As of this moment, late in the year 2019, it's been stated that sixty-five percent of our planet remains unexplored. More than eighty percent of our oceans have been alleged to remain unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored. Most of our world's species, they say, remain undiscovered. It's estimated today that there are 8.7 million species on the planet (6.5 million on land and 2.2 million in the oceans). Yet only one and a half million species have been discovered to date. Take a moment to let this all sink in.
Current extinction rates mean that many unknown organisms will cease to exist before we can even discover them. If our planet were compared to a giant cake with the frosting representing all the species on it, then humanity has barely even licked a tiny portion of the frosting throughout our existence. One conclusion to be drawn from this data is that extinction events become moot points for us.
Think of it this way. We're all going to die anyway. Okay, let's say, for the sake of argument, there was no extinction event going on at all. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of species on this planet would not be discovered by us during our lifetimes. So although a massive extinction event is most certainly underway even as we live out our relatively short human lifespans here today, when considering this in a relative manner, it should be readily apparent how inconsequential all of this information really becomes. This is one reason I believe that one of the greatest diseases we suffer from is knowledge itself.
Think about it all you want, or for however long it takes you to realize what I'm trying to relate. I'm stating you should shut your eyes to see clearly. I'm suggesting we are all dreaming wide awake. Mass extinctions on the level of multiple holocausts are occurring every time we blink our eyes. The next time you open your eyes think about this. All of these mass extinctions going on right now are tantamount to the planet shedding so many individual cells. It's like the Earth has been constantly sloughing off its skin ever since the day we were born into it. We've been likened to fleas on a dog before, but aren't we really more like dandruff on the hide of a colossus?
One thing we should all be able to agree upon is the simple fact that total and absolute extinction doesn't even exist; it's a myth, a fairy tale. Sort of like the idea of death itself, perhaps the most misunderstood and horrifying legend of them all. I understand this may not make sense to most people reading this. All I'm trying to say is, sure, it's natural to be terrified of our own deaths, yet I think we should at least try to take some comfort in being aware that overall, it's not so much life on earth being threatened with extinction, but our own understanding of the facts; something which, in and of itself, we should all welcome with a blessed sense of relief.
So we should all set ourselves at ease knowing that thinking is a disease. While the ordinary run of the mill business of killing and dying continues to persist, in blissful ignorance we ourselves never really cease to exist. If you think about it enough, you begin to realize that while individuals continue to die, the colony thrives. So before we each give up the ghost, let's all make a toast, "Long live the Host."
