A great irony is embedded in the prevailing view of evolution. We profess to stand in awe of the "natural" world. We do not criticize the inefficiency and sloppiness of the rainforest, instead we marvel at its improbable quirks and unimaginable variety. We do not presume to have either the knowledge or the prerogative to make the rainforest "better". We assume instead the solemn mantle of stewards for this masterpiece of evolution which was and must remain unblemished by the mind and hand of man. In its purest meaning, we advocate laissez-faire for the planet- "hands off".

Man, on the other hand, lives in an "unnatural" world which does not deserve the respect and reverence so lovingly bestowed upon the rainforest. Man, then, as an "unnatural" beast, must be tamed and transformed. The few, the elite, the arrogant and the anointed are not content to be stewards and statesmen. Instead they are divinely inspired engineers whose holy mission is nothing less than to change the minds of man and perfect his social institutions to the standards they alone carry from on high. Man, in their scheme, merits only endless meddling and endless reproach. The irony is that they wish man to be everything the rainforest is NOT. Sadly, the legacy of these anointed is more despairing than anything man has done to the rainforest.

But, of course, man is NOT an "unnatural" object, nor is the work of his mind and his hand. Man is evolution's greatest achievement so far. Man is the rainforest brought to self-consciousness. We alone have the unlimited power to contemplate the fact and the destiny of this achievement. As such, we are deserving of every homage we accord the rainforest. We ARE the rainforest. The knowledge we lack to make the rainforest better we surely do not remotely possess for the perfection of mankind. Nor the prerogative.

The prospect of "genetic engineering", among many other technological advances, has only fueled the fervor of the anointed. They envision now not only the certain knowledge of the goal, but the means to reach it. They have neither. I suggest that technology has and will continue to improve the lives of INDIVIDUALS in marvelous and unforeseen ways. Some of these individuals will be inspired by their good fortune to discover and create untold new species in the human rainforest. The pursuit of the global perfection of mankind, however, is a dream that Nature has wisely declined to indulge.

The challenge of bionomic thinking is to help us chart a course in the age of complexity by examining and promoting the intellectual and social implications of evolution. Unlike all other life on earth, we are self-conscious observers and participants with a stake in our history and our future. We possess an enormous capacity to stamp our imprimatur on this grand unfolding. How may we leave our mark wisely? Laissez-faire in the human rainforest must be modified from a strictly hands off approach. Our course ought to be neither as bystanders nor as engineers, but as cultivators and husbandmen. We are incessant searchers after patterns, yet we are obsessed and dumbfounded by the details we can never know beforehand. Our passion ought to be to unearth and harness the process rather than glean the purpose. Honor the rainforest before us and the power of the evolutionary calculus that imbues it. Emulate this and we will be as perfect and as fallible and as glorious as we can ever be.