Are we perhaps guilty of temporal chauvinism, believing that our own time is uniquely important, as all generation tend to think that their time is o… - Charles Sheffield

But maybe we wrongly define the higher human functions. How we think and feel about everything except questions of pure logic is decided maybe five percent in our brains, ninety-five percent in our glands. And how many events in human history have been the result of logical thought? Just try to name one.

Did you do what I asked you to?"
"As much as I could. Have you ever tried to brief your boss, without telling her what's going on?"
"A hundred times. It's the first rule of self-preservation.

Could it wipe out life on Earth?"
"Oh, I very much doubt that. Single-celled and oceanic forms will presumably survive. But it might make life impossible for humans."
"Actually, that tends to be my primary concern. Sponges and oysters will have to take care of themselves.