Seeker

by Douglas E. Richards

Humanity was fiercely tribal. And young men, in particular, were wired to seek out adventure, glory, and esteem. ISIS was cool. ISIS was a brotherhood fighting together for a glorious cause. Killing together, raping unbelievers together. What could cement fraternal bonds more completely than this? And in addition to offering adventure, glory, and camaraderie, ISIS offered something even more important: purpose.

In the West, the phone had become a drug even more addictive than opioids. In a culture becoming ever more secular, the phone had become a god.

see the marriage of biology and technology as the natural next step, rather than being appalled by it?”

He knew that a person’s intelligence was largely out of his or her control—so this wasn’t her fault—but try as he might, he couldn’t help but find her maddening.

“I’m not stupid,” she protested stupidly.

“If nothing exists outside of yourself, if you inhabit the entire universe, if you are all there is—in all of time and space—then what do you have to compare yourself to? If you’re the only being in existence, you’re the strongest being there is, but also the weakest. The biggest, and also the smallest. Without contrast, nothing has scale. You’re everything, but also nothing. Worse still, you’re destined to go through infinity and eternity with no external stimulation of any kind.”

there can be no triumph without the possibility of defeat. No joy without sorrow. Evolutionary struggle not only pushes individuals and species to new heights, it also provides contrast, placing the highs and lows of existence in stark relief.”

“Because war, terrorism, violence, mass shootings, and so on are all around you,” replied Seeker. “They seem worse than ever now because you have twenty-four-hour news channels, which bring you constant examples of violence and barbarism from the most remote corners of the globe. These outlets, with the aid of social media, spread and amplify the bad news much more effectively than the good. Plus, few of you are able to put the current age into historical perspective.”

“So why do so many of us feel such despair about the direction we’re heading?” asked Ella. “Because hope and optimism doesn’t sell nearly as well as pessimism and despair. Your news outlets earn clicks and viewership by sowing alarmism and division. Your social media plays to addictions and creates unprecedented social pressures. You’re wired by evolution to find bad news more motivational than good. To seek it out. “If your ancestors heard the rustle of a friendly breeze far away in the tall grass, and ran away, mistaking the breeze for a lion, this cost them very little. But if they heard the rustle of a lion in the tall grass, and mistook it for a friendly breeze, this would cost them their lives. Seeing potential bad news behind every harmless breeze is a survival instinct. “There are many other psychological and evolutionary reasons to account for the state of your discontent in the face of prosperity, but I’ll stop there.”