1 00:00:10,378 --> 00:00:11,922 A species apart 2 00:00:19,778 --> 00:00:22,339 Chapter 1 The tiny and the infinite 3 00:00:22,445 --> 00:00:26,875 Human beings have always known that it holds a special place in the universe. 4 00:00:28,245 --> 00:00:33,795 Center of the world, jewel of evolution, he looked up to Heaven. 5 00:00:36,725 --> 00:00:39,665 And then he started exploring... 6 00:00:41,605 --> 00:00:43,255 Man discovered that he inhabited a planet 7 00:00:43,295 --> 00:00:45,085 among others in the solar system, 8 00:00:46,345 --> 00:00:49,385 a small rotating blue dot around his star... 9 00:00:51,785 --> 00:00:56,075 A planet ultimately of ordinary size, orbiting a rather pale star, 10 00:00:56,465 --> 00:00:59,345 that humans themselves have classified as a yellow dwarf. 11 00:01:01,195 --> 00:01:06,205 A ridiculous size compared to many giants and supergiants... 12 00:01:07,585 --> 00:01:10,385 Take the grandiose Eta Carinais for example, 13 00:01:10,825 --> 00:01:13,835 a star a million times brighter than the Sun... 14 00:01:14,525 --> 00:01:19,005 Or the majestic Uy Scuti, 5 billion times larger... 15 00:01:21,005 --> 00:01:23,625 The universe is full of stars more notable than the Sun, 16 00:01:23,825 --> 00:01:26,855 anonymous spark on the foot stellar hierarchies... 17 00:01:30,255 --> 00:01:32,695 To measure distances immense between these stars, 18 00:01:33,345 --> 00:01:35,815 man had to invent a special unit of length, 19 00:01:36,445 --> 00:01:39,645 the one traveled for a year by a particle of light. 20 00:01:40,335 --> 00:01:42,095 10,000 billion kilometers. 21 00:01:44,595 --> 00:01:46,805 A light year is so a kilometer away, 22 00:01:46,935 --> 00:01:51,035 what a kilometer is the size… of a virus. 23 00:01:53,025 --> 00:01:56,845 And the universe measures 80 billion light years... 24 00:02:00,175 --> 00:02:02,225 The stars are incredibly numerous. 25 00:02:05,005 --> 00:02:08,805 A single galaxy contains between 100 and 400 billion stars... 26 00:02:11,235 --> 00:02:14,205 And the galaxies themselves are innumerable. 27 00:02:18,865 --> 00:02:20,165 What we currently see 28 00:02:20,225 --> 00:02:24,015 they are not stars, but thousands of galaxies. 29 00:02:32,635 --> 00:02:34,295 For the entire visible universe, 30 00:02:34,665 --> 00:02:38,175 this represents in total 400 sextillion stars. 31 00:02:39,785 --> 00:02:43,485 Such a large number that human beings struggle to conceive of it. 32 00:02:46,065 --> 00:02:47,495 However, it's not that hard: 33 00:02:48,355 --> 00:02:51,015 there are so many stars in the observable universe 34 00:02:51,285 --> 00:02:54,615 what drops of water in all the oceans of its planet Earth, 35 00:02:55,205 --> 00:02:59,265 or grains of sand on all its beaches and deserts. 36 00:03:00,145 --> 00:03:03,915 But this immensity does not represent itself as the observable universe, 37 00:03:04,225 --> 00:03:08,645 this area beyond which human telescopes cannot see... 38 00:03:09,715 --> 00:03:12,335 a very small part of the real universe. 39 00:03:15,485 --> 00:03:18,555 Man lives in the suburbs far from an innocuous galaxy, 40 00:03:19,135 --> 00:03:20,995 lost in such a vast universe 41 00:03:21,285 --> 00:03:23,875 that he can't even conceive it as a whole. 42 00:03:24,925 --> 00:03:28,790 Faced with these astronomical scales, wouldn't it be... 43 00:03:29,168 --> 00:03:30,496 insignificant? 44 00:03:41,536 --> 00:03:44,830 Chapter 2 Single life 45 00:03:48,974 --> 00:03:56,164 Humans inhabit a planet in their image: special, unique, perfect. 46 00:03:59,984 --> 00:04:03,084 The only planet that houses living beings, the Earth, 47 00:04:04,504 --> 00:04:07,444 is an oasis of life in the middle of the great cosmic desert... 48 00:04:08,404 --> 00:04:10,244 But is it really so exceptional? 49 00:04:11,714 --> 00:04:15,274 Man in fact only has a very blurry of the universe in which it evolves. 