Quote of the Day (12/14/08)

There was once a Garden. It contained many hundreds of species. . . . there were two anthropoids who were more intelligent than the other animals. . . . On one of the trees there was a fruit very high up. . . . so they began to think purposively. . . . The he ape, Adam, went and got an empty box and put it under the tree. Adam and Even became almost drunk with excitement. This was the way to do things. Make a plan, ABC and you get D. They then began to specialize in doing things the planned way. In effect they cast out of the Garden the concept of their own total systemic nature and of its total systemic nature. . . . Pretty soon the topsoil disappeared. After that, several species of plants became "weeds" and some animals became "pests," and Adam found gardening much harder work . . . he said, "It's a vengeful God, I should never have eaten the apple. . . ." [Eve] heard a voice say, "In pain shalt thou bring forth. . . ."
--Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind