a lot of faith in anything that could be called a benevolent God. On a weekly basis, here in Nepal, I see babies scalded by tipped cooking pots; whole families burned when an errant spark from the fire drifts into the tinderbox; children who are sex slaves, who have AIDS by age twelve, who will be dead by fifteen. Anyone who believes in an all-powerful God must also believe he is a murderous, sociopathic monster, because what other conclusion can you draw? The only dodge is to say he’s not all-powerful, in which case he’s no longer God. You didn’t ask my opinion, but you may as well know who you’re dealing with.
In any case, as I said, when it comes to science I mainly know about biology, and you can’t understand biology without understanding evolution, which is about mutation and natural selection. Mutation is the engine and happens all the time, from viruses to elephants; it’s why people need a different flu shot every year (and why people who deny evolution, but get flu shots anyway, are hypocrites).
As for natural selection, I’ll give you an example. A few years ago a fishing boat sank a couple of miles off Iceland. The water was frigid, the crew didn’t have a raft, and only one guy made it to shore. Some scientists in Reykjavík were curious why he survived when the others didn’t, and they found that he had a freak mutation—an extra layer of fat, kind of like blubber, under his skin. It wasn’t that thick, but it was enough.
This is evolution in action; you have five guys who won’t be having any more children, and one who can still have as many as his wife agrees to, once he warms up a little. So through the generations there are more and more people with this extra fat on their bodies. It doesn’t make them stronger or more intelligent or better people—it just makes them more
fit
for that environment.
The situation is complicated in humans, though, because a lot of our evolution has consisted of adapting to one another, and certain traits may be more successful simply because they are attractive to the opposite sex. In the extreme view, we’re little more than host vehicles for our DNA, and our emotions exist largely to manipulate us into behaviors that ensure our survival and that of our offspring.
As such, it’s hard to conclude that there is any moral or spiritual basis for existence. I’m troubled by this, I’ll admit. It’s not that you become cold and unemotional, it’s just that you start to see emotions for what they really are, and it’s depressing. I’d be interested in knowing what you think about this.
—Peter
THIRTEEN
“I don’t think I love her because she’s a woman, exactly,” Alex said. “I love her because she’s
Devi
. I think I’d love her just as much if she were a guy.”
“I understand that, I think,” Peter said.
Devi had gone home with Sangita after dinner, so Peter and Alex had leashed up Wayne Lee and taken her for a walk through a nearby neighborhood.
“What do you love about her?”
“All the obvious stuff,” she said. “She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s incredibly tough. I thought
I
was an athlete, but we’ve been taking hikes in the foothills after she gets off school, and she puts me to shame.”
“Well, honey, she’s
Tibetan.
”
“Even so, it’s humbling, and I don’t like humbling,” she said. “What’s so special about Tibetans, anyway?”
“They’ve got hemoglobin levels and a whole oxygen-delivery system that’s miles beyond ours. Vertical miles, literally.”
“She once said she has a mountain heart,” Alex reflected. “I don’t think she was talking about physiology, though.”
The evening was cool. Windows turned orange in houses and apartments as lights came on inside. A big 747 drifted in over the valley, on final approach, its lights blinking red and white. The roar of its engines echoed back and forth between the hills, growing loud, then soft, then loud again, like ocean waves swirling and
In any case, as I said, when it comes to science I mainly know about biology, and you can’t understand biology without understanding evolution, which is about mutation and natural selection. Mutation is the engine and happens all the time, from viruses to elephants; it’s why people need a different flu shot every year (and why people who deny evolution, but get flu shots anyway, are hypocrites).
As for natural selection, I’ll give you an example. A few years ago a fishing boat sank a couple of miles off Iceland. The water was frigid, the crew didn’t have a raft, and only one guy made it to shore. Some scientists in Reykjavík were curious why he survived when the others didn’t, and they found that he had a freak mutation—an extra layer of fat, kind of like blubber, under his skin. It wasn’t that thick, but it was enough.
This is evolution in action; you have five guys who won’t be having any more children, and one who can still have as many as his wife agrees to, once he warms up a little. So through the generations there are more and more people with this extra fat on their bodies. It doesn’t make them stronger or more intelligent or better people—it just makes them more
fit
for that environment.
The situation is complicated in humans, though, because a lot of our evolution has consisted of adapting to one another, and certain traits may be more successful simply because they are attractive to the opposite sex. In the extreme view, we’re little more than host vehicles for our DNA, and our emotions exist largely to manipulate us into behaviors that ensure our survival and that of our offspring.
As such, it’s hard to conclude that there is any moral or spiritual basis for existence. I’m troubled by this, I’ll admit. It’s not that you become cold and unemotional, it’s just that you start to see emotions for what they really are, and it’s depressing. I’d be interested in knowing what you think about this.
—Peter
THIRTEEN
“I don’t think I love her because she’s a woman, exactly,” Alex said. “I love her because she’s
Devi
. I think I’d love her just as much if she were a guy.”
“I understand that, I think,” Peter said.
Devi had gone home with Sangita after dinner, so Peter and Alex had leashed up Wayne Lee and taken her for a walk through a nearby neighborhood.
“What do you love about her?”
“All the obvious stuff,” she said. “She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s incredibly tough. I thought
I
was an athlete, but we’ve been taking hikes in the foothills after she gets off school, and she puts me to shame.”
“Well, honey, she’s
Tibetan.
”
“Even so, it’s humbling, and I don’t like humbling,” she said. “What’s so special about Tibetans, anyway?”
“They’ve got hemoglobin levels and a whole oxygen-delivery system that’s miles beyond ours. Vertical miles, literally.”
“She once said she has a mountain heart,” Alex reflected. “I don’t think she was talking about physiology, though.”
The evening was cool. Windows turned orange in houses and apartments as lights came on inside. A big 747 drifted in over the valley, on final approach, its lights blinking red and white. The roar of its engines echoed back and forth between the hills, growing loud, then soft, then loud again, like ocean waves swirling and
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