50 00:04:16,484 --> 00:04:19,624 On its scale, this area is so vast and empty, 51 00:04:19,934 --> 00:04:23,294 that he called him, for lack of a better term, “space”. 52 00:04:26,984 --> 00:04:31,124 Far from being deserted, this space is full of a multitude of planets, 53 00:04:31,294 --> 00:04:32,864 as diverse as they are varied. 54 00:04:37,174 --> 00:04:39,874 Since there is on average one planet per star in the universe, 55 00:04:40,184 --> 00:04:44,874 there are probably over 100 billion of planets in the Milky Way alone, 56 00:04:45,764 --> 00:04:49,604 and as much in each of the hundreds billions of other galaxies. 57 00:04:50,664 --> 00:04:52,614 With such a profusion of planets, 58 00:04:52,974 --> 00:04:56,124 how could life not have evolve only once? 59 00:04:58,524 --> 00:05:01,524 Even with probabilities ridiculously weak in appearance, 60 00:05:02,064 --> 00:05:04,224 the universe probably teems with life. 61 00:05:08,284 --> 00:05:10,824 Especially since this universe continually transforms. 62 00:05:12,974 --> 00:05:18,804 Every day, 275 million stars, therefore from planets, are born. 63 00:05:19,834 --> 00:05:24,474 So many are reaching the end of their lives, and all are in constant movement. 64 00:05:26,544 --> 00:05:30,304 Man cannot even identify its own position, which is not fixed. 65 00:05:31,284 --> 00:05:33,394 Starting with the Earth's orbit, 66 00:05:33,914 --> 00:05:38,054 rushing around its Sun at a speed of 100,000 km/h, 67 00:05:38,194 --> 00:05:40,574 and of which Humans have no not even conscious. 68 00:05:42,684 --> 00:05:46,234 No more than he perceives that its entire solar system propels itself 69 00:05:46,274 --> 00:05:48,954 in his galaxy even faster. 70 00:05:54,334 --> 00:05:57,644 And finally, his galaxy, like all the others, 71 00:05:57,844 --> 00:05:59,114 is itself in motion. 72 00:05:59,964 --> 00:06:06,094 She rushes towards the nearest galaxy, Andromeda, at a speed of 720,000 km/h... 73 00:06:09,134 --> 00:06:12,544 Man, so superior, seems well and truly lost 74 00:06:12,674 --> 00:06:15,234 in a cosmic ocean in perpetual movement... 75 00:06:17,334 --> 00:06:18,944 In this disproportionate universe, 76 00:06:19,244 --> 00:06:23,414 to affirm that there is no life does it return not to dip a glass in the ocean 77 00:06:23,854 --> 00:06:26,014 and conclude that it does not shelter any fish? 78 00:06:26,994 --> 00:06:30,574 In the end, humans do not have the slightest idea of their place in the Universe. 79 00:06:31,564 --> 00:06:34,065 Are they alone... Or simply... 80 00:06:35,046 --> 00:06:35,963 insignificant? 81 00:06:47,249 --> 00:06:50,221 Chapter 3 A second on earth 82 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,100 The Earth is the cradle of humanity. 83 00:06:57,930 --> 00:07:00,920 Man reigns there in absolute master, without anything 84 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:02,600 doesn't seem able to stop it. 85 00:07:03,290 --> 00:07:05,860 However, planet Earth did not wait for the Man 86 00:07:05,860 --> 00:07:07,440 to begin his story... 87 00:07:10,930 --> 00:07:15,170 Since life appeared there, the Earth has hosted countless species, 88 00:07:15,470 --> 00:07:18,290 which followed one another, for a more or less long time. 89 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:24,940 But 99.9% of species that have lived on Earth are now extinct. 90 00:07:25,980 --> 00:07:28,970 Some have evolved gradually into other species. 91 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:32,780 Others died out suddenly. 92 00:07:33,180 --> 00:07:36,980 On average, their passage on Earth only lasts a few million years. 93 00:07:39,300 --> 00:07:42,100 If the history of the Earth was written in a book of a thousand pages... 94 00:07:42,930 --> 00:07:46,730 Life would appear there around page 185. 95 00:07:47,420 --> 00:07:50,230 This life would not be represented than by simple cells 96 00:07:50,230 --> 00:07:52,140 for more than 700 pages... 