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In this article we will discuss the trade-offs between human intellect and physical abilities in nature. While humans have advanced thinking and creativity, they lack the raw strength and endurance of many animals. The balancing power of nature among species is noteworthy. Birds have adaptations for flight. These adaptations come at the expense of other traits. It reflects on the consequences of human arrogance in confronting nature. This is particularly clear during natural disasters. It highlights a shift towards individualism over collectivism. The stories of Bandit turned sage Valmiki and Angulimal, bandit turned deciple of Buddha illustrate personal transformation. They underscore the potential for positive change through self-awareness. Determination also plays a key role in these transformations.

Morning in a jungle

Morning was still yet throbbing with activity in the jungle. After the earlier night’s downpour, the weather became clear and pleasant. The sun shone, and mist made the ambience mystique. The elephant was slowly strolling deep in the forest after crossing a rivulet. Suddenly, everything seemed electrified. The mahout cautioned, and right after that, a full-grown tiger was seen, just a few feet away…

Nature trades off

Tiger epitomises valour, courage and strength. They overpower their bigger prey with their physical strength. Nevertheless, tigers lack some qualities like taste and smell. In evolutionary history, human beings emerged as the Almighty. Their intellect and physical abilities surpass all. It is not physical power but their brain power which made them indefeatable. Humans have advanced cognitive abilities; nonetheless, they lack the raw strength found in many animals. Additionally, they do not have the endurance that some animals have. Through trade-offs, Nature balances powers among species. Birds, for example, have adaptations for flight, but it comes at the expense of other traits. Humans tame a false ego of being unconquerable, but Nature is always one up.  Let’s delve deep and discuss it, and try to find out about trade-offs in Nature. (Trade Offs in Ecology Explained Simply)  

trade off: Natural swap

What did Nature trade for the human brain? Let us delve deep into it and try to search it out. Nature meticulously does a trade-off between physical abilities and the human intellect. Human life is special because they can think and express their feelings. The increased cranial capacity, complicated and intricate brain anatomy have led humans to think and apply logic. Nature has taken away many things from humans in exchange for brain power.

Strength of an Ox

It is a paradox. In comparison to the power and physical strength of an ox, humans stand nowhere. Humans lack the raw strength, endurance and stamina found in animals. An ox is very powerful and, at times, ferociously dangerous too. It doesn’t, nevertheless, has the sprinting power, but it can smash its foes in a moment.

Cheetah The Sprinter

A Cheetah is a sprinter. It can run at a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour. While sprinting, it looks like a shooting arrow; with its stretched body which become parallel to the plane of the Earth, it chases its prey at a lightning speed. Armed with such extraordinary qualities, Cheetah doesn’t always succeed in catching its prey. Its success rate is up to 58 per cent. It means for every one hundred attempts, it succeeds in catching its prey only 58 ones. This is trade-off that balances the predator and prey ratio and keep the food supply regular.

Nature Economises by trading off

A close observation reveals that gifts of Nature are neither arbitrary nor haphazard. Physical powers and special abilities need extra provisions and energy for optimal performance. Nature economises it by withdrawing one power and compensating it with another to keep a balance. A balance is essential. Nature tries to trade-off between physical abilities and human intellect. In yet another article, the author has discussed it at length. Readers may like to visit that article by clicking HERE.

Trading off in Birds: Flight adaptation

To illustrate it, let us consider birds. Birds are flying creatures. It is an advantage for them, but Nature has taken many things from them, replacing them with more powerful alternatives. Ornithologists call it “Flight Adaptation”. Birds have hollow bones, feathers and a few “extra” or “luxurious” organs missing to make them light. They need energy to fly and keep warm, thus their food is light and energy-packed. Their digestive power is great.

Eagle And Vulture

The eyesight of an Eagle or a Vulture is very sharp. They use it in locating their food and travelling far to procure it. They lack other senses. These include a lack of olfactory sense, taste buds, and the inability to differentiate between good and stale food. They consume it. Their limited sensory palette serves a purpose – they play a vital role in Nature’s food cycle.

Human Intellect and physical abilities

Nature, albeit, has gifted humans almost everything, but it is not unlimited. Yet, their brains are highly developed and sharp. They can get down powerful creatures that are double their strength. Using their intellect, they do it from a safe distance using a bow and arrow. Humans are best at inventing things.

Discovering Nature’s Beauty: A Poetic Journey

Human Mind Is Curious

Curious human minds have provided them with many useful tools that enhance their performance in various tasks. Although they may not be physically strong, these tools have significantly increased human capabilities. Through constant research and improvement, humans have continually advanced themselves, breaking and exceeding their own records time and again.

Humans Ventured Deep In the Space

With their brain power, they have ventured deep into space. Crossing the barriers and strong gravitational force, they have successfully landed on the moon. They have even walked on its surface and are now contemplating walking on other planets like Mars. Their mind obeys no boundaries. They even challenge Nature’s power. Despite achieving many milestones, humans have yet to be successful in winning over Nature. Still, while trading off between human intellect and physical abilities, nature ensures a proper balance.

Conquering Nature is Still A Far Cry

Despite advancements in medical research and the modernisation of health services, illness and body ailments still persist. Some are almost incurable. Medicines and /or surgery can mitigate the ill effects, but a cure is far away. It has been seen in the recent past when the Coronavirus pandemic caused havoc worldwide. Thousands of people lost their loved ones despite having the best medical facilities and life-saving machines.

