Humans: an evil species of predator

[Brian G Turner]

Warning - some strong language. But an interesting series of views and comments about looking at humans at a species of evil.

Thought this might be interesting especially from a writing perspective.

http://cnt.likealaugh.org/120LongDong/20130905-050047-120-318.jpg

 

[J Riff]

'We' are fragile little mammals like any other. Without tech we'd still be down the food chain where 'we' probably belong. Forming gangs and chasing down other animals is hardly a new concept, just ask the ants. * )

 

[Nick B]

I actualy have a similar idea but went nowhere with it. That humans were harder, tougher and more vicious than any other inteligent race in the galaxy and had been quarantined, which was why no-one comds here. Until a war erupts with another race (maybe from further afield, or another plane) and the galactic community decide to bring humans into the fold to fight the war for them.

Never even got to making notes about it though to be honest, too busy with other works.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

We have a FAR greater capacity for evil than anything else on the Planet.
We have a FAR greater capacity for good than anything else on the Planet.

Make the right choices with your own life.

 

[Dennis E. Taylor]

Alan Dean Foster wrote a novel with just this theme. According to the book, Earth is an unusually hostile planet-- most planets have neither tectonic activity nor dangerous weather. Everything on Earth has evolved as some kind of super-adaptive devil-beast, relative to the average galactic species.

Unfortunately, the book kind of painted itself into a corner with the initial concept, then Foster had to start making the antagonists 'pseudo-aggressive'.

 

[J Riff]

We have minds weak enough to be usurped and used by evil aliens, there's an excuse for all of it. Any giant insect could tear a platoon to bits, if their guns jammed.

 

[Parson]

There are a lot of books like this. One of the better series with this premise is Tanya Huff's "Confederation of Valor." of which I've read the first 4.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

"Out of the Silent Planet"
Lewis mused that the vastness of interstellar space is a good quarantine system.

 

[BAYLOR]

Humans beings are fine so long as they don't engage in discussions about sports because such conversations, can turn sane people green eyed monsters.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Humans beings are fine so long as they don't engage in discussions about sports

or Politics or Religion (or if WOT or Game Of Thrones is better).

 

[Stephen Palmer]

There's no such thing as evil. Like pure good, it's an invention of religion.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

it's an invention of religion.

So Atheists have no difficulty with religion? If Evil and Good are only religious constructs they can't call Religion "bad". Bad is often a synonym for Evil (though good things for someone else you don't want to happen, you might call "bad").
That's a Niezschean philosophy. I'm not convinced that it actually "works". Without the idea of ultimate good and evil there is in the end no reason to dislike "bad" things or encourage "nice" things.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Any giant insect could tear a platoon to bits, if their guns jammed.

I always find this funny - "if an ant was the size of a human it could pick up a car in its jaws" - No it couldn't for many different physical reasons! The most obvious being that strength doesn't scale based on size because surface area and volume do not scale proportionately.

I think Ray hit this one on the head - Humans are capable of great goodness, selfless acts, beautiful art and deep devotion but we are also capable of war, murder and cruelty beyond most peoples comprehension.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

The most obvious being that strength doesn't scale based on size because surface area and volume do not scale proportionately.

More complicated than that. But you are right, an actual ant simply scaled to be 1.5m to 2m long doesn't work. It would need different breathing system, different circulation, different kind of way to operate legs and jaws. A scaled up coconut crab that looks like an ant is perhaps feasible, though it couldn't lift a car. There is also mass to consider. Something strong and lighter than a car might tip over a car, but has to get its centre of gravity close to under the car's centre of gravity to lift it entirely off the ground.

 

[Vince W]

To paraphrase Forest Gump: Evil is as evil does.

 

[hopewrites]

I'd like to see something done where our capacity as transreality travelers is vilified.

How many beings are stuck in the reality they are dealt? Where a humans ability to imagine, to dream, is the unknown and supernatural property.

There's plenty done where the dreamed or imagined reality becomes a factual reality, sort of subtly imploring people to "be careful what you wish for," but I'm talking about the next step from that. Where imagined realities becoming factual as an everyday event for humans is portrayed from the other side, like there's a dimension that we are drawing from when we imagine things and this dimension gets depleted or there is an uprising there over misuse on our end, or something along those lines.

 

[J Riff]

If an ant came from a high-gravity planet - ... yes it could!

 

[SilentRoamer]

If an ant came from a high-gravity planet - ... yes it could!

The cars weight is going to scale propoertionate to the gravity as well though...

There are upper limits to size and strength. An example is Elephants, with the current composition of atmosphere (a more oxygenated past naturally led to larger species) Eelephants are about as big as things can get and still be supported by legs. Elephants need four thick wide and well placed legs in order to move around.

 

[BAYLOR]

We have minds weak enough to be usurped and used by evil aliens, there's an excuse for all of it. Any giant insect could tear a platoon to bits, if their guns jammed.

I for one would welcome our new insect overlords.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

So Atheists have no difficulty with religion? If Evil and Good are only religious constructs they can't call Religion "bad". Bad is often a synonym for Evil (though good things for someone else you don't want to happen, you might call "bad").
That's a Niezschean philosophy. I'm not convinced that it actually "works". Without the idea of ultimate good and evil there is in the end no reason to dislike "bad" things or encourage "nice" things.

To me, there's inhumanity and humanity, and all stations in between. Good and evil are abstracts with a proven lack of ability to do anything useful in the real world, except instigate terrific plots for Tolkien, George Lucas et al - which, I admit, is a tiny problem for folk like me.