97 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:59,090 Until the explosion of species multicellular, pages 870 to 880. 98 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,310 The water outlet does not would tell that on page 916. 99 00:08:07,710 --> 00:08:11,150 During this constant transformation, the planet has also 100 00:08:11,170 --> 00:08:16,140 suffered five major crises including one, 250 million years ago, 101 00:08:16,270 --> 00:08:19,900 during which life on Earth almost disappeared. 102 00:08:21,210 --> 00:08:24,000 This mass extinction led to the disappearance of 103 00:08:24,020 --> 00:08:29,350 70% of terrestrial species and 96% of marine species. 104 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,410 The planet has taken almost 10 million years to recover 105 00:08:35,900 --> 00:08:40,460 and to resume the inexorable dance of evolution, with its disappearances, 106 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,400 and its new arrivals, like the dinosaurs that time... 107 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,120 on page 960 of Earth History. 108 00:08:52,940 --> 00:08:57,080 At the end of the book, the whole story of Homo sapiens since its appearance 109 00:08:57,090 --> 00:09:00,510 until today, would not the subject of only a handful of lines, 110 00:09:00,660 --> 00:09:02,950 at the very bottom of the very last page. 111 00:09:04,070 --> 00:09:10,030 His presence on Earth therefore represents only 0.004% 112 00:09:10,570 --> 00:09:12,100 of its very long history. 113 00:09:13,590 --> 00:09:15,720 Man does not exist for a long time, 114 00:09:16,140 --> 00:09:17,880 but he is not so much more evolved. 115 00:09:18,490 --> 00:09:23,540 All species are at the top of evolution, and all are perfectly 116 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:25,630 adapted to their natural environment, 117 00:09:26,770 --> 00:09:29,970 of the Barnacle, firmly anchored on his Whale... 118 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:35,500 Until the tiny Dik-Dik, so fragile in appearance but 119 00:09:35,540 --> 00:09:39,580 who survives repeated attacks eagles, pythons and lions since 120 00:09:39,620 --> 00:09:41,040 from time immemorial... 121 00:09:42,370 --> 00:09:45,200 There is no indication that the species human should be eternal. 122 00:09:45,690 --> 00:09:49,030 Nor even that she will put more long for the others to disappear... 123 00:09:51,890 --> 00:09:56,720 The most probable is that its passage on Earth is only a beat 124 00:09:56,750 --> 00:09:59,590 of eyelashes on the scale of the History of its planet. 125 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:01,550 A ridiculous amount of time. 126 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:02,701 Almost... 127 00:10:03,312 --> 00:10:04,484 insignificant? 128 00:10:14,867 --> 00:10:16,817 Chapter 4 The leaf that hides the forest 129 00:10:22,072 --> 00:10:26,762 Man is an exceptional species, unique, at the peak of evolution. 130 00:10:27,692 --> 00:10:30,762 But does he even have an idea of what his place represents 131 00:10:30,822 --> 00:10:33,022 throughout the tree of life? 132 00:10:36,292 --> 00:10:38,892 Man is himself classified among mammals. 133 00:10:39,922 --> 00:10:46,362 A mammal like the Gorilla, the Elephant, the Shrew. 134 00:10:46,482 --> 00:10:48,902 Or even the bat and the orca... 135 00:10:50,112 --> 00:10:53,262 There are more than 5000 species mammals, and 10 times more 136 00:10:53,282 --> 00:10:56,712 of vertebrate species, which also include birds, 137 00:10:56,782 --> 00:10:59,392 reptiles, amphibians and fish. 138 00:11:00,032 --> 00:11:05,222 Man then represents only one vertebrate species out of nearly 70,000. 139 00:11:06,542 --> 00:11:09,402 Single sheet in a very big tree... 140 00:11:12,352 --> 00:11:15,882 But vertebrates are not the most numerous on Earth, far from it. 141 00:11:16,952 --> 00:11:21,182 Man has already identified 5 times more plants, and 20 times more invertebrates. 