Nature’s Fury: Challenging human intellect and physical abilities

With increasing use of machines to perform Brobdingnagian tasks, humans have become arrogant. They bore tunnels across hills, make roads on difficult terrains, lay railway lines at high altitudes and venture deep in space. While these amnities help in easing life pf human beings, it is taxing Nature and its resources. The achievements have made them arrogant, stopping them to obey and respect the Nature’s command. It is why Nature often gives a slight but hazardous twist in its ways of functioning making things unbearable for humans.

Every monsoon brings immense damage to life and property. There used to be widespread GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) damage, frequent cloudbursts and torrential rains. The limited power and resources that humans have, prove unimpressive before the supreme force of Nature. It is also an aspect of trade-off that Nature does in lieu of what it gives. It doesn’t give unbounded power to humans.

Are Humans Scared?

Humans are scared. Compounded by the craving for life, the fear has reached another level. Everyone is frantically trying to push others when it comes to life. It is natural; every organism fights for its life, and humans are no exception. Nonetheless, the tendency to push and pull to save one’s own life at the cost of others is a mendacious mindset and shows the inner weakness. In order to keep safe, the concept of collectivism is emerging. Though the concept is a human brainchild, individualism takes front seat.

Perceptible Change

A perceptible change in the shift of human attitude is in currency. From “We” it has slowly but surely shifted to “Me and Myself”. The change in thought process is distinctly towards everything should revolve around “me”. Phrases like “my family”, “my house”, “my possessions” are often popping up, exposing the so-called “wild” mentality. The individualism leads to selfishness where a person keeps oneself in centre of everything. People with this trait always see themselves above all.

Calculative approach

The calculative approach of life has converted an innocent and caring human into a selfish and self-centred ones. A handful of people create bogeymen and terrorise others to fulfil their parochial aspirations. The fight against evil has been replaced by infighting and mindless violence in the name of sect, language, and region. Taming bigotry to nourish the sinister plan for division and establishing the hegemony of a few is gaining prominence.

Coping trade off: Self-Care

Self-care is good and copes up Nature’s trading-off. One must keep oneself fit and healthy. Thrashing a dead horse, nonetheless, is uncalled for. An individual’s life is not eternal, it has a span; which extends up to seventy years in humans. Self-care inculcates a feeling of independence and confidence helpful in ripe old age when an average human becomes alone. A healthy and fit short life is much better than a life dependent on others due to ailments.

trade off for Mortality?

Lust for immortality has created many illusory thought processes. Our ancestors imagined a healthy life for up to a century. “Jeevem Shardah Shatam” (Live a hundred years) was a common wish, but they never thought of living forever. The human intellect and physical abilities are the basic cause of his proud feeling of superiority. They try to be immortal. Though the craving for long life created a few misconceptions, but there is no bartering for immortality.

Immortality In Ancient Thought

The idea of immortality gave rise to the concept of the potion “Amrit” (Elixir). It was said that drinking it transforms a person into an immortal pulchritudinous. The epic sea churning was mooted and carried out. After several good and bad objects, Elixir came out. It is the metaphorical and philosophical way of presenting a thing or happening. Every good thing comes after toiling and repeated unsuccess.

Story of Gilgamesh conveys the same feeling of wish for immortality.

Parables

Wishes and lust apart, such stories have no logical or scientific backing. They are like a Parable, which teaches good things using symbols. Still, improvement in behaviour is desirable. Besides benefiting society and those around us, positive behaviour change is also beneficial for the individual.

Personal Liberty vs Social Duty

A few things are pertinent to mention. Personal liberty is of utmost importance. At the same time, respecting others is equally important. Personal liberty is not unlimited. It ends where others start. Hence, it is essential to calibrate one’s behaviour appropriately. Everyone shares spaces. It would, thus, be improper to do unilaterally, keeping oneself in the centre. Barring actions of a personal nature, other actions must be put to the scrutiny of all stakeholders before implementation.

Laws are For smooth Societal Functioning

To control the individual whim and regulate society, rules are made. The codified rules are law, which is binding on every individual of society and country across the world. It is also for bringing delinquent individuals back on track. It is pertinent to think about the impacts a work would have on others, including family members. Family members are also humans with emotions and feelings. Care needs to be taken while dealing with them. They must not be taken for granted.

Responsible Human intellect and physical abilities

People are responsible for their deeds. They have to bear the fruit of their deeds. Sage Valmiki was a dacoit. On the suggestion of his victims, when he enquired with his family members if they would be partners in crime. He was astonished to know the stark reality. No one accepted. This transformed the life of the sage. He led a life of an anchorite and wrote the famous epic “Ramayana”. The sage improved with the advice he received from his victims during his period as a robber.

Angulimal was a dread criminal and dacoit. Buddha resurrected him and made him his disciple.

Latent Wish to Mend

The stories of Valmiki and Angulimal have a common thread. They had a latent wish to mend their ways, but needed a catalyst. The catalyst worked, and they changed themselves. Evidently, human must have a wish to harmonise intellect and physical abilities to mend their ways. This is an individual’s choice, no other person can be party to it. Bandit Valmiki was asked by the sages It has to be understood and decided by the individual, and then they start working for it. It can be daunting at the start, but a firm resolve and determination ease the rest of the journey. Please visit my earlier article on life perspective by clicking HERE.

As We Go Along

Did the piece resonate with you? Please give your feedback in the comment box. Let us have a meaningful and healthy conversation. Clean critical views are solicited.

Also read:

• Comparing Humans and Animals: A Complex Perspective
• Discovering Nature’s Beauty: A Poetic Journey
• Exploring Mental Touring: A Unique Travel Perspective
• Transforming Pain into Strength: Life’s Hardships
• Imagining Life Without Computers: A Deep Dive

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