Episode 64 - Nothing but Adaptation and Apex Nightmares

Mike runs his mouth on resurrected dire wolves to rugby hits and knee pain. This episode unpacks adaptation, pain, God, science, and the deeply human urge to figure it out while getting wrecked in the process. It’s not about being fearless—it’s about making the hit anyway. Even if you’re limping through without an insurance plan.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Scientists Bringing Back Direwolves
• 2:51 The Ethics of Resurrecting Extinct Animals
• 5:17 Between Science and Religion
• 9:05 Life Lessons from Rugby
• 11:49 Understanding Pain and Adaptation
• 15:02 Finding Purpose in Imperfection

Transcript

Mike: 0:10

Alright, so you guys ever start spiraling at 2am based on a headline that you saw, but you didn't really dig into the context, cause same. I saw this article about scientists bringing back direwolves. Yeah, like actual, real life dire wolves. These things went extinct about what? 13,000 years ago and now they're back walking around like it's no big deal. These things aren't even pure red wolves, they're stitched together, apex nightmares and we're just calling it progress.

Mike: 0:41

Because if perfection's the goal, I don't think that bringing back dire wolves with attitude problems was really the way to go, because, from what I did see, these wolves are just super standoffish and they don't really engage with their handlers, which like, yeah, no shit, you didn't fucking resurrect Lassie. These things would bite the hand that feeds them and then gnaw off the rest of their arm just because they can. Now look, I get it. Dogs were domesticated from gray wolves, but these dire wolves aren't even that. They're basically just bioengineered nightmares, because they took the DNA from the skulls or the teeth that they found from these animals and then they used a certain type of dog to hold the embryo that they created. So I don't even know what the plan is here.

Mike: 1:29

And I've seen Jurassic Park and I'm good, like have those movies not taught us anything? And sure, maybe this makes sense for recently extinct animals or endangered species, but what's the point of bringing back an animal that went extinct like thousands of years ago, like I've seen that they've been trying to do this with the mammoth for how many years now? And it's like dude. That's why we have elephants, like that's what a mammoth evolved into. It's not like apple's re-releasing the ipod nano every freaking year. I mean, there's a reason why we moved on. Things die off. That's just how nature works.

Mike: 2:10

But yo real talk, if Apple did drop the Nano again, let's not pretend like we all wouldn't freak out for a second. Well, you would feel that nostalgia hit Like yo I'm about to throw on some Three Days Grace and feel what I felt the first time that I could feel. But give it a week. You'll be sitting there like why did I drop $200 on a shiny paperweight that can't even stream? So that's what the mammoth will be. It'll just be a big walking novelty, a big hairy reminder that just because we can bring something back doesn't mean that we necessarily should. And dire wolves already are. They're out there now, confused as hell, like why the fuck is it so hot and why the fuck is the air so spicy? Unless something went extinct strictly because of humans bulldozing their appetites just to build another dunkin donuts, maybe. Let it stay gone. We're already taking up too much space as is. I don't even want half you fuckers breathing near me in a bar.

Mike: 3:13

You think animals want all 7 trillion of us stomping through their forests and who knows what we're about to ruin by bringing back animals that naturally went extinct. From what I did look up, direwolves ultimately went extinct due to the complications of the ice age, unlike gray wolves, which were the animals that humans did domesticate into dogs, because those wolves were smart enough to realize that humans could help them get food. So they were like, hey, fuck it. You know what, if you can't beat them, join them, which is also pretty much the slogan of every modern mba team right now. But humans also then started to hand pick the wolves based on cuteness and aggression levels, kind of like how I choose my girlfriends. But now we're gonna bring these unsolicited animals back into an environment that they couldn't last in initially and is now 90% pavement and vape smoke like.

Mike: 4:06

What do we think is gonna happen here? You think these things are built for, a society where people film themselves crying in their cars, where even your dog looks at you in those videos, like jesus. I didn't see these red flags on pickup day, like, oh my gosh, all we do is show up, make noise and just ruin everything. And these things are all true. And it just sent me down this weird ass rabbit hole, like I started thinking how long until we stop bringing back wolves and start using this technology on each other to start making clones, or, worse, we start using this technology to create the quote-unquote perfect human, like we already have stem cells, regenerating organs and limbs.

Mike: 4:56

And why, like, yeah, sure, nobody wants to be called stumpy, but science can go too far with what its goal is when it comes to bioengineering humans, which, to me, is just another way for us to try and live longer. And that's what also got me thinking what is it that we're so afraid of, as to why we even want to live longer? And look, I'm not saying that death is not a totally irrational fear to have. I think death is a completely rational fear to have, but I don't think that's it. I don't think we're afraid of death's impact. I think it's more the worry of what comes after. Like, even with these direwolves, we have no idea what impact this is going to have on in the future. Like if we let these things loose in the wild.