142 00:11:23,482 --> 00:11:27,862 Just for the beetle family, we know more than 300,000 species! 143 00:11:35,142 --> 00:11:39,552 It is estimated that there would be between 7 and 100 million different species! 144 00:11:44,472 --> 00:11:48,002 But living species, It's not just animals, 145 00:11:48,042 --> 00:11:50,472 plants and mushrooms! 146 00:11:53,302 --> 00:11:56,712 If we also consider bacteria, viruses 147 00:11:56,752 --> 00:11:59,312 and all the others single-celled organisms, 148 00:11:59,602 --> 00:12:04,362 the equivalent of their species could then reach 1000 billion. 149 00:12:06,792 --> 00:12:10,962 A multiplication by thousands of the number of trees of life. 150 00:12:14,322 --> 00:12:16,832 If we took a species randomly on Earth, 151 00:12:17,102 --> 00:12:20,882 the chances of coming across human beings would be very tiny. 152 00:12:25,502 --> 00:12:29,222 From its unicellular origins, life has diversified 153 00:12:29,252 --> 00:12:33,662 in an incredible number of branches, of genera and species, 154 00:12:34,162 --> 00:12:38,572 of which Man is only beginning to glimpse the incredible diversity 155 00:12:38,702 --> 00:12:41,892 and that he will probably never be able to list completely. 156 00:12:46,222 --> 00:12:52,152 And in this immense forest there is a leaf, which thinks itself central, 157 00:12:52,722 --> 00:12:56,094 while in all objectivity She is, to say the least... 158 00:12:56,763 --> 00:12:58,180 insignificant. 159 00:13:08,904 --> 00:13:11,785 Chapter 5 Dominations 160 00:13:17,568 --> 00:13:21,058 Even if it is only one species lost in the midst of the multitude of living things, 161 00:13:21,508 --> 00:13:24,378 humans are undoubtedly the dominant species 162 00:13:24,428 --> 00:13:25,988 on the surface of its planet. 163 00:13:27,058 --> 00:13:29,978 But by what criteria does this superiority manifest? 164 00:13:32,328 --> 00:13:34,468 Despite more than 7 billion humans on Earth, 165 00:13:34,618 --> 00:13:37,988 Man is not the most abundant species, far from it... 166 00:13:39,088 --> 00:13:41,628 Men are for example three times less numerous... 167 00:13:42,258 --> 00:13:43,638 Only chickens! 168 00:13:46,958 --> 00:13:49,758 Even counting the mass cumulative of all its individuals, 169 00:13:49,818 --> 00:13:54,428 biomass, humanity weighs no more... than ants. 170 00:13:59,128 --> 00:14:01,458 Humans are not no longer the greatest... 171 00:14:03,058 --> 00:14:04,168 ...nor the strongest... 172 00:14:05,378 --> 00:14:07,338 ...nor those who live the longest. 173 00:14:10,668 --> 00:14:14,518 If some sharks or turtles easily live more than 200 years... 174 00:14:15,778 --> 00:14:19,688 …corals and sponges live for several thousand years... 175 00:14:24,618 --> 00:14:28,248 Certain species of jellyfish are even able to rejuvenate 176 00:14:28,258 --> 00:14:31,018 to restart endlessly the cycle of life. 177 00:14:31,988 --> 00:14:36,038 Without accidents or predators, they could be immortal... 178 00:14:39,138 --> 00:14:41,378 And if we compare them to other species, 179 00:14:41,418 --> 00:14:43,968 humans are disconcertingly fragile. 180 00:14:44,988 --> 00:14:47,908 Starfish for example, can regrow 181 00:14:47,958 --> 00:14:50,488 their whole body from one arm... 182 00:14:54,328 --> 00:14:58,058 The bristling Moloch can hold years without drinking anything else 183 00:14:58,088 --> 00:15:01,048 that the rare drops that he collects on his skin... 184 00:15:06,558 --> 00:15:09,768 As for the Tardigrade, this charming little creature 185 00:15:09,788 --> 00:15:12,538 brings the human for a little nature... 186 00:15:14,218 --> 00:15:17,098 It resists without problem and for years 187 00:15:17,168 --> 00:15:20,138 in intensely toxic environments and excessively salty, 188 00:15:20,848 --> 00:15:25,448 at temperatures of more 150°C or less 270°C, 189 00:15:26,058 --> 00:15:29,578 to the total elimination of food, water and oxygen, 190 00:15:30,028 --> 00:15:32,878 at higher pressures 1000 times ours, 191 00:15:33,318 --> 00:15:38,278 to X-rays and even in the emptiness of space... 