Filling Ourselves

I do not know much about Ida.  I know she is a fossilized primate from the Eocene epoch, which, if I am not mistaken, was a while ago.  There are two issues surrounding Ida, from what I gather.  First is the initial supposition that she is a missing link in the early stages of human evolution, and second is the idea of buying/selling artifacts so historically significant. 

The second thing – the buying and selling – is a bit ridiculous.  I dare anyone to tell me there is no market for this kind of thing and that it is not legitimate, at least in part. If the amateur collector who found it first back in 1983 had simply held on to it forever and was buried with it in some sort of impenetrable underground fortress, and so we lost some potentially massive piece of our own history, then I think some form of ire would be warranted.  But we have it, and we are not missing it.  Our Norwegian friend who purchased Ida for a paltry $750 000 made her accessible and open; this should be a non-issue.

The real source of the hype surrounding Ida, I think, is this “missing link” talk.  We humans are obstinate things.  We constantly and without fail believe we are missing something, that there is a gap in our both our individual and collective spirits, and that it must must must be filled – with anything.  We are on high alert for this, so it consumes us.  And so phrases like “missing link” cause waves, and kindly people such as yourself are forced to read absurd musings like this.  I think I sound more cynical than I mean to be, though.  Our dramatization of events like the discovery of Ida and her potential fit into our version of history is not necessarily a negative thing.  Yes, we tend to glorify things that may not ultimately matter, and yes, that seems to me a flaw in our own individual conditions, but there is nothing wrong with this.  In fact, I am writing for much the same reason.  These little “flaws” make us interesting. 

When I started this, I intended on railing against anyone who kicked up dust over the unearthing of Ida, but that seems backward now.  This sort of thing is our whetstone.  It keeps us going, keeps us sharp, and the day we have nothing so trivial to overvalue is the day we all lose something vital.  Maybe not fatal, but it may as well be.

Dana’s next topic: Why GM and Chrysler having no money may be a good thing.