{"id":15159,"date":"2015-02-25T17:10:10","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T22:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/basicallybeyondbasic.com\/?p=15159"},"modified":"2023-09-29T11:16:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T15:16:56","slug":"speciation-is-the-reason-why-i-dont-want-to-live-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/2015\/02\/25\/speciation-is-the-reason-why-i-dont-want-to-live-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"Speciation is the Reason Why I Don&#8217;t Want to Live Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An overarching theme in General Biology is gaining an appreciation for the vast diversity of life. Prevailing ideas like\u00a0Charles Darwin&#8217;s theory of\u00a0evolution help explain present-day phylogeny while tracing back a long history\u00a0of\u00a0speciation, the process by which one species splits into two.<\/p>\n<p>Recognizing that evolution is complex and not latter-like is essential to understanding how we have arrived at the number of extant species that coexist on Earth today. Present-day biological diversity is a product of <em>branching<\/em> phylogeny and not ladder-like steps of one thing\u00a0becoming another. If that were the case, we wouldn&#8217;t still have the simple sponges and microorganisms that\u00a0reproduce\u00a0today.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15208 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www-1024x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"705\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,height=640,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 1024w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,height=188,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 300w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,height=480,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 768w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1536,height=960,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 1536w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=284,height=178,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 284w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=290,height=181,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 290w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=407,height=254,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 407w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1220,height=763,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 1220w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1920,height=1200,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/www.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 705px) 100vw, 705px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In a dream I had the other night, I was selected by the US government to be a test subject frozen in a laboratory somewhere in China. I was told I would remain frozen in a dormant stage for 20,000 years before being revived back to life.<\/p>\n<p>For whatever reason, I agreed. Maybe I didn&#8217;t have a choice? I can&#8217;t remember all of the details. I think they claimed that in the future, humans\u00a0would live much longer lives (or possibly live forever) and this was a\u00a0way I could be a part of it.<\/p>\n<p>After I was\u00a017,000 years into my journey, I suddenly became conscious. Something was wrong. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in a chamber\u00a0filled with room-temperature water and there was no one around.<\/p>\n<p>I couldn&#8217;t remember where I was or why I was there.\u00a0When I tried standing up, my legs felt like rubber. Actually, my entire body felt like rubber. I remember comparing\u00a0how I felt to Gumby. I spotted paperwork\u00a0that I read to figure out where I was. I also determined\u00a0that\u00a0the ice chamber I was\u00a0in must have\u00a0failed due to\u00a0technical reasons. I thawed much sooner than intended.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15192 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gumby11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"536\" height=\"577\" srcset=\"\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=536,height=577,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gumby11.jpg 536w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=279,height=300,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gumby11.jpg 279w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=290,height=312,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gumby11.jpg 290w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=407,height=438,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gumby11.jpg 407w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=512,height=551,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gumby11.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 536px) 100vw, 536px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I snuck out from the room I was in and tried to\u00a0explore the facility. I wanted answers but I couldn&#8217;t find anyone to talk to. I eventually came\u00a0across a report.<\/p>\n<p>It turns out I couldn&#8217;t find\u00a0anyone because there was no one <em>left<\/em> to find. A few hundred years after they froze me, a previously harmless species of bacteria mutated into something incredibly contagious and deadly. Within a few years, it wiped out everyone. Well, everyone except for me.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15193 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gene-mutation1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"411\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=411,height=292,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gene-mutation1.jpg 411w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,height=213,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gene-mutation1.jpg 300w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=290,height=206,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gene-mutation1.jpg 290w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=407,height=289,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/gene-mutation1.jpg 407w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 411px) 100vw, 411px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Without humans there to run the planet, the evolution of other species proceeded at an incredible rate. The future world was nothing like what I expected.<\/p>\n<p>Even if it was just a dream, experiencing what it was like to be the only person alive was\u00a0VERY WEIRD and fairly\u00a0disturbing. When I left the facility, I saw a world filled with different species unlike anything alive today. Some of them were pleasant\u00a0&#8211; creatures I wish were real. Others, not so much.<\/p>\n<p>My dream ended with me foolishly sitting inside of an unfamiliar device that\u00a0proceeded to launch\u00a0me into outer space where I floated away into a black hole and then woke up.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>From my\u00a0dream, I realized 3 things.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>1. I do NOT\u00a0want to live forever because I do NOT\u00a0want to be the last person alive.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15194\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15194\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15194 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=800,height=534,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg 800w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,height=200,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg 300w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,height=513,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg 768w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=290,height=194,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg 290w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=407,height=272,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg 407w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=512,height=342,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg 512w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=223,height=150,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elizabeth_gadd_photography_06.jpg 223w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15194\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">No thanks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>2. I do NOT\u00a0want to live long enough to witness long-term speciation first-hand. I&#8217;d like to leave this world\u00a0while <em>Homo sapiens<\/em> are\u00a0still the dominant species.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15195 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/evolution_of_man.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"413\" height=\"162\" \/><\/p>\n<p>3. Even if I could live forever, the sun most definitely cannot.\u00a0I don&#8217;t know that I need to\u00a0be alive when the Milky-way galaxy collapses.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15196 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/exploding_sun_by_twister3010.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=640,height=480,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/exploding_sun_by_twister3010.jpg 640w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,height=225,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/exploding_sun_by_twister3010.jpg 300w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=290,height=218,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/exploding_sun_by_twister3010.jpg 290w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=407,height=305,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/exploding_sun_by_twister3010.jpg 407w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=512,height=384,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/exploding_sun_by_twister3010.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>LOL\u00a0LOOK AT WHAT GEN BIO HAS DONE TO ME. I COMPLETELY\u00a0blame this <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">dream<\/span>\u00a0nightmare on the\u00a0Biology Department at Rutgers. x)<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve spent <em>that<\/em>\u00a0much time memorizing\u00a0the &#8220;Tree of Life&#8221; for my exam on Sunday that now I&#8217;m witnessing speciation and extinction first-hand in my dreams. Bio all day, bio all night. What\u00a0a vivid and relevant dream. If only test-taking came this easily to me! I hope I\u00a0get a good grade on this exam! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15190\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15190\" style=\"width: 528px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15190 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/cgmmetazoa.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=528,height=638,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/cgmmetazoa.jpg 528w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=248,height=300,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/cgmmetazoa.jpg 248w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=290,height=350,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/cgmmetazoa.jpg 290w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=407,height=492,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/cgmmetazoa.jpg 407w, \/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=512,height=619,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/cgmmetazoa.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15190\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One Section of the Tree of Life<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An overarching theme in General Biology is gaining an appreciation for the vast diversity of life. Prevailing ideas like\u00a0Charles Darwin&#8217;s &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5511],"tags":[3982,5910,5898],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Speciation is the Reason Why I Don&#039;t Want to Live Forever | The Rocky Safari<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/2015\/02\/25\/speciation-is-the-reason-why-i-dont-want-to-live-forever\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Speciation is the Reason Why I Don&#039;t Want to Live Forever | The Rocky Safari\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An overarching theme in General Biology is gaining an appreciation for the vast diversity of life. 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