The 13,000 years old tree and the modern heritage

Recently I have read an amazing article about the Jurupa Oak tree first sprouted into life when much of the world was still covered in glaciers. It has stood on its windswept hillside in southern California for at least 13,000 years, making it the oldest known living organism, according to a study published today.

Scientists believe the tree, composed of a sprawling community of cloned bushes, is the oldest living thing because it has repeatedly renewed itself to ensure its survival through successive periods of drought, frost, storms and high winds.
The Jurupa oak, named after the Jurupa Hills in California’s Riverside County, belongs to a species called Quercus palmeria, or Palmer’s Oak. It was this fact that first alerted scientists to the idea that all was not what it seemed when it came to this particular stand of scrubby oak bushes.

So nature leaves organisms capable to keep on going for thousands years, ancient civilizations left on earth works that are still living after thousands years…and I wonder: what is our heritage to the future generations? What is the present world doing capable to endure for centuries? I have no clue.

Even if I think to “modern” economic theory such as option theory, which has represented a deep change in the market, I have to say that the option idea came out even before Aristotle. In fact, the first call option is to attribute to Thales of Miletus.

To demonstrate to his fellow Milesians that he could use his intelligence to enrich himself, he forecast the weather and a good harvest for a particular year, then offered the press owners to pay them a minimum price before the event realized (option premium) to have their availability to use their presses during the harvest time. So he negotiated the press lease price.

When the exceptional harvest came, Thales paid to the press owners the established lease and asked the olive producers the highest price, since he had rights on all the presses.
From Thales to the modern markets there is a short way…

So, again, what is the Modern Age “Idea”! What is our heritage to the future generations?