192 00:15:42,648 --> 00:15:45,498 Humans cannot tolerate only a small range of temperatures. 193 00:15:46,178 --> 00:15:49,318 Their skin is very thin, their fallible organs 194 00:15:49,698 --> 00:15:51,878 and their puny physiology. 195 00:15:52,568 --> 00:15:56,328 We might even ask how this species has survived so far... 196 00:15:57,978 --> 00:16:02,948 Given its extreme fragility, the supposed domination of human beings 197 00:16:02,988 --> 00:16:04,269 doesn't she seem... 198 00:16:05,563 --> 00:16:06,585 insignificant? 199 00:16:18,009 --> 00:16:20,957 Chapter 6 The weak species 200 00:16:27,027 --> 00:16:32,287 Faster, higher, stronger, the motto of the olympic games 201 00:16:32,557 --> 00:16:35,677 reminds us that the human being is a born competitor, 202 00:16:38,117 --> 00:16:41,977 there to surpass oneself, and surpass the others... 203 00:16:45,247 --> 00:16:48,087 Except that in reality, he doesn't overtake many people! 204 00:16:49,617 --> 00:16:50,857 It's not just the cheetah 205 00:16:50,897 --> 00:16:53,577 which beats easily the greatest sprint champions: 206 00:16:54,157 --> 00:16:58,077 the warthog, the camel and even a simple fly 207 00:16:58,317 --> 00:17:00,427 distance them effortlessly... 208 00:17:00,547 --> 00:17:04,317 High jump then? The puma breaks all records 209 00:17:04,327 --> 00:17:07,367 high jump, up to more than 6 meters in the air, 210 00:17:07,697 --> 00:17:10,067 without momentum, and without pole... 211 00:17:11,577 --> 00:17:14,937 Weightlifting? The rhinoceros beetle can carry 212 00:17:14,957 --> 00:17:19,057 850 times its weight: the equivalent of a human lifting 213 00:17:19,097 --> 00:17:21,897 65 tons... Without drive... 214 00:17:23,417 --> 00:17:26,167 Elephant seals, mammals like humans, 215 00:17:26,547 --> 00:17:29,807 can dive ten times deeper that the greatest freediving champions, 216 00:17:30,577 --> 00:17:34,067 at more than 2000 meters depth, and stay underwater 217 00:17:34,317 --> 00:17:36,807 for two hours without breathing... 218 00:17:37,977 --> 00:17:40,797 For combat sports, it wouldn't be better. 219 00:17:41,407 --> 00:17:45,507 The most combative humans wouldn't last a round against a gorilla, 220 00:17:45,757 --> 00:17:47,507 a bear or a kangaroo. 221 00:17:49,237 --> 00:17:52,347 Not to mention the many much smaller animals that can 222 00:17:52,357 --> 00:17:55,757 win the confrontation without even having to fight. 223 00:17:58,637 --> 00:18:02,337 Compared to other animals, Humans have poor senses. 224 00:18:04,467 --> 00:18:05,657 They can't see far... 225 00:18:09,907 --> 00:18:10,907 ...not at night 226 00:18:13,687 --> 00:18:17,287 ...they are blind to ultraviolet and infrared… 227 00:18:21,427 --> 00:18:23,117 and insensitive to ultrasound... 228 00:18:26,537 --> 00:18:30,377 They do not detect fields electrical, nor the earth's magnetic field. 229 00:18:35,717 --> 00:18:38,817 In the end, if we compare his physical abilities to those 230 00:18:38,827 --> 00:18:43,257 of the other inhabitants of his planet, there are not many categories 231 00:18:43,277 --> 00:18:46,027 in which the human could hope for a podium 232 00:18:46,047 --> 00:18:47,797 at the Living Olympic Games. 233 00:18:49,247 --> 00:18:53,087 Compared to other species, human performance 234 00:18:53,097 --> 00:18:54,869 appear terribly... 235 00:18:55,714 --> 00:18:57,714 insignificant. 236 00:19:09,410 --> 00:19:12,551 Chapter 7 Intelligence 237 00:19:16,775 --> 00:19:20,345 Man is perhaps not the biggest, nor the strongest on Earth, 238 00:19:20,925 --> 00:19:23,745 but it's the only one to have developed intelligence. 239 00:19:24,625 --> 00:19:27,615 An exceptional brain which allows him to anticipate, 240 00:19:28,015 --> 00:19:29,915 to understand, to invent. 241 00:19:30,845 --> 00:19:34,375 A brain that gives him an indisputable superiority. 