on our planet, to be well on our way to creating our own demise. Like we are 'imploding.'

So for comparison, let's look at our newbe, 'wise' selves and these Army Ants - see what we have in common and where we may differ.     

- We are both 'herd' animals, socially interactive, follow the leaders and, with some exceptions, do not do well "on our own." 

- Where the Ants depend on their scent of pheromones by blindly following the ones ahead,  although it has no actual 'smell', most humans adhere to the status quo, doing what they are told by those of greater power and, as such, WISDOM,' knowing that when they don't there's trouble ahead. So it's wisdom/ power versus pheromones!

- While Modern man has quickly outwitted his natural enemies, continuing his path to conquer and control everything in site, including his own kind, with territory and resources becoming scarce, the ants, though similar, have clearly established and settled in their sustainable niche.

- Though the odd freak-out death spiral (nobody's perfect), they have what it takes for survival, while us HOMOS continue to be never satisfied, continuously wanting more, and as such not able to exist within the equilibrium of existence necessary for longevity. Like I mean we may well be a 'done' species within this century. Creatures of their own demise...

- "While evolution gave the ants a successful strategy to survive as a group, it may have also left them with remnant behavior, a "pathological" behavior that can be seen "as the footprints left by the evolutionary trajectory in which these ants have been trapped."

Taking the above and applying it to us, the 'Sapiens,' with our heads never satisfied - we always want MORE, like some drug in charge - overriding any and all 'sensibilities.'  Like the story of the lemmings herding off the cliff, we may also be BLIND enough, like the Ants, but without that inner clock in charge of making us SEE THE LIGHT, in time to maintain our ultimate survival.

Aggression is part of Nature. Survival of the fittest. Create a niche, propagate to fill it, suss out the boundaries of equilibrium and stay there, minding your parameters. 

But that's just not us. High in the head, we created 'GOD.' When he/ she/ they were pagan, like the God of Thunder, the God of the Sea etc., nobody got hurt, except the few who were hit by lightning, or perished at sea. The 'Gods' were real, they were all around you. 

Then Homo Sapiens, always the smart and thinking one, began modernizing their Gods. First move was to reduce 'them' in to one single one. To suit their environment different cultures picked different versions. This began creating rifts amongst the peoples living in the different areas of the globe. It worked for a while, since the TESTOSTERONE of young, virile men kept the Homos' numbers in tow by killing those with 'other' Gods, and often being killed themselves. 

We stopped doing this after the Second World War, and our numbers quickly began to rise again. At 7.5 Billion in numbers, we increase annually by 80 million God-fearing souls. This is more than TWICE the total population of CANADA (at circa 37 million) 

Most of the increase in population is taking place where the land can least sustain the numbers. So, led by their God and backed by their killing machines, the TESTOSTERONE of the still able-bodied are desecrating their enemies. There is little else that motivates, since nothing is making sense anymore. 

And together with the sheer hypocrisy of the Democracies of the 'FREE' world, our Homo (so-called) Sapiens' WISDOM has flown the coop. 
TESTOSTERONE * "uber alles in der Welt! "  

YIP, our species is BROKE! Armageddon is unfolding as we speak!  The circus continues tonight in the second PRESIDENTIAL debate! Testosterone indeed.

Maybe my friend is right?  


* "Deutschland uber alles" was Hitler's favorite phrase, as he was wanting to build his  superior Arian race...