Imbecility & Excellence...

This post from Brain Pickings has it all: "Darwin - How to Evolve Your Imagination." Deep wisdom from one of the greatest scientists, thinkers, humans that ever walked the planet.

How did Darwin get so smart?!

He observed and studied Nature. He used Nature as the great teacher. His brilliant insight: All Life on the Planet Evolves, all Life on the Planet is connected & related.  We live in an interconnected web of life. The Diversity of Life is magnificent and essential. Anyway, in the post Darwin expounds on Imagination & Empathy. How to expand your mind? Imagine other worlds, other beings, put yourself in "someone else's shoes." Read poetry, listen to music. Immerse yourself in the imaginative, creative Arts. Empathy is a super-power which enhances Life.

Darwin also reminds us that Humans are no "greater," or "higher" on the ladder of Life than other Life-Forms, no, Humans are just a bit more complicated. Yes. Indeed. We are the Complicated, Tricky Monkeys.

I laughed out loud when I came across Darwin's description of the variability of the Human Herd: “from absolute imbecility to high excellence...” Sure, in my book Darwin would be in the high excellence side of the equation.

I wonder if you can guess who comes to mind in the absoltue imbecility side of the equation? A little hint: a super-toxic individual dominating the news lately, and, you know, dominating in not a good way... funny, but true, how did we all fall under the spell of such an Absolute Imbecile?