alt Hacker NewsLends a whole other colour to that scene from The Matrix... Agent Smith monologuing at Morpheus bound to the chair.
> Agent Smith: I’d like to share a revelation during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus.
ref: "Smith Interrogates Morpheus Transcript" https://scottmanning.com/content/smith-interrogates-morpheus...
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Edit: Maybe it takes virulence to colonise the galaxy. A sobering thought.
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I never understood where the desire to "colonise the galaxy" comes from. Why is this a desirable goal? Compared to anywhere else we know about, Earth is an extremely unique utopia. A "better" planet would be measured in how Earth-like it is - perhaps bigger or with more/different exploitable resources.
The only driver that I can really comprehend is the desire for freedom and autonomy in less populated spaces. The problem with this is that the human condition follows us everywhere. We'll recreate the same problems we have here everywhere we go. We can't run away from ourselves.
> Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not.
Though it's an interesting quote, I have to disagree. The reindeers on St. Matthew Island continued to multiply and depleted their food resources without any predators, until an extreme snow storms struck. They don't "instinctively" develops a natural equilibrium.
https://www.adn.com/features/article/what-wiped-out-st-matth...