For
years I've waxed lyrical about the ‘poor’ driving habits of Cape
Townians, which I still rate as undoubtedly the worst in the world. Recently, a friend and fellow producer of
fine alcoholic beverages, cider to be precise, had a rant about the shocking
service she’d received from a service provider in the region, without even an
apology from the management. Well this
is not unusual, although I'm not one to lump all service providers in this magnificent city together as poor. Many
are very good and a few even exceptional.
My retort to her however, was that I had just had a discussion with my
painter, the same discussion I had with my electrician and my plumber some
months back, suggesting that the best way for any service provider to
differentiate themselves from the mass in this city (i.e. stand out from the
crowd of competitors in their field), would be simply to arrive on time, as promised. If not possible however for some valid
reason, then a simple call to inform one is all that would be required. That type of attention to service alone would
set them apart from 90% of their competitors, without even having to quote on
the job. People can be very stupid at
times, and it makes one wonder about the root cause. Is it nature or nurture that is primarily to
blame in getting us to this rather disappointing place in ‘intellect’ I wonder?
With that theme in mind, I have been reading with some interest about the recent successes in the genome sequencing of the woolly mammoth. Having been fascinated with this prospect since I was a kid; perhaps I should have listened to my biology teacher Mrs. Dixon and the results of my aptitude test in Grade 12, and gone into medicine of some sort, ultimately specialising in the field of genetics. But I didn't, and yet others have and have had enormous success in the use of stem cells and its incredible value in the pursuit of improving health in humans, in some cases before they are even born.
Of
course, as one would expect, some religions are vehemently against such ‘god-like’
interventions, but my response to that is simple. If one believes in a god the
way some do, then surely ‘he’ gave the wisdom to the people involved enabling them
to make some improvements and enhancements to ‘his’ somewhat questionable workmanship. One just has to drive on the roads of Cape
Town to realise that the Dodo is definitely not extinct, but in the genomes of
many city drivers, as they tend to behave as if they have more than just one
screw missing. I suppose one could
excuse the shoddy workmanship during ‘Creation’, as light had only been
invented a few days earlier, and the effect on the eyes at the time, after a
lifetime of darkness, must have been rather brutal. After all, Ray Ban and Vuarnet sunglasses weren't invented until the 8th day, I'm led to believe.
So
with this US team already attempting to study the characteristics of the
mammoth by inserting mammoth genes into elephant stem cells, perhaps there’s
some light at the end of the long tunnel from Bellville to the City Bowl and
surrounds. At the risk of sounding sanctimonious,
at least there may be hope that the many shocking drivers on Cape Town’s roads
may now be captured (in cleverly devised ‘stupid traps’), and have the Dodo
gene removed from their genetic make-up and replaced with a few fresh nuts and
bolts. I am going into this weekend feeling
rather pleased at this notion, although it’s not likely to be in my lifetime, I
know that there’s hope for human kind in the centuries to come.
For more info.. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32432693
