The Velociraptors Redux
And now some excerpts from Jurassic Park:
You’re saying this is a piece of dinosaur eggshell?
“Absolutely,” Grant said.
Harding shook his head. “These dinosaurs can’t breed.”
“Evidently they can,” Gennaro said.
“That must be a bird egg,” Harding said. “We have literally dozens of species on the island.”
Grant shook his head. “Look at the curvature. The shell is almost flat. That’s from a very big egg. And notice the thickness of the shell. Unless you have ostriches on this island, it’s a dinosaur egg.”
“But they can’t possibly breed,” Harding insisted. “All the animals are female.”
“All I know,” Grant said, “is that this is a dinosaur egg.”
Malcolm said, “Can you tell the species?”
“Yes,” Grant said. “It’s a velociraptor egg.”. . .
“Linearity is an artificial way of viewing the world. Real life isn’t a series of interconnected events occurring one after another like beads strung on a necklace. Life is actually a series of encounters in which one event may change those that follow in a wholly unpredictable, even devastating way.” Malcolm sat back in his seat, looking toward the other Land Cruiser, a few yards ahead. “That’s a deep truth about the structure of our universe. But, for some reason, we insist on behaving as if it were not true.”
. . .
On another monitor, Grant saw a pack of raptors racing at full speed across an open field toward a four-ton hadrosaur. The hadrosaur turned to flee, and one of the raptors jumped onto its back, biting into the long neck, while the others raced forward, circled around it, nipped at its legs, leapt up to slash at the belly with their powerful claws. Within minutes, six raptors had brought down the larger animal.”
Here at Hidden Leaves, we’re fond of referencing Jurassic Park. For one, it’s a damn fine book, fine enough that merely thinking about it puts us in a ‘royal we’ sort of spirit. For two, it’s a quite applicable yarn. For three, we’re coming upon a holiday weekend, traffic tends to die down, and it’s best to keep our powder mostly dry and dip into the well.
What got us started down this path was our friend Al’s similar laziness. At first we were just going to re-post the original and call it a day, but there was too much about Greek and English riots, not exactly the most topical of topics even as the structural issues persist. That does underscore our point. Chaos moves in chaotic patterns.
38% of women in this country are single moms. In my generation, it is close to the national statistic.
20% of white women will never have children. 25% if they are educated.
50% of marriages end in divorce.
I ask you right now, what society can survive that kind of damage?
There are some that think I am pessimistic, misogynistic and that my views on feminism are too extreme.
I tell you they aren’t extreme at all.
The truth is in front of you.
It is too late to save western civilization.
It’s over.
Governments may fall. Institutions may rot. Civilization, to invite a semantic debate, well, we’re not so sure that is about to end. Perhaps it shall become more narrowly applied, carved out in genteel tribal enclaves, but Adele has not yet sung her final song. From cave to architecture, from smashed berries to watercolors, from stretched skins to baby grands, the drive for aesthetic pleasure has persevered. Such perseverance drives life to find a way, such as it has, such as it will. As Malcolm said, real life isn’t a series of interconnected events occurring one after another like beads strung on a necklace. Sure the velociraptors may start breeding, but in the end, higher IQs and stronger firepower usually prove useful.
The human heart also has a chaotic pattern. The time between beats does not remain constant; it depends on how much activity a person is doing, among other things. Under certain conditions, the heartbeat can speed up. Under different conditions, the heart beats erratically. It might even be called a chaotic heartbeat. — from ‘Chaos Theory – A Brief Introduction’
he isn’t going linear, exponential underpopulation
Talleyrand (as much as I find the man disagreeable) isn’t saying civilization is going to end. He’s saying “Western” Civilization is over. What comes next, whenever it comes, is not going to be western civilization. It will, at best, have some elements of it, that’s it.
Further, this is the second time recently you have embraced the losing side of things. First the south, and now humanity against the velociraptors (and I note you seem to be mixing your metaphors, comparing western civilization to the success and thriving nature of the dinosaurs, and then shifting to guns and intellect over the beasts.
Since you love the book, let me remind you that the dinosaurs won. Not only did they win, they got off the island and were heading out into the rest of the unsuspecting world, showing they were every bit as cunning and resourceful as humanity, perhaps more so and threatening the survival of humanity.
The book was the hubris of man’s intellect, science, and belief in his innate superiority.
Ironically, you appear to be engaging in the same attitude that got most of the men slaughtered in the book.
The South did lose, but it was to a different North. Whereas the South has retained its Scots-Irish roots, see “Born Fighting,” the North has imbibed much more deeply from the modern multi-culti soft and caring well.
In the first installment, I likened our side, which when it goes down will be shared and the differences sorted out as necessary, to the dinosaurs. In this installment, I was more focused on the fact that life persists. As a result, the barbarians will also persist.
True, something survived the Costa Rican government’s fire-bombing. Whatever it was seemed to be herbivorous.
I am more optimistic than you, maybe just more sanguine, but I know we westerners have outsmarted ourselves. Where I disagree is that the West has fully crossed the nadir. It may shrink, but it’s not done. Yet.
Re read the book.
There were velociraptors seen on boats heading off the island long before the fire bombing.
Second, the animals were specifically made with a lysine deficiancy so without supplements they would not survive (or so the clever humans thought).
The velociraptors were eatting the corn stalks on their way north which resolved the deficiency problem (they had adapted to their problem quickly)
The book clearly indicates that they had had loosed an apex preditor on an unsuspecting world, that was completely unprepared to deal with it (the way a foreign organism takes over a new environment because there is no predation, and no natural limits on its success.)
I reread the last chapter last night, but I remember the boat being turned around and sent back to the island. Grant made up some nautical law to stop them from docking.
Regardless, neither the population bomb nor the loss of morality are new apex predators.
The velociraptors weren’t new, they were a product of man’s own hubris.
personally, when I’m playing with children, I get a boost of optimism. are you depressed?
Not at all, just sleep deprived and rolling a la John Blutarsky.