“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

Confucius (b.551 BC) is a famous Chinese sage. He had a great deal to say on conduct and the place of the individual in society. His teachings stressed honor, self-governance, loyalty, and kindness. He felt that each individual knew what was Right, and should then do it.

After his death, his teachings were codified into a rather rigid set of rules and regulations, which was not Confucius’ goal at all. Followers can take a good teacher’s lesson and miss the entire point. It has happened often in history.

In 1883 the largest ever-recorded eruption happened at Krakatoa in the South Seas. World-wide weather was affected and there were huge Tsunamis. The island of Krakatoa actually blew itself up, much of it sinking beneath the waves. Very dramatic indeed.

Krakatoa lies right between Sumatra and Java, homes to both Javan and Sumatran Rhinos. When Nature puts on this sort of show, there is astounding fallout for Wildlife. This was a case in point for Us, one species among many.

But We press on.

(Mt. Vesuvius went off on August 24, 79 AD: See YIR Archive, August 24, 2016)