
1. I once heard — so it’s hearsay and anecdotal, but maybe useful as a provocation — that one of the unique qualities of human consciousness is an ability to imagine as if things were otherwise, or other than things are. That is, we have a unique ability to imagine change.
2. Is that true? Is it unique? Or is it hubris, because a human is likely the agent that said, or wrote such a thing? It certainly is self-satisfying to imagine that we’re a species, and uniquely advantaged over all the other species.
3. But, does it even matter as to its truthiness? Maybe it’s just helpful, but not so much as a point of argumentation, but more as a provocation to ourselves. An opportunity to do something special, perhaps world-changing. Perhaps world-saving.