The famous French biologist Jacques Monod once wrote that “Man at last knows he is alone in the unfeeling immensity of the Universe, out of which he has emerged only by chance”. It’s a melancholy thought. I can think of only one thing sadder: if the only species possessing consciousness, the only species that can light up the universe with acts of love and humor and compassion, were to extinguish itself through acts of stupidity or ignorance.