another quote

"the degree to which we detest an aspect of human nature is the degree to which we are ignorant of its role in our evolution."

I'm not sure who said it but I think it's interesting. We sometimes fail to realize that humanity has changed its environment far more quickly than any other creature. So a human trait like selfishness or thirst for power might seem be to be distasteful in our current modern society, but it must have been a lot more useful back when humans had to hunt and kill for food and there was never a guarantee that there would be more any time soon. Another good example is the male tendency to produce offspring from multiple women.

quote

One of my favorite novels contains this quote:

"the power to cause pain is the only power that matters, the power to kill and destroy, because if you can't kill then you are always subject to those who can, and nothing and no one will ever save you."

Clearly the protaganist in this story was at a low point in his life when he said it, but I always was struck by the truth in that line...