This is a continuation of a previous post. Two of Something, and One of the other comes first, and then Two rotten eggs and a Jellyfish. I'm sorry it had to be this way - once I figure out how to mess with the order of posts, I'll do something about it.
Allright, so we seem to have reached an impasse. Science, at least, theoretical science, has had the dubious distinction of managing to shoot itself in the foot, given the last theory that we talked about. For every complete theory of everything, there will be at least one event that it will fail to explain, or perhaps, take into account. In addition, some theoretical postulates we will simply be unable to verify – the big bang, for example – although, if you want a fascinatingly interesting view of the world, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is a good bet. Not to mention, it’s fucking hilarious. However, I digress.
But wait a minute. Maybe the problem isn’t that there’s no way to prove what we believe we know; maybe it’s that humans, in their present condition, aren’t capable of it. I’m not talking about X-Men type mutations – having the ability to change your shape at will won’t do much to advance the store of human knowledge, just save a hell of a lot of money in Hollywood. As any class 10th/12th student will readily agree, there’s just so much to know, that not being able to prove something might just be a factor of not knowing something that someone, somewhere has already made use of.
I just reread that last sentence, and I’m as confused as a mouse faced with a choice of Stilton or Cheddar. Umm. Put it this way. Science has advanced so far, that proving something new, or hell, simply coming up with something new would require knowing everything that’s gone before, in that particular field. Picture yourself building a multi-storey building. Before you can tack on the tenth floor, you have to have built the previous nine, right? In a similar way, the newest links toward the Theory of Everything must tie in with everything that’s gone before. So the task for the chap in this particular rat race is to first assimilate everything we know, and then move from there (This is assuming, of course, that you’re not developing a new branch of science – building a new skyscraper, as it were).
One possible way around this would for us to develop something along the lines of perfect recall. No, not the Dell Computers way of handling buggered computers; simply the ability to remember everything that you’ve ever seen, read, heard, or thought of, down to the last, most minute detail. Aside from anything else, this would drive most people mad (which is a bad thing), and put most lawyers out of business (this is a good thing). Imagine remembering every single nasty experience that you’ve ever had, in perfect clarity? Not a pleasant thought. I’m sure there are ways around this – perhaps just having perfect recall would condition humans to pain differently, but I don’t put much faith in that. Pain is pain, whichever way you slice it.
Another possibility would be for humans to develop a hive mind – perfectly, or imperfectly. Bees have an interesting way of handling things – the arrangement of the honeycombs in the hive are apparently linked to the memory of the hive – that is, the way the combs are arranged has to do with particular events that have occurred in the hive’s life.
However, this would require some pretty drastic social restructuring.
First off, we’d have to get rid of the concept of equality. Is this a bad thing, I wonder? It’s certainly false, that’s for sure – humans are not equal, right down from genetically, to physically, to emotionally, to mentally, to spiritually. A lot has to do with what characteristics you were born with. Another big factor is the way you were raised. Nature and nurture, if you see what I mean.
Take me, for example.
I’m 5’6”, weigh about 60 kilos. Physically, not a very impressive specimen, considering that I’m male. If the prime requisite of a human was how much he could lift, or carry, or something along those lines, then I’m sure I’d be pretty far down on the social scale. On the other hand, my IQ (admittedly, not a complete judge of intellectual capabilities, but it’s arbitrary, and that suits my purposes for now) is around 145. That’s a pretty decent score, if you consider that that’s in the top 3% of all those tested where I had my exam. So, if the prime category were intellectual ability, I’d be pretty far up. Given that there’s ridiculously huge number of ways of categorizing people, suppose we were to take – say 5 characteristics – and classify humans on the basis of these (again, there’s another book I recommend – Brave New World, by Aldolus Huxley). Enter the quota system. Also, to simplify matters (and avoid treading on a lot of toes), lets consider a colony of ants.