Mike: 5:45

I just don't see caesar milan just being able to go and make it out of this darwinistic nightmare, or worse, like what if nothing happens after this? Like what if we do all of this and there are no consequences? Life moves on as normal. It's just another thing running around in the ether of what is this world? Like what if life is just lights out and silence forever? But even with me, what if there is something and then I get up there and God's just like you know what, sorry bro. Like way too many dick jokes. Well, like what about all the other shit that I did? That was good, huh, you're just going to count all that out. You know, if you're so perfect and I'm made in your image, then why did you make me such a fuck up? But maybe that's also why we try to chase immortality, not because we want to live longer, but because we're trying to perfect what we think is broken. Like our lives suck.

Mike: 6:41

So what is it that we can do to make it somewhat better. God gave us the puzzle pieces. So how do we fix the imperfect? Which, in a weird way I low-key feel like, is us telling God that we know how to do his job a little bit better than he does? I mean, imagine telling your boss you know a better way to handle something. 50-50 shot, it works out and you don't leave with a box in your hands.

Mike: 7:03

But you know what? Maybe the dire wolves thing is fixing an imperfection that we don't know about. Maybe it wasn't about environmental factors that took out these animals and bringing them back is actually us doing it justice. Maybe they'll learn how to adapt and maybe they'll be able to create a new balance within the ecosystem. Or maybe it'll all just be detrimental and everything's gonna go to hell. I don't fucking know. It all just be detrimental and everything's gonna go to hell. I don't fucking know.

Mike: 7:30

But with the things that we choose to believe, do and follow, it also has its purpose to either improve or enhance the imperfection within us. And that's coming from me, bro. I had a whole pod episode about dating profiles not giving full body shots, so I know what I'd be walking into when I got to the restaurant, like I know what my imperfections are, and we can start with my vanity issues, but also when you're at the buffet, you go for what you really want. I don't know what to tell you, but either it's science or it's religion. Human either evolved a certain way to not regenerate or God made us so in that way for a reason Like notice how science looks to perfect, or ask can we do this or is this possible?

Mike: 8:12

But unless I just suck at reading, can somebody please explain why certain creatures, biologically, are able to do things that others can't Like? Why are lobsters biologically immortal and why can a reptile regenerate its leg or its paw or whatever the fuck, but yet for some other reason, other species and animals don't have that ability Like why is it that some animals have superpowers and other animals don't? Explain to me that in the evolution process of humans, how is it that the only thing that we get multiple sets of are teeth, and you know what? Maybe that's why we stay stuck in life too. We get comfortable knowing what we have and that we don't need to learn to adapt for ourselves, but we can adapt through the use of others, and I think it's taking less out of the fear of the unknown. But all right, let me ask you this if we could resurrect things, if we could regenerate our bodies, then why do we also have incurable diseases? Like maybe that's the payoff because some people did some pretty ungodly shit for some of these stds to be coming out, and a lot of them are animal based.

Mike: 9:19

But I think that's also to ask ourselves, like who would we be without a certain level of fear? And maybe that fear is also a matter of like, hey, fuck around and find out. I think it's an important question to ask ourselves. Like who would we all be without a certain level of fear, whatever it is that's going on in your life, either external or internal, and maybe that's why god gave me an opportunity to play rugby. For a reason, like you have to face your fears of getting hit or making a hit, not really knowing what's going to happen. And dude, that's just fucking life. It's the ability to not just say, alright, I am just a fragile piece of meat pretending to be tough. I legit am tough, and being adaptable is also being able to improve, right.

Mike: 10:12

So even in comparison from last week's game, where I didn't touch the ball at all, to this week's game, I thought that I had a play where I had a pretty good run and I bodied this dude, but in reality I ended up being so far out of bounds and I ended up giving the guy a late hit. So to whoever that was on that team, dude, I am so sorry. I just need more awareness in general. And it's really amazing what perception is versus reality, because in the play I was like, oh shit, I'm a boss right now. Then I went back and looked at the tape. I'm like Dude, none of this was good, but don't worry, I got mine too. Like I got hit at the end of the play. But my dumb ass thought that I got hit out of bounds. Not that I was already there Story of my life but somewhere in that hit, in that moment of embarrassment and clarity, I started thinking about the idea of getting hit or being able to make one, about the idea of getting hit or being able to make one, and whether it's in rugby or life or whatever, hits, just equal pain, whether it's physical, emotional, whatever pain goes away, but the struggle doesn't, and it's the struggle of what you're going through in that moment that either makes you a boss, makes you a bitch, or makes you a boss ass bitch, because there is nothing in life that will make you adapt faster than struggle like.

