Pianka

He's the kind of person that catches you when you don't want to be caught. He's the kind you should hate. The kind that you would imagine should drink blood or eat babies or something. But he's not. He's passionate, courageous, and earnest. He preaches compassion, tolerance, and discipline. He looks monsters in the face, and tells them how it is. And he's wrong.

One of my professors, Eric Pianka, is infamous. Known as "Dr. Doom," he was famed for "advocating" the elimination of 90% of the population through an airborne strain of the Ebola virus. He was misquoted--Pianka's not stupid, you see. He was making a point about sustainability, about living in excess. The world can't support us all, not living the way we Americans do. Over the years, he's recieved death threats from angry Creationists and much agony over his lessons which slam religion. He's a bit of a misanthropist, and snaps at the students in his grouchy 70-year-old style. And then, suddenly, his Grinch mask comes off and it becomes apparent that all he wants is to be remembered. Despite his pleas for rationality, I still believe that there's a god out there, but I know I won't forget him soon. As we all sat in his class this semester and listened to his stories of Australia, I think at least a few of us saw ourselves in him. He's ten times smarter than me, ten times sadder. Once you get to know him, you can see his brilliance and good intentions. And even if he's wrong, he's worth listening to.

Playlist: Challenge by The New Pornographers, You Found Me by The Fray