242 00:19:34,605 --> 00:19:37,255 But what really defines intelligence? 243 00:19:37,865 --> 00:19:40,895 Is it the ability to resolve complex problems? 244 00:19:41,925 --> 00:19:46,125 In this game, the crows are doing pretty well... 245 00:19:55,985 --> 00:20:00,295 The use of tools then? It's not just monkeys or birds 246 00:20:00,315 --> 00:20:05,145 who use it: octopuses, which, in addition to their main brain, 247 00:20:05,315 --> 00:20:08,855 have an independent brain in each arm, are able 248 00:20:08,875 --> 00:20:11,115 unsuspected feats... 249 00:20:13,555 --> 00:20:17,175 The language? This is a very human specificity. 250 00:20:18,405 --> 00:20:23,235 Actually, no: the majority of animals communicate in complex ways. 251 00:20:23,685 --> 00:20:26,705 Bees can explain exactly where to find 252 00:20:26,735 --> 00:20:29,405 what type of flower... while dancing! 253 00:20:32,605 --> 00:20:35,415 The Great Apes include sign language and can 254 00:20:35,455 --> 00:20:36,775 even pass it on to others. 255 00:20:37,315 --> 00:20:41,665 They also have computing capabilities mental health comparable to young children. 256 00:20:43,035 --> 00:20:47,095 Even plants communicate between them: acacias can prevent 257 00:20:47,125 --> 00:20:49,725 chemically their neighbors when they are eaten. 258 00:20:50,725 --> 00:20:53,585 A warning allowing them to secrete on time 259 00:20:53,595 --> 00:20:55,595 toxins in their leaves. 260 00:20:57,055 --> 00:20:59,445 What is left for human beings of their own? 261 00:20:59,895 --> 00:21:03,155 Self-awareness? Long-term memory? 262 00:21:04,085 --> 00:21:07,165 Empathy? Play and humor? 263 00:21:09,655 --> 00:21:13,615 These criteria of intelligence have all been observed, on numerous occasions, 264 00:21:13,745 --> 00:21:15,355 in many species. 265 00:21:15,745 --> 00:21:19,155 The most obvious... ... to the most unexpected. 266 00:21:20,745 --> 00:21:24,725 Even the creativity of the human being must be put into perspective... 267 00:21:25,935 --> 00:21:28,805 Hundreds of thousands of years even before the appearance of humans, 268 00:21:29,195 --> 00:21:33,815 the ants had already invented agriculture, livestock, social classes, 269 00:21:33,905 --> 00:21:37,325 assembly line work and communications networks. 270 00:21:44,295 --> 00:21:48,185 If we look closer, number of human inventions 271 00:21:48,435 --> 00:21:52,465 are actually just pale copies of the living world around it. 272 00:21:56,275 --> 00:22:00,145 Finally, when he cannot not even defining intelligence 273 00:22:00,165 --> 00:22:03,925 species that surround it, the superiority of the human brain 274 00:22:04,055 --> 00:22:05,256 wouldn't she be... 275 00:22:06,226 --> 00:22:07,488 insignificant? 276 00:22:20,117 --> 00:22:25,078 Chapter 8 In the web of life 277 00:22:31,161 --> 00:22:33,251 As he masters technology, 278 00:22:33,651 --> 00:22:37,851 humans gain independence and frees itself from the influence of Nature. 279 00:22:40,311 --> 00:22:44,061 Yet could humans survive? without the other species? 280 00:22:46,861 --> 00:22:51,351 The water he drinks, the air that he breathes, are purified 281 00:22:51,431 --> 00:22:55,131 by all living species: biodiversity. 282 00:23:05,891 --> 00:23:09,551 This biodiversity also provides all of what he eats. 283 00:23:12,201 --> 00:23:15,161 But also many materials which constitute his world... 284 00:23:15,551 --> 00:23:18,491 or the active ingredients of the majority of his medications. 285 00:23:24,701 --> 00:23:26,911 Man has industrialized agriculture, 286 00:23:27,491 --> 00:23:31,111 but without the pollinators, his agricultural efforts would be in vain. 287 00:23:33,071 --> 00:23:34,631 It must be said that a bee can visit 288 00:23:34,691 --> 00:23:38,131 the trifle of a quarter of a million of flowers in one season. 289 00:23:39,371 --> 00:23:42,421 There are 50 trillion honey bees on Earth. 