Quality of Quantity: Redemption of an American Expatriate

Quality of Quantity is about the way we treat one another, especially the strong when interacting with the weak. Which leads directly to the way men treat women and children, and the way the rich treat the poor. The cold truth of biology is that every lifeform is hard wired to perceive reality in a way that optimizes reproductive advantage. Perceptions – sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch – service this goal. Our senses are not windows to the truth. That isn’t their purpose. An example of how this can go wrong is the Australian Jewel Beetle. The female is large and brown, shiny and dimpled. As it happens, Australian beer bottles are too. Male beetles are mesmerized by discarded bottles, mounting them until they die of exhaustion or exposure, or get devoured by predators. The males are hard wired to respond to perception in a certain way, and are unable to stop their self-destructive behavior. As a result, the species has been pushed to the brink of extinction. Humans have minds, the ability to think beyond our senses. We possess the power to control our natural instincts, to resist our need to accumulate reproductive resources. We can battle our unconscious desire for the wealth and possessions of others, the drive to control even the bodies of those weaker. Quality of Quantity is a story that explores this uniquely human struggle.