Heart of darkness

Heart of darkness
Heart of darkness

Is humanity’s innate nature good or evil? Would we, without thinking, give our hand to someone who has fallen and raise them up, or would we keep walking or worse still, push them back down. This has been a subject that academics and philosophers alike have been pondering for centuries.

At its core, the simple question is are we basically good and are corrupted by society, or are we born bad and society keeps us in check? An ingenious study conducted by the inventive brains at Yale University has suggested that even the youngest humans have a keen sense of what is right over wrong and better yet prefer good over evil. This elegant study will be a subject for a later column but today I prefer to take you on another journey.

This odyssey begins from the southernmost tip of this glorious continent. The sun blazes, casting its radiance as far as the eye can see. I think there should be a special name for the blue the sky projects. A gentle breeze cools our stage. This is Cape Town at its finest. My brother-in-law Aamir described it as perfectly as I could imagine. He says in this city wherever he looks he only sees everything in high definition. Today we climb aboard to embark on a journey. The craft we board is not for a private champagne and caviar tour of Cape Town’s finest sights. This journey is far more sinister. It is a journey into the deepest darkest night. The blackness of the human spirit, the true heart of darkness.

Editor's Comment
Our digital safety is in our hands

That sounds like good news. But the report also warns that this may simply be because our digital economy is still young, not because we are safe. As more people shop, bank and pay online, criminals will follow.We Batswana do not need a report to tell us that danger is real. Many of us have heard of or fallen victim to KYC scams. A caller impersonates your bank or mobile money provider. They say they need to “verify” your account. They ask...

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