An Exploration of the Extremes

On any given day the news will contain a plethora of horrible stories of the tragedies, inequities, and cruelties that human beings have committed and endured. 

Less publicized are the moments that describe the soaring reach of human intellect and emotion. I am amazed by that continuum of existence. Do other species have individuals who react to the world in such disparate ways, or is this unique to our species?

I have no answers. I have no background in any scientific or philosophical field of study that prepares me to suggest answers. I do have an immense curiosity about this, a motivation to learn, and a suspicion that seeing and acknowledging both the sublime and the depraved is important to us individually and as a society.

Illustrating this idea are news items from this week, the first week of 2019. 

A machine created by humans, fueled by science and imagination, has flown by and transmitted data to earth from an object called Ultima Thule at a point in the solar system past Pluto.  In fact, over 4 billon miles away. (Source- multiple news outlets). That is awe-inspiring, and sublime. We have the ability to look at the night sky, want to know more about what is out there, and then make it happen.  This from a species that has communities that still use a language based on whistling (source: With Good Reason Radio,  Sarah McConnell Exec. Producer)

Also this week we learned that a member of an endangered-species, the
buefin tuna, has been captured, killed and sold for $3million, while an entire nation has withdrawn from an international ban on whale "fishing". This seems a depraved set of acts by humanity.  (not listed, Brazil's government wanting to open the Amazon forest to development).

If you run across this observation, I would be interested to know if you see the dichotomy.