Mike: 11:30

I had this thought about my grandmother, who ended up being in a wheelchair towards the end of her life, and with my knee especially as of the past couple years it's been somewhat of an issue, and my grandmother also had knee issues, so growing up I never really empathized with her, but with my own aching joints now I'm starting to kind of understand the pain or suffering that was one of the major hits of her life and I started to feel myself wondering what my future will also be able to hold physically. I mean, I'm still going to do rugby and get my exercise in until I can't, but that's my problem. I mean, what's it going to do? Break me more than I am. I already don't have health insurance anyways, so I'm going to just fucking send it, luigi. But I had this moment where I actually felt like I owed my grandmother something and then I felt like I owed her an apology Because I had this thought that life is kind of like AA you can't really make peace with yourself until you make it with others first.

Mike: 12:31

Even if it's just praying to a loved one that's no longer here and just saying you know what? I'm sorry that I didn't get it before. I do now and I'll try and carry that a little bit better. And being able to reflect is how I feel that we can all learn to grow to better understand the imperfections within ourselves, and maybe that's what being able to take hits and having suffering does. It kind of gives you access to other people's stories, like maybe it cracks something open within you and it makes room for understanding standing. You know, just recently I've been asking the God for signs on what I should be doing and are the choices that I'm making and is what I'm thinking of doing sending me down the paths that you have in mind for me, and just wondering if anything on the pod that I've also said is worth a damn.

Mike: 13:21

And all of a sudden, I got a comment from somebody named Tristan Women do actually like me, but she commented on episode 60, which is, I think, my whole thing about LinkedIn and funerals and stuff and she commented saying, okay, wow, crazy timing because I lost my dad recently. But you have solid points. Thanks for making me laugh through the grief, all right. Well, first of all, tristan, I am so sorry to hear that about your father. I haven't personally lost a parent. I have some friends who have lost parents. I definitely know it's not an easy process to be going through. So I hope that you and your family are all doing okay. But to not also be selfish, like thank you for the comment, because I'm glad that this podcast gave you a moment of laughter at an otherwise unjoyous time that you're going through, and I'm glad that I was able to actually help you through the process, even if it was just a little bit.

Mike: 14:15

And it's times like this from what I've also learned from rugby, as if I fucking know what I'm talking about. I've only been doing this for a month, but I just kind of realized that I start to hesitate when I'm going to make a hit. When I have the ball, I have no fear of just plowing through people, but when somebody's running at me it's a little bit more of like a oh shit kind of cam newton in the super bowl fumble moment. Like I just pull up, I overthink it, I get stuck in my head like what if I go full send? I just get juked. Or what if I still go send? I just get juked, or what if I still go low and I'm the one that ends up looking like an idiot on my back? Like that hesitation, it's not the fear of impact, honestly, it's more the fear of failure. Like it's a fear that I'm not even good enough to probably even try.

Mike: 15:04

But maybe that's the point, because adaptation isn't about being fearless, it's about showing up anyway. It's about trying to live in a world that you weren't built for and trying to figure it out one hit at a time. Like that's what the dire wolves are doing. They were extinct for what? 13,000 years and now they're back in a world full of vape clouds and Uber Eats, and they're just still figuring out how to exist, same as the rest of us. And maybe that's what pain does. It forces you to adapt. When I felt my knees starting to go, when I thought about my grandmother being wheelchair bound, I finally started to understand her struggle. That pain cracked something open. It gave me access to somebody else's story. That's what adapting really is. It's learning how to hit better and, in the process, understanding how others carry their hits.

Mike: 15:59

And, tristan, your comment reminded me of that that even when this podcast feels like I'm yelling out into the void, I might actually be helping somebody else adapt too. So even when you're not sure if anything's working, even when you're limping through it, you just make the hit you commit. It won't be perfect, it might come back and hit you harder, but then you just get up and you stay in the game. That's why I do this. I don't do this to be perfect. I don't have the answers, but I try to adapt out loud, I try to laugh at the mess, I try to ask the dumb questions and take the imperfect swings and maybe help somebody else take theirs.

Mike: 16:42

And if you are one of those people, please leave a five-star review. Do me a favor and share this episode with a friend. Follow me at the lmbe podcast on tiktok and instagram, or comment on the episodes, or shoot me an email at lmbmedia at gmailcom if you guys would like to write in. All right, thank you all. So much for listening and we will catch up next week. Thank you.