290 00:23:43,761 --> 00:23:46,211 Agriculture also benefits invertebrates 291 00:23:46,701 --> 00:23:50,151 and soil microorganisms, which ensure its fertility. 292 00:23:52,491 --> 00:23:56,211 One gram of soil contains nearly a billion bacteria, 293 00:23:57,141 --> 00:24:00,411 distributed in 10 to 100 thousand different species, 294 00:24:00,731 --> 00:24:03,881 the vast majority of which are still unknown to humans. 295 00:24:06,741 --> 00:24:09,321 If we put end to end the DNA of all these bacteria, 296 00:24:09,851 --> 00:24:12,221 that would lead us to the ends of the universe. 297 00:24:12,931 --> 00:24:15,001 A biodiversity of infinite richness... 298 00:24:17,961 --> 00:24:21,571 Each species develops in interaction permanent with other species. 299 00:24:22,891 --> 00:24:24,041 Let a species disappear, 300 00:24:24,531 --> 00:24:27,971 and the remaining links will contribute to compensate for this absence. 301 00:24:29,011 --> 00:24:31,241 Than thousands of species disappear at the same time, 302 00:24:31,611 --> 00:24:34,651 and the web of life will be found greatly weakened, 303 00:24:34,931 --> 00:24:36,251 risking collapse. 304 00:24:38,161 --> 00:24:39,521 By its biological nature, 305 00:24:39,941 --> 00:24:43,721 humanity remains entirely dependent on the living tissue of its planet, 306 00:24:44,201 --> 00:24:46,521 for whom his presence, like his disappearance, 307 00:24:46,971 --> 00:24:49,165 as a species are… 308 00:24:49,516 --> 00:24:50,867 insignificant. 309 00:25:03,822 --> 00:25:07,297 Chapter 9 To the depths of his being 310 00:25:10,195 --> 00:25:12,917 If Man does not distinguish himself nor by his domination, 311 00:25:13,337 --> 00:25:16,137 nor by its performance, nor by his intelligence, 312 00:25:16,737 --> 00:25:19,467 he nevertheless remains an indisputable certainty: 313 00:25:20,187 --> 00:25:24,317 that of one's own identity, unalterable and uncompromised. 314 00:25:25,737 --> 00:25:26,877 But at the risk of offending him, 315 00:25:27,347 --> 00:25:29,507 Man rather represents a collection of species, 316 00:25:29,817 --> 00:25:32,027 cohabiting in the most perfect collaborations. 317 00:25:34,427 --> 00:25:37,357 Humans function thanks to dozens thousands of microscopic beings, 318 00:25:37,987 --> 00:25:43,617 on and in his body, and without which he simply cannot live. 319 00:25:44,477 --> 00:25:47,557 Even clean, the entire surface of his skin is covered 320 00:25:47,557 --> 00:25:51,427 a carpet of microscopic animals, fungi and bacteria, 321 00:25:52,137 --> 00:25:55,157 which act as a shield protective against infections. 322 00:25:58,207 --> 00:26:02,737 And his body odor, so individual, so personal, is none other 323 00:26:02,737 --> 00:26:05,077 than that of its particular bacterial mixture, 324 00:26:06,237 --> 00:26:08,207 in an otherwise odorless sweat. 325 00:26:11,757 --> 00:26:12,837 Deep within his being, 326 00:26:13,537 --> 00:26:17,757 the mixture of intestinal bacteria, is also specific to each person. 327 00:26:19,227 --> 00:26:21,727 But they don't that allows its digestion... 328 00:26:22,157 --> 00:26:24,967 they also influence his health more generally; 329 00:26:26,147 --> 00:26:27,267 like a second brain, 330 00:26:27,767 --> 00:26:30,767 they also shape his behaviors, his moods 331 00:26:31,557 --> 00:26:33,747 and even his tastes and personality. 332 00:26:34,447 --> 00:26:38,137 The microorganisms of the system digestive are extremely numerous: 333 00:26:38,857 --> 00:26:42,907 one hundred thousand billion, or 10 times the number of cells in a human body. 334 00:26:45,027 --> 00:26:49,017 Even its own cells are not as purely human as he thinks. 335 00:26:50,667 --> 00:26:56,047 Throughout evolution, bacteria have been integrated, domesticated and naturalized, 336 00:26:56,737 --> 00:26:59,597 to finally never leave the intimacy of human cells, 337 00:27:00,277 --> 00:27:02,787 and become essential to their operation. 338 00:27:04,427 --> 00:27:08,047 And even on the most intimate scale, that of its own chromosomes, 339 00:27:08,547 --> 00:27:11,757 the integrity of this humanity is called into question. 