Ants have an interestingly brutal caste system. Since they (at least, to the best of my knowledge) don’t have anything approaching human emotions, they find it simple to categorise among themselves. Worker ants, Soldier ants, so on and so forth, culminating in the Queen ant. A matriarchal system, where the task of the ruler, the queen, is to have thousands and thousands of babies. Ladies from LSR, what say you? Willing to accept the position of Top Dog – excuse me – Top Bitch, if it meant having kids for the rest of your life? Anyhow, cheap shots aside, ants have a good system. If humans were to develop a hive mind, it might not be such a bad thing to adopt a system similar to those used by insects…of course, this is all based on the idea that humans have reached the point where we can safely ignore emotions, have gotten rid of the present family structure, freely accept that there is a place for everyone in society, where everyone is satisfied, and so on.
Telepathic Utopia, or a terrifyingly numb existence?
Somehow, I seem to have reached a point ridiculously wide of where I was aiming. Ah well, it was a fun ride. More to come, soon enough. But since I’m here, I might as well finish it. Dave Matthews, Ladies and Gentlemen!
He wakes up in the morning
Does his teeth, bite to eat and he's rolling
Never changes a thing
The week ends, the week begins
She thinks, we look at each other
Wondering what the other is thinking
But we never say a thing
And these crimes between us grow deeper
Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die
Goes to visit his mommy
She feeds him well, his concerns
He forgets them
And remembers being small
Playing under the table and dreaming...
Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die
Driving along this highway
All these cars and up on the sidewalk
People in every direction
No words exchanged,No time to exchange when
All the little ants are marching
Red and black antennae waving
They all do it the same
They all do it the same way.
Allright, so we seem to have reached an impasse. Science, at least, theoretical science, has had the dubious distinction of managing to shoot itself in the foot, given the last theory that we talked about. For every complete theory of everything, there will be at least one event that it will fail to explain, or perhaps, take into account. In addition, some theoretical postulates we will simply be unable to verify – the big bang, for example – although, if you want a fascinatingly interesting view of the world, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is a good bet. Not to mention, it’s fucking hilarious. However, I digress.
But wait a minute. Maybe the problem isn’t that there’s no way to prove what we believe we know; maybe it’s that humans, in their present condition, aren’t capable of it. I’m not talking about X-Men type mutations – having the ability to change your shape at will won’t do much to advance the store of human knowledge, just save a hell of a lot of money in Hollywood. As any class 10th/12th student will readily agree, there’s just so much to know, that not being able to prove something might just be a factor of not knowing something that someone, somewhere has already made use of.
I just reread that last sentence, and I’m as confused as a mouse faced with a choice of Stilton or Cheddar. Umm. Put it this way. Science has advanced so far, that proving something new, or hell, simply coming up with something new would require knowing everything that’s gone before, in that particular field. Picture yourself building a multi-storey building. Before you can tack on the tenth floor, you have to have built the previous nine, right? In a similar way, the newest links toward the Theory of Everything must tie in with everything that’s gone before. So the task for the chap in this particular rat race is to first assimilate everything we know, and then move from there (This is assuming, of course, that you’re not developing a new branch of science – building a new skyscraper, as it were).
One possible way around this would for us to develop something along the lines of perfect recall. No, not the Dell Computers way of handling buggered computers; simply the ability to remember everything that you’ve ever seen, read, heard, or thought of, down to the last, most minute detail. Aside from anything else, this would drive most people mad (which is a bad thing), and put most lawyers out of business (this is a good thing). Imagine remembering every single nasty experience that you’ve ever had, in perfect clarity? Not a pleasant thought. I’m sure there are ways around this – perhaps just having perfect recall would condition humans to pain differently, but I don’t put much faith in that. Pain is pain, whichever way you slice it.
Another possibility would be for humans to develop a hive mind – perfectly, or imperfectly. Bees have an interesting way of handling things – the arrangement of the honeycombs in the hive are apparently linked to the memory of the hive – that is, the way the combs are arranged has to do with particular events that have occurred in the hive’s life.
However, this would require some pretty drastic social restructuring.
First off, we’d have to get rid of the concept of equality. Is this a bad thing, I wonder? It’s certainly false, that’s for sure – humans are not equal, right down from genetically, to physically, to emotionally, to mentally, to spiritually. A lot has to do with what characteristics you were born with. Another big factor is the way you were raised. Nature and nurture, if you see what I mean.
Take me, for example.
