the answer to your question is a:hamartia. The word if cut down means pride and a discovery the character makes about himself. For example, if a hero is too narcissistic, there are some cons in it which could lead to the hero's downfall.
<em>Hamartia</em> is the name given to a situation where a protagonist's "tragic flaw" brings about his downfall. Most of the time, people are a mix of bad and good qualities. This is the case with characters too. Some characters tend to have a single flaw that is particularly dominant and that causes them to fail in their pursuits. A common example is that of Hamlet, whose indicisiveness leads him to tragedy.
They were better off. Without the discovery of the uses of fire, mankind would not be here. Fire led to the rapid increase of newer, more advanced tech, such as a sword instead of a club.
