Evolution and Danger

Witness the witless worm, inching its way along the twig. It doesn't see the robin bob, bob, bobbin' along. It does nothing. Down the hatch goes the worm, which is just as well, because robins need to eat, too, and there are plenty more worms where that one came from.

Worm response summary:

    --Unable to perceive danger.
    --Thinks: "Everything is fine."
    --Action: None.

Regard the retiring rabbit, chomping on a cabbage leaf. It spots the bobcat about to spring. It turns tail and runs like hell.

Rabbit response summary:

    --Able to perceive imminent danger.
    --Thinks: "Aah! Predator!"
    --Action: Runs like hell.

Espy the elegant elk, grazing its grassland home. It sees the wolves sneaking up. It cuts and runs, pauses, nails one wolf with a hard left rear hoof, tosses away another with a sweep of its antlers, and gallops on.

Elk response summary:

    --Able to perceive imminent danger.
    --Thinks: "I got a problem here, but I can handle it. I can run, fight, or some combination of both."
    --Action: Runs or fights, as needed.

Behold the beefy buffalo, placidly chewing its cud. There is a tiger in the reeds. The buffalo hustles the calves together, circles up around them with its buds, and dares the tiger to try something.

Buffalo response summary:

    --Not only perceives imminent danger, but has a strategy ready in advance of danger.
    --Thinks: "Ok, that's a pretty nasty predator, but no need for panic. Protect the kids, get the gals         together, gore or kick the crap out of the little creep."
    --Action: Has a cooperative strategy for dealing with danger.

Hark, the human, laboring away in its cubicle. The polar ice caps are melting. The Siberian permafrost is melting. The seas are rising. The forests are burning. Maniacs are spraying public gatherings with automatic weapons fire. The economy is collapsing. Healthcare is nonexistent. Education is in a shambles. It does nothing.

Human response summary:

    --Unable to perceive danger.
    --Thinks: "Bad Guys are making it all up. If not, it's too hard and too expensive. Anyway, God'll         take care of it. Everything is fine."
    --Action: None.