I’m 5’6”, weigh about 60 kilos. Physically, not a very impressive specimen, considering that I’m male. If the prime requisite of a human was how much he could lift, or carry, or something along those lines, then I’m sure I’d be pretty far down on the social scale. On the other hand, my IQ (admittedly, not a complete judge of intellectual capabilities, but it’s arbitrary, and that suits my purposes for now) is around 145. That’s a pretty decent score, if you consider that that’s in the top 3% of all those tested where I had my exam. So, if the prime category were intellectual ability, I’d be pretty far up. Given that there’s ridiculously huge number of ways of categorizing people, suppose we were to take – say 5 characteristics – and classify humans on the basis of these (again, there’s another book I recommend – Brave New World, by Aldolus Huxley). Enter the quota system. Also, to simplify matters (and avoid treading on a lot of toes), lets consider a colony of ants.
Ants have an interestingly brutal caste system. Since they (at least, to the best of my knowledge) don’t have anything approaching human emotions, they find it simple to categorise among themselves. Worker ants, Soldier ants, so on and so forth, culminating in the Queen ant. A matriarchal system, where the task of the ruler, the queen, is to have thousands and thousands of babies. Ladies from LSR, what say you? Willing to accept the position of Top Dog – excuse me – Top Bitch, if it meant having kids for the rest of your life? Anyhow, cheap shots aside, ants have a good system. If humans were to develop a hive mind, it might not be such a bad thing to adopt a system similar to those used by insects…of course, this is all based on the idea that humans have reached the point where we can safely ignore emotions, have gotten rid of the present family structure, freely accept that there is a place for everyone in society, where everyone is satisfied, and so on.
Telepathic Utopia, or a terrifyingly numb existence?
Somehow, I seem to have reached a point ridiculously wide of where I was aiming. Ah well, it was a fun ride. More to come, soon enough. But since I’m here, I might as well finish it. Dave Matthews, Ladies and Gentlemen!
He wakes up in the morning
Does his teeth, bite to eat and he's rolling
Never changes a thing
The week ends, the week begins
She thinks, we look at each other
Wondering what the other is thinking
But we never say a thing
And these crimes between us grow deeper
Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die
Goes to visit his mommy
She feeds him well, his concerns
He forgets them
And remembers being small
Playing under the table and dreaming...
Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die
Driving along this highway
All these cars and up on the sidewalk
People in every direction
No words exchanged,No time to exchange when
All the little ants are marching
Red and black antennae waving
They all do it the same
They all do it the same way.
13 comments:
wow...we should put you on shaadi.com. honestly, though iv read a few of your blog entries and i have to say they re really quite impressive. its pretty evident that your intellect comes from sources that are really really diverse. its always good to know that there s someone out there who expresses their views on things that are not so superficial. a great read..so keep writing and this is just to let you know that i really appreciate it!
kudos~~
Lias:
Hmmm. Knowing everything that's gone before would limit further scientific progress? Possibly, possibly, especially if the knowledge was contradictory. I know everything, but everything I know contradicts everything else I know, so therefore, I am a small potted geranium.
Heh.
I dont know...I just threw out that as an idea - knowing everthing that's gone before might not imply understanding everything that's gone before, which is pretty much the key - but then again, if any of these sort of theories actually pan out, can you imagine how different society would be?
No family. No privacy. No individualism. No controversial thought. Basically, the spice gone out of existence. No emotion, either - at least, not in the sense we know - reactions, interactions would be different.
I think I'll stick to the old fashioned way. Seems like too high a price to pay, no?
Alternatively, AI.
Now THAT'S scary. No emotions, so no character to speak of. No bargaining, no arguing, no discussion, no passion - sheesh.
Non-blonde:
Shaadi.com? Ouch, that's mean. May my eyelashes turn magenta one by one before that happens (Not too sure why, but the thought of marriage makes me feel paranoid). A mother's bad enough when it comes to nagging - imagine what a wife would do?