340 00:27:13,317 --> 00:27:14,547 Since the dawn of time, 341 00:27:15,087 --> 00:27:17,477 Man has regularly incorporated into its genome 342 00:27:18,007 --> 00:27:19,987 hundreds of foreign genes... 343 00:27:22,037 --> 00:27:25,597 In total, it is more 100,000 virus fragments, 344 00:27:26,107 --> 00:27:28,887 or 10% of the whole of the human genome! 345 00:27:32,937 --> 00:27:37,187 Finally, humanity in its very integrity is nothing else 346 00:27:37,237 --> 00:27:40,477 that the fruit of an immemorial inter-species collaboration. 347 00:27:42,327 --> 00:27:47,327 From then on, all the pretensions of Man compared to other species appear 348 00:27:47,327 --> 00:27:48,594 so inappropriate... 349 00:27:49,117 --> 00:27:50,230 as insignificant. 350 00:28:03,236 --> 00:28:06,977 Chapter 10 Legacy 351 00:28:12,105 --> 00:28:14,095 Humans are not the center of the world. 352 00:28:15,705 --> 00:28:17,215 Lost in the depths of the cosmos, 353 00:28:17,855 --> 00:28:21,675 he shares an innocuous planet with millions of other species, 354 00:28:22,335 --> 00:28:24,335 all unique and fascinating, 355 00:28:24,905 --> 00:28:28,155 on which it depends entirely for its well-being and for its survival. 356 00:28:29,205 --> 00:28:33,095 Dust in this immensity, being human doesn't seem so exceptional. 357 00:28:34,295 --> 00:28:35,235 And yet... 358 00:28:37,055 --> 00:28:40,315 By following his own path, humans have mastered the elements, 359 00:28:40,785 --> 00:28:43,925 repelled its predators, fought hunger and disease, 360 00:28:44,205 --> 00:28:49,005 to survive, then flourish, and finally conquer. 361 00:28:51,695 --> 00:28:55,665 He invented philosophy, art, science. 362 00:28:58,595 --> 00:29:00,245 He developed altruism, 363 00:29:00,565 --> 00:29:03,445 changed scale the scope and the volume of its communication, 364 00:29:03,825 --> 00:29:06,095 of his discussions and reflection. 365 00:29:08,735 --> 00:29:12,565 He imposed values on himself, a morality, an ethics. 366 00:29:15,205 --> 00:29:20,075 Gradually, he also invented religion, commerce, politics... 367 00:29:20,625 --> 00:29:26,095 but also discrimination, hatred and torture... 368 00:29:27,765 --> 00:29:31,625 He developed consumerism, the destruction of lands and seas, 369 00:29:32,375 --> 00:29:36,075 the exploitation of other species, at the same time as his own. 370 00:29:38,255 --> 00:29:41,435 Man has achieved the feat of defiling the highest peaks in the world, 371 00:29:42,595 --> 00:29:44,265 and the deepest oceans, 372 00:29:46,255 --> 00:29:50,295 the interior of species, and the outside of its planet. 373 00:29:53,885 --> 00:29:57,415 Every minute, he gives birth to 250 babies, 374 00:29:58,085 --> 00:29:59,945 and produced 4,000 tonnes of waste. 375 00:30:02,815 --> 00:30:08,565 Every day, it produces 240,000 cars and annihilates 400 living species. 376 00:30:10,105 --> 00:30:14,265 Every year, he lets almost 9 million children under 5 years old, 377 00:30:14,765 --> 00:30:16,905 and destroyed 13 million hectares of forest. 378 00:30:19,865 --> 00:30:24,215 Man seems to favor the belief in knowledge, the having to be, 379 00:30:24,995 --> 00:30:27,245 and the image of happiness to happiness itself. 380 00:30:28,275 --> 00:30:31,975 He thinks he is master of everything, but cannot control himself. 381 00:30:33,045 --> 00:30:34,885 It is the only species to have developed 382 00:30:34,955 --> 00:30:37,565 the ability to destroy its own environment, 383 00:30:37,895 --> 00:30:40,105 without having developed the wisdom not to do so. 384 00:30:42,895 --> 00:30:48,565 Humans, so precocious, are still immature, capable of the best and the worst. 385 00:30:49,925 --> 00:30:53,225 Will he reach the age of reason? before burning down his own house? 386 00:30:54,455 --> 00:30:56,741 This question is everything except... 387 00:30:57,443 --> 00:30:58,422 insignificant.