The Power of the Written Word

The ability to "think about thinking" belongs uniquely to human beings. For this reason, our expansion of knowledge & ability to solve complex problems should be cherished. Through writing you create a permanent record of your ideas for others to read & continue thinking about. Reading informs & shapes human thought. In an open, free, democratic society, every person is welcome to write & thereby create reading for others. For such freedom of idea exchange to thrive, writing & reading skills cannot be concentrated in only a select group of people. All of us need access to the power of the written word. Personally, I am terrible at spelling and grammar. (I suspect Google, spell-check, and auto-spell correct on my iphone are to blame.) But the sad truth is that the majority of citzens today are more interested in entertainment rather than education. This is very discouraging considering the course of humans' existence. Today, we are spoiled with technology & are overpopulated to the point that there is no need to be concerned for our species extinction. We are never out of contact with one another thanks to the invention of cell-phones, social networks, and email. However, I cannot help but reflect on a simpler time when man was first introduced to the Earth. It seems inevitable that our vocal cords & mental capacity have evolved to their current capabilities today. Early human settlements were near the bottom of the food chain & their feeble structures made them susceptible to the conditions of Mother Nature. We needed each other [humans] to organize, hunt, & gather to survive.

SIDEBAR: In contrast, sharks are extremely strong & fast. They do not need each other to hunt or survive & therefore sharks do not feel compelled to reproduce rapidly. That is, their species survival does not depend on it. Humans, on the other hand, feel vivid sensations (Oxytocin and Dopamines) for relationships & reproduction.

Nonetheless, I can only imagine our ancestors constant struggle to grunt at their peers, desperately trying to communicate for survival purposes. For this, we owe thanks to their continuous efforts because through exercising their vocal & mental capabilities, humans evolved to the state where we can speak effortlessly. (Which make sense because it was essential for our species survival)

VERDICT: Besides the ability to communicate, education & the passage of knowledge through generations is the most prominent aspect for our species survival. We learned what kinds of berries were poisonous, to avoid trees in linghtning storms, how to create fire & cook food, & so on & so forth. The human race was/is able to share knowledge with future generations by recording their discoveries & bettering their children's chances of survival.