Thanks, though - most of my thinking is a result of my friends - none of whom will give up an argument if they can help it. Made for interesting chem lab discussions in school, i can tell you that. Quite explosive, at times.
if you're interested though, i suggest you check out a friends' blog - http://batbogiehex.blogspot.com
he comes up with even more nonsense than i do - thanks again.
hey baboon..can i call you that? sounds weird to be addressing someone like that but anyway..i just wanted to let you know that the shaadi.com thing was a joke. actually a friend of mine and i decided to play a really evil joke on this one guy in my class, and we registered him on the site just for kicks. and i said that only because a few lines from your entry sounded a bit like the form we filled in for our poor unsuspecting victim..lol..and now that i've read your reply..the whole magenta eyelashes thing..whoa..you'd get replies from the weirdest possible people if that ever went up on shaadi.com! oh and if you're scared of marriage, mothers and the meddling maasiji s..then i suggest you read the mumbai girls handbook to the awesome art of avoidance! its good..and it so works! lol..
NB:
Heh, sure you can call me baboon, I've been called much worse. From class 2 through 12, I was called Pig, because it rhymed with my name.
The shaadhi thing - I don't know. It scares the crap out of me - probably because of the responsibility involved. I have a hard time simply waking up in the morning, so if I ever reach a situation where my actions directly influence other people - well, better not to speculate.
Mumbai Girls' Handbook, eh?
Let me guess.
You got this blog address from my cousin Priyanka?
Could be something else altogether, but she's the only girl I know in Bombay...or maybe I'm reading too much into a book title. I do things like that, for some reason.
well actually no i didn't get this address from anyone called priyanka..i only know two priyanka s and let me assure you that both could't possibly be related to you! lol..no in fact let that be a mystery to you..wow..all guys are scared of responsibility..you're the first of your kind who's admitted it with..hmm shall i call it nochalance?..
anyway to tell you the truth there is no such book as the mumbai girl's handbook..its just one of those things we live by and certain stuff thats always told to us while being brought up..you know how to behave and act and respond when your're of "the right age" and your parents and family introduce you to the concept of MARRIAGE..or the M word..
its ok if you're the i wanna be a bachelor all my life kind..some girls are attracted to that i guess..in the meanwhile..if you want to practice some responsibility..then get a dog i say! or maybe birds..they're tougher to handle..haha..anyway you mentioned your name rhymes with pig? tough one..its been puzzling me thinking of what name could possibly rhyme with pig..i could only think of..jig..dig..gig..fig..and so the list goes on..well at least it doesn't rhyme with baloney!
Nothing I can think of off the top of my head rhymes with Baloney...maybe Wahoonie, but that's a bit much for a name, I'd say.
Not to say that my name is a lot better - I'll give you a clue. Think hair. And yeah, it's spelled just like that.
Ah, nice, now I can tell people I have a mysterious female who wants me to join shaadi.com...
You live in bombay, or were brought up there, I'm assuming.I was born in Breach Candy, so technically, I suppose I could say I'm a bombayite. Love the city, at any rate - bhutta at Marine drive in the rain is how I grew up. Well, not how I grew up, but you know what I mean.
Bachelor - yeah, the word is bloody comforting. Wood panelled study with deep, deep leather chair I can snooze in sounds just about right. Maybe I'll change, but I doubt it for now - besides, I'm only 22, there's still time for all of that - but I do have a dog, though. Well, when I say dog, I mean something that looks like a stuffed toy. Running isn't really his forte - a swift waddle is about his limit.
I just read that comment, and it looks a bit like I'm filling in a form, doesn't it?
Sorry about that - been doing some leftover work from office, and that IS more or less filling in data...
err..wahoonie? sounds like the name of a strange african tribal dance more than a name of a person actually! surely you can do better than that? cmon..baloney..its so easy..anyway keep guessing.. and to answer you..yes i do live in bombay..close to breach candy actually..and god this is ironic..but i was born in delhi..so i get that tag attached to me because people assume im a delhi ite..although i have to say im not even a close resemblance to one..a delhi ite i mean..and actually yeah the comment was every bit like the shaadi.com profile form..so if i ever feel like another evil joke i know just the person right? haha..speaking of marine drive bhutta the weather s perfect for one just about now..cloudy drizzling..and very very windy..hmm..swift waddling dogs? i don't know what that's supposed to mean..is the dog a real one or not? actually..like i said..get birds..or a ferret..or a hamster if you like creepy white stuart little like mice running on a wheel..they're fascinating..if you're into that sort of thing..
hmm..think hair..so the only hair related thing that rhymes with PIG is..WIG..!! wait a second..your name is wig?? im sorry but that's ridiculously unbelievable..no seriously..wig?? i thought it might be something like jigar and everyone calls you jig..but wig is actually pushing it a bit..!
