Oh, humans: break it, fix it badly, then claim genius status

Since science seems to have nothing better to do than come up with ever more ways to demonstrate to humans that we are not superior, it is becoming proportionally harder to find aspects that make us unique among animals.

At the K-Landnews we would like to point out this trait: break it, fix it (often badly), then claim genius status.

Think about this for a second, and you will come up with multiple examples from all walks of life.

The K-Landnews TheEditor, always its* grumpy contrarian self, objected: If a trait or behavior is as pervasive, as universal as this one, it is unwise to claim it as unique to humans. There's a good chance, for example, that a mama cat teaching a little one to hunt mice goes 'shucks, you killed that mouse and then shoved it under some leaf litter to pretend you let it get away so you could stalk it again later' - the only reason we can not prove it is because we don't speak cat yet.

The latest ingenious innovation showing this pattern in action: vegan wine.

Break it
Vegan wine is only news because we "broke it" in the first place, when the ancient method of wine making was no longer good enough. Demands on taste, look, and time-to-vinegar evolved, and modern chemistry happily sold a panoply of goods to wine makers.

Fix it
Having successfully poisoned several generations of vintners - not counting suicides of bankrupt vintners by drinking pesticide concentrate because that very technology made wine from the other side of the globe cheaper than the local produce - some people decided to resurrect the old ways of wine making. Many use the knowledge of modern chemistry and biology but not the poisons created from that knowledge.

Claim genius status
Not every organic or vegan vintner makes this claim. But marketing and PR people are less squeamish when it comes to the use of hyperbole, and we won't fault vintners for not speaking out against it.

If you feel like discussing the break it, fix it badly, then claim genius status paradigm with friends or family, why not go buy a bottle of vegan wine and talk over a glass?**

* TheEditor insists on gender neutral forms of address, hence "it".
** Not a product ad, not supported by, not endorsed by, but also not - yet - condemned by any wine makers or marketers.