Heavy price for industrialisation

Anthropologists say man first appeared on the earth almost 2,000,000 years ago. At that time he would have looked like his primate ancestors than the present day man you meet on the street. Soon he became a part of a long evolutionary process that lasted many millennia.

If you travel 6,000 years into the past using a time machine, you will not probably find any cities, kingdoms or empire builders. If you travel 12,000 years into the past, you are likely to find a type of primitive men and women living in caves. They had no houses, villages or roads.

The early primates were probably weaklings who could not fight with strong wild animals or protect themselves against inclement weather. Although animals had thick hides, long horns and sharp claws, man had no such protective gear. Man, of course, was gifted with speed and good sight. In the long process of evolution, his eyes and the part of the brain that controlled sight also were developed. What is more, as his brain grew bigger in size, he became more intelligent. With the new-found intelligence, he was able to find ways and means of living in the jungle.

African ape

According to Prof. Raymond Dart, an Australian anthropologist, a South African ape similar to a man had lived about 1,000,000 years ago. Walking on two human feet, the ape must have had free use of his hands. He was probably the first member of the human race. On the other hand, about two million years ago, a species of ape-like creatures had lived in Africa. They too are believed to have descended from the ground ape. Some of the apes, such as Zinjanthropus and Homo habilis, were just like men in appearance.

Man was a part of a long evolutionary process that lasted many millennia

Intelligence helped the primitive man to invent tools and weapons to protect himself. In fact, the early man’s experience with tools increased his mental powers. There was a close connection with his busy hands and the brain that was becoming bigger. Even psychologists believe that animals with bigger brains are more intelligent than others.

About half a million years ago, a new type of man evolved in the wet forests of eastern Asia. They probably descended from the African ape-man. In course of time, the primitive man learned how to use fire against the cold and wild beasts. Fire also helped him find his way in the dark and live in different climatic conditions. What is more, using fire he was able to cook raw food into tasty meals. The discovery of fire was the turning point in his life.

Intelligence

After many millions of years, the world now has a man who could think for himself. His intelligence made him superior to other animals who were physically stronger than him. Unlike wild beasts, man could consider what he is, what he wants to do and what he wants to become. Even a tiger can see and hear, but only a man can see and hear knowing what he is seeing and hearing.

If you visit a reputed museum, you will find stone tools with sharp edges used by the primitive man. Gradually he became a tool maker for the various tasks he had to perform. As a hunter he killed animals with the tools. Later on, he made different tools for agricultural activities. His ability to turn out tools of his own design must have given him a sense of dignity and self-confidence.

The story of man’s progress from hand axe to microliths covers a more than one million years. Many of the tools created by him had a high degree of skill and intelligence. In the industrial world we are living in today, we see the same pattern at a sophisticated level. Today we have the advantage of power driven machinery and various forces we have harnessed to perform difficult tasks. Today there is no necessity to employ 20 labourers to dig a trench when it can be done by a single machine.

However, sociologists question whether man is using his leisure in a meaningful way. There is a dividing line between work and hobby. For instance, a man can play the violin while his machines produce biscuits. For him, playing the violin is not part of his work, it is only a hobby. However, for a professional violinist, playing the violin at a concert is real work.

There is a story of a company executive who turned his attention to carpentry as a hobby. He bought some wood and other implements to make a table. The tools he bought were all machine driven. He found that with the right tools and materials he could make a table in a day. Before long, he understood that he had become a victim of industrialisation. As a result, he could not engage in his favourite hobby and use his hands effectively.

What will happen in the future is more surprising than what is happening today. Mechanisation will go forward by leaps and bounds. Companies have produced mechanical brooms that sweep the floor, picking every bit of dust. We no longer have to exercise our hands pushing an ordinary broom. If you look around, you will not see intricately carved furniture, but machine-made chairs and tables. They cast an eerie shadow of what is to come in the future.

Whether we like it or not, we need to adapt ourselves to the advancing mechanical and digital age. We can no longer travel by buggy carts. We do not have the time or inclination to do so. Quite willy nilly we hop into a taxi to reach our destination. By doing so we miss the joys of travelling. A foot traveller may suffer every kind of discomfort, but his senses are alive. There are sights and sounds around him to enjoy while he is travelling. The passenger in an air-conditioned cab is cut off from all normal enjoyment of the outside world. That is the price we pay to live in an industrialised society.