Our ancestors went after convenience. Given the shocking abundance of the biosphere they encountered, they felt compelled to transform it into objects, luxuries and expendables. And the opportunity to pursue ever-more deadly conflicts over the resulting commodities.

The outcome? A good comparison would be the precipitous descent into oblivion of a teenage krokodil addict. Or someone who sells their organs in order to obtain electronic devices. Apparently, this was so intoxicating that they were either unable or unwilling to recognize that they were selling their own bodies, minds, history, and future.

Within a span of approximately 300 years, human activity on Earth went from dangerous to aggressively omnicidal. Once they got up to speed, Homo Sapiens required a scant 50 years to eliminate 90% of the conserved biocomplexity of Earth.

That’s where the majestic forests and thriving oceans that were the originary nurseries of life (and intelligence) on Earth went. It’s unfortunate that we never saw them and have only images by which to understand what they were.

At least we have some idea of the reason; convenience.

In the end? The oceans and forests were inconvenient. Living beings were inconvenient. And threateningly unpredictable.

Apparently, so, too, was human intelligence.