So, I try to look at modern human civilization in all its complexity, with its massive population growth relative to most of our species existence, the variety of ecosystems successfully colonized, the incredible sophistication of material culture compared to even a few centuries ago...

achieved by an organism that (human megalomania notwithstanding) that is really nothing more than an overly specialized scavenger...

and I am astonished at the sheer, baroque complexity generated by the simple accumulation of 9000 years of inter-glacial agricultural surpluses.

And, its fragility.