--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human beings are so destructive. I…" description: "\"Human beings are so destructive. I sometimes think we're a kind of plague, that will scrub the earth clean. We destroy things so well that I sometimes ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/michael-crichton-694_animal_human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-someti_511806.jpg" --- # Human beings are so destructive. I sometimes think we're a… ![“Human beings are so destructive. I sometimes think we're a kind of plague, that will scrub the earth clean. We destroy things so well that I sometimes think, maybe that's our function. Maybe every few eons, some animal comes along that kills off the rest of the world, clears the decks, and lets…” quote by Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/michael-crichton-694_animal_human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-someti_511806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/michael-crichton-694_animal_human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-someti_511806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/michael-crichton-694_animal_human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-someti_511806.jpg) > “Human beings are so destructive. I sometimes think we're a kind of plague, that will scrub the earth clean. We destroy things so well that I sometimes think, maybe that's our function. Maybe every few eons, some animal comes along that kills off the rest of the world, clears the decks, and lets evolution proceed to its next phase.” [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity may act like a planetary reset, destroying ecosystems, potentially serving an evolutionary purpose **In simple terms:** Humans can be destructive, possibly as a natural reset mechanism Key Takeaway Consider humanity's role in ecological balance Themes destruction evolution planetary cycles Mood cautious thoughtful Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - environmental policy - education - future planning - ethical debate Key Concepts anthropocene ecological collapse Questions to Reflect On - Can we change our destructive pattern? - What responsibilities arise from seeing humanity as a plague? A Different Perspective Human agency can counteract destructive cycles through stewardship ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Plague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plague/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I think the main thing I remembered throughout all of filming it was just that she just was extremely self-destructive. I think everybody can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannyn-sossamon/i-think-the-main-thing-i-remembered-throughout-all-of-filming-it-was/) [Shannyn Sossamon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannyn-sossamon/) > [It's unnecessary and destructive to think of oneself at all. People ask me, 'What do you think of yourself as?' My answer is, 'Nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/it-s-unnecessary-and-destructive-to-think-of-oneself-at-all-people/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [I have to be careful because there is something destructive within me, I think, and I can have a tendency to just search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-skarsgard/i-have-to-be-careful-because-there-is-something-destructive-within-me/) [Alexander Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-skarsgard/) > [Enlightened beings are rare in the universe. They are the joker in the deck. They are outside the circle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-beings-are-rare-in-the-universe-they-are-the-joker-in-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [False fears are a plague, a modern plague!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/false-fears-are-a-plague-a-modern-plague/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [There's no place where one can breathe as freely as on the deck of a ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-triolet/there-s-no-place-where-one-can-breathe-as-freely-as-on-the-deck-of-a/) [Elsa Triolet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-triolet/) > [This is a typical liberal trick, by the way: Stack the deck so the whole thing fails leaving only one option, the government to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/this-is-a-typical-liberal-trick-by-the-way-stack-the-deck-so-the/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [20-some years ago, I'd have a big old radio with a tape deck, and I'd hit record and try to get something down on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/20-some-years-ago-i-d-have-a-big-old-radio-with-a-tape-deck-and-i-d/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) > [The deck is still stacked in favor of those already at the top. And there's something wrong with that. There's something wrong when CEOs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-deck-is-still-stacked-in-favor-of-those-already-at-the-top-and/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [When people think about the ark, they're always thinking about all the thousands of years of religious iconography of a ship with a bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/when-people-think-about-the-ark-they-re-always-thinking-about-all-the/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [Scobe's Eighth Law: The moron will enter the single deck game when the count is sky high and the dealer is deciding whether or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-scoblete/scobe-s-eighth-law-the-moron-will-enter-the-single-deck-game-when-the/) [Frank Scoblete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-scoblete/) > [We're providing planning to a huge audience who's never had access to financial planners before. This was always my plan for LearnVest. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-von-tobel/we-re-providing-planning-to-a-huge-audience-who-s-never-had-access-to/) [Alexa Von Tobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-von-tobel/) > [Well, we try to - we definitely try to have a balance. And I think things have gotten a lot better at Pixar. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-docter/well-we-try-to-we-definitely-try-to-have-a-balance-and-i-think-things/) [Pete Docter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-docter/) > [ This is the industry that wants \[music\], the rap industry. You have to be on deck all the time, but you do not have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-thug/this-is-the-industry-that-wants-music-the-rap-industry-you-have-to-be/) [Young Thug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-thug/) > [None of us have any control over the deck or the hand we've been dealt. What we do have is total responibility as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-alten/none-of-us-have-any-control-over-the-deck-or-the-hand-we-ve-been/) [Steve Alten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-alten/) ## More by Michael Crichton > [They are focused on whether they can do something. They never think whether they should do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/they-are-focused-on-whether-they-can-do-something-they-never-think/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“it is important to recognize that the behavior of the two antagonists mirrors each other, like a Rorschach inkblot. The value of a Rorschach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/it-is-important-to-recognize-that-the-behavior-of-the-two-antagonists/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Exercise invigorates the body and sharpens the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/exercise-invigorates-the-body-and-sharpens-the-mind/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Social control is best managed through fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/social-control-is-best-managed-through-fear/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [They always say they didn't. I never heard of one who said, 'You know, I deserve this.' Never happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/they-always-say-they-didn-t-i-never-heard-of-one-who-said-you-know-i/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Friendships are nice. So is competence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/friendships-are-nice-so-is-competence/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I can tell you that second hand smoke is not a health hazard to anyone and never was, and the EPA has always known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/i-can-tell-you-that-second-hand-smoke-is-not-a-health-hazard-to/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [As the practical value of altering consciousness becomes recognized, procedures to effect these alterations will become increasingly ordinary and unremarkable. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/as-the-practical-value-of-altering-consciousness-becomes-recognized/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story-and then turn the page to national or international affairs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/in-any-case-you-read-with-exasperation-or-amusement-the-multiple/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/books-aren-t-written-they-re-rewritten-including-your-own-it-is-one/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [The purpose of life is to stay alive. Watch any animal in nature--all it tries to do is stay alive. It doesn't care about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-stay-alive-watch-any-animal-in-nature-all/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [One of the things that Americans, as a multiracial society, feel is a tremendous sensitivity to racial comments of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/one-of-the-things-that-americans-as-a-multiracial-society-feel-is-a/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Nobody smart knows what they want to do until they get into their twenties or thirties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/nobody-smart-knows-what-they-want-to-do-until-they-get-into-their/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [This fascination with computer models is something I understand very well. Richard Feynmann called it a disease. I fear he is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-fascination-with-computer-models-is-something-i-understand-very/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) [Explore all 386 Michael Crichton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human beings are so destructive. I sometimes think we're a kind of plague, that will scrub the earth clean. We destroy things so well that I sometimes think, maybe that's our function. Maybe every few eons, some animal comes along that kills off the rest of the world, clears the decks, and lets evolution proceed to its next phase.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Crichton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-sometimes-think-we-re-a-kind-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-sometimes-think-we-re-a-kind-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/michael-crichton-694_animal_human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-someti_511806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/michael-crichton-694_animal_human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-someti_511806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/michael-crichton-694_animal_human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-someti_511806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human beings are so destructive. I sometimes think we're a kind of plague, that will scrub the earth clean…” — Michael Crichton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Crichton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human beings are so destructive. I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-sometimes-think-we-re-a-kind-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/human-beings-are-so-destructive-i-sometimes-think-we-re-a-kind-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```