THE SUPERMAN FANTASY

A few years ago I wrote a short story about a Genie that could bring you anything you desire simply by asking for it.

There are two points I wish to make. One is that if Superman or Jesus were alive today, they would be stoned. Neither one could be everywhere at once rescuing people.

How would they choose whom to save? Nowadays, they might even be charged with racism or xenophobia for violating some nebulous equity violation.

And wouldn't everyone else be mad if they or their loved weren't rescued?

This goes to the core of magical thinking.

Imagine you had the power to wriggle your nose like Samantha in Bewitched and your breakfast would magically appear. Why would you work? Why would you even bother thinking or learning anything?

Everyone would remain in a child-like state, without any need for arms or legs. Sounds like our prospects in the classic song In The Year 2525.

For now, at least, every living creature must struggle to eat and survive, which is why we cannot possibly live in a magical world where superpowers give us everything we want.

Neither can we "move mountains" by having faith and cast them into the sea. No one has done that and the earth would be destroyed if anyone could. Surely there is something wrong with that biblical claim.

So how is that mankind's intellectual ability far outpaces the development in animals? Many years ago a book titled The Naked Ape theorized that modern humans adapted to their mostly hairless body and lack of natural defenses. His argument is that early humans, lacking the natural defenses of many animals, had to rely on their cognitive abilities to survive and thrive.

Schonfield's argument is built on the observation that humans are remarkably vulnerable compared to other species. Unlike animals equipped with physical defenses such as claws, teeth, or speed, early humans had to depend on their intellect to outwit predators, adapt to diverse environments, and find food.

According to Schonfield, this vulnerability drove the evolution of the human brain, pushing the development of complex cognitive functions that would eventually distinguish humans from other primates. This argument challenges more traditional views that attribute intellectual development solely to environmental challenges or social factors.

While it's true that early humans faced significant survival challenges, attributing the entirety of human intellectual development to a single factor may oversimplify the myriad influences that shaped our evolution. The interplay between social structures, environmental changes, and genetic mutations likely also played critical roles in developing human cognition.

None of this establishes that mankind is simply an accident of nature, or that a higher force or power is not behind evolutionary-adaptation. Click on the eBook image below for my thoughts on this.