Madagascar.

One for the Word Mavens, subcategory "verbing weirds language."

In a seminar this morning, a speaker said about a matter that they'd "think-tank it."

Yes, "think-tank" is now a verb.

No it is not.

It could be a swear-word.

Those think-tanking motherthinktankers!

In particular, recent discoveries suggest that the adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered. With agriculture came the gross social and sexual inequality, the disease and despotism, that curse our existence.

And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.

And walking upright was a complete fucking DISASTER.

And walking upright was a complete fucking DISASTER.

Vertical *sucks.*

And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.

And even before that, there was a time when every cell was its own independent organism, instead of a mere slave to the oppressive multicellular collective. Those were the days.

Jessica's making me sniffly.

In particular, recent discoveries suggest that the adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered.

I'm familiar with these arguments (the fact that until very recently agricultural populations were less healthy and robust than their hunter-gatherer ancestors), and find them convincing to the point I've developed an Extremely Heretical interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis as being a folk memory of the transition to an agricultural lifestyle, with all the trade-offs that entailed. That said, without civilization there wouldn't be baseball, chocolate, or the internet, and I'd have to tell stories around the fire instead of writing them down.