laws of natural selection
… vs human ignorance.
We all now know how strands of bacterias have developed immunity against most antibiotics, to the point where a minor infection can become deadly to otherwise healthy people. In many ways we are worse off now than we were before penicilin was discovered.
Ignorant humans have exposed bacterias to antibiotics all over the place for decades without proper medical reasoning – “medicating for good measure”. Not to mention overuse in factory-farming…
It is a practice that quite naturally has given many types of bacterias strong incentives to evolve, mutate and adjust to bypass our medical defences and become more harmful to us, in order for them to survive.
Spreading antibiotics everywhere also quite unavoidably decimates a broad range of bacterias that all life has become reliant on over millions of years of evolution. Thus, we are literally killing off our closest and most useful allies in the bacterial world in the process. How stupid is that?
The above can be seen as a clear proof of natural selection – survival of the fittest –
amongst bacterias, and an even clearer proof of human ignorance and utter stupidity.
No signs that the latter will improve, as most humans are just waiting for new types of antibiotics to be developed so
they can continue the deadly practice of “medicating against everything for good measure”. However, bacterias
are already so far ahead that I'm afraid the “antibiotic train” has left the station.
outmaneuvered ?
Most definitely looks like we are being outmaneuvered by simple bacterias on all fronts. However, there is nothing new in that, and the warning signs have been up for decades.
Every living thing on earth fights for the survival of its species, and with the multiplying techniques bacterias and other “lower life-forms” use they will always stay ahead of us and our “medical experts”. At best it takes a decade to develop and test out a new form for antibiotics, which is more like a million (human) years of evolution to most bacterias.
Harmful bacterias are literally evolving – mutating – into stronger variants by the minute because we are pushing
them on all fronts and killing off the weaker and less harmful variants, and good bacterias and humans are losing out in the
process.
Human stupidity and an unwavering faith in our species' superiority over all other lifeforms and “inferior substances”
on earth, will of course assure that we will continue down this losing path for quite a while this time.
terminal condition.
Ignorance is the persistent, and often seemingly incurable, condition that causes most problems in our lives. In general terms ignorance is much more dangerous than any bacterial infections.
What may once have been quite benign issues, may all too easily end up overwhelming us simply because we have
chosen to remain in a state of ignorance and unpreparedness. That's stupid.
Trusting others to “take care of business” on our behalf, most often becomes costly, for us. Even more stupid.
Been there, done that … and no good excuses.
I have allowed myself to stay ignorant for too long about many things in life, and have lots of weak areas in my knowledge base.
I do have a choice though, so no need to make ignorance a permanent, and maybe terminal, condition.
sincerely
Hageland 26.sep.2016
31.oct.2016 - added link in side-notes.
last rev: 31.oct.2016