Wahoonie is...err...well...let's just say, NOT an African tribal dance. More to do with reproduction from the masculine perspective - man, I love euphemisms. Other than Wahooney, though...name wise...mahoney? gurbani? malini? pushpani? nepali? Allright, I think I've just about shot my bolt there.
Man, I'd love to be in bombay right now...my sister is, in fact, and right on marine drive too. Man, wish I was her. Well, not really, cause then I'd have to be a woman, but wish I was there. Yes, Mr. Floyd, I have violated your copyright.
The dog is real, more or less - as in, he exists, and eats, and sleeps, and occasionally, if the fancy takes him, will do a spot of self grooming, but other than that, you might as well bung him on a shelf with a tag says 'Rs. 55 only. Tumble dry after wash.' And no, no hamsters. Ratlike creatures dont hold much appeal when it comes to pets, for me.
And yes. Yes, to my extreme shame, to my utter, utter, face hiding, running away from home kind of embarrasment, my name is Wig. I reacted in much the same way when they told me about it.
aah..well whatever..i meant wahooney of course..and i have to say namewise yea you have come up with some pretty absurd suggestions! i can't even think of one of your suggested names that sounds even remotely like mine..hmm maybe i should just tell you what it is and spare you the torture? but then..that ruins it doesn't it..as for you wishing you were a woman,..its alright suppose..im guessing you've seen mrs doubtfire? or all those hideous movies about cross dressers..i think its brilliant if you have an open mind about stuff like that you know..its refreshing!
as for the dog..im guessing it isnt real then..what a shame..but 22 year old guys who play with stuff toys? its cute..weird but cute! oh and as for your name being WIG..its alright..some people could live with that!
Oye.
I think I'm losing in this war of words.
It's not fair, you keep misquoting me or quoting me out of context - I'm not a cross dresser, I swear - no matter what pictures you might have seen - that was a fancy dress kind of affair, and that's all I'm going to say about it. And it was a Kilt, at that, I borrowed it off a scottish chap and all.
Is your name Juhi Pande? If it is, and you are, in fact, a Channel V VJ, then yes, you can take over my blog whenever you want, no problems.
Nah, the dog is real. It's just suffered quite a lot, what with having to hear "OchieCoochieWoochie" and stuff like that whenever my sister comes home...
Yes, I know about the living with it, ask me, I've survived so far...although it might have been slightly easier if I'd had a normal name like...well, not Wig.
er..and i mean this in the kindest way possible but..hahahahahahhahah ahahahahhahahhahahhahahahhaah..a kilt? oh god...hahahahahaha..you mean those skirt like things prince charles wears because he's the prince of wales right? no i haven't seen any pictures but i really wish i HAD..there's no possible way i could have a look at them is there?..i don't suppose you had a set of bagpipes to go with that outfit did you? ahahaha.. im sorry..but that is..hilariously weird!
juhi pande? you mean that (v) basement vj don't you? uh no..im most definitely not her..why would you think that? lol..and this whole business of hijacking your blog? what's that about? surely you don't think im doing that do you? because if you do..i suggest you tell me..and god im sorry about the cross dressing comment.that..just like some other comments on your blog was intended for humourous purposes ONLY! as for the misquoting and quoting out of context..what can i say..i do it deliberately..i must admit..as sadistic as it sounds..i get cheap thrills from quoting people out of context and having them squirm uncomfortably..i have a knack for doing that..its a bad habit..i need to stop..shit i sound like a moron don't i? well like i said before..is all meant in the best way possible..the sad truth is that..im well..bored.really bored..
and the name..well..is wig your first name or last name? and not to sound rude but..are you tamilian? because i met a tamilian a while ago..whose name is sreeraman ramanathan harekrishnan wigguru..(whew) and i was wondering..if your name has any link to the south maybe you're related to him?
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