A note on being an "agnostic atheist"

I've addressed the religion topic somewhat totally earlier. Here, I'd just like to further clarify conclusions from that post, and be a little more blunt. As far as there possibly being a "the God" beyond everything, this cannot be ruled out completely.. ever. So at this point, some theists find it perfectly fine to rest their case. But that's bullshit. You see, there's no problem in just stating there may be a God, but a problem does arise when you begin to describe and define (through its actions) this God. For instance, to say "he" created the world and the Universe in 6 days... is bullshit. To say he created Adam and Eve and no dinosaurs - bullshit. You may at this point say it's symbolic, but then who determines a correct interpretation? If you can just choose to interpret it differently with each period, surely one can do that for other creation stories. In terms of creation tales, the Judeo-Christian one is not even the most plausible, or right. So, before saying "checkmate atheists", perhaps a little honesty about what your religion is about is in order, at which point it fails miserably. This is all AFTER you can get over the fact that the tales were written a little under 3000 years ago and promoted through less than holy politics and wars through the ages.
That's enough on addressing the theists. To the atheists out there, it is equally important that in being honest about the situation, one has to conclude that there could be something outside of the known universe that is both odd and accounts for why "all of this" is here. That may be possible. But, that point shouldn't matter. I don't see why one has to always go to the ends of our knowledge at any moment of time in debating these fake fuck wads (not referring to all theists, just the arrogant, militant ones. Militant Atheists are a bit fuck wadish as well). Their religion makes certain claims as far as science goes, and these are ridiculously untrue. They can then go to the moral teachings, but there too, killing other tribes in the name of God seems to be fine in certain instances, reducing the status of women as well seems ok.... but no God who "created" or planned all of this would conclude like this. We piddly mortals already know how we are so much more equal both as sexes and races on account of our genetics and the functioning of our brains. No true God would ever say it's "correct" to kill other people who are just like you. An omniscient God who is so pathetically myopic? Really?
Lastly, there's no need for atheists to be militant. You just need to state the facts, and contrast that with the claims and origins of other faiths. That's it. Their days are numbered anyway, for there isn't a way out in a digital age where information is readily accessible. As more young people grow up in a society that's unshackling itself more intensely from the stupid and unwarranted customs of old, all these unfounded craplings will find their way in the sewer of history. Hate to be mean, but it's .. pretty much how it's going to be, as far as I can see it. But hey, I could be wrong. So cheer up Theists! Just believe I have no arguments, have blind faith in me being irrational... and you're done. Just do the usual.

The World's Dilemma : My rough solution

In my original post on The World's Dilemma, I pointed out why on account of our human nature and the structure of the system we have, the world is always going to be kind of fucked up, and will require a constant source of checking and feedback. This doesn't mean however that we should be dejected and accept failure. Far from it. What does bother me about the world today is that, despite it probably always going to be fucked up (as long as the constraints remain true), it is SO far from being the system it could be. Let's forget perfection, and just talk progress. We could have it much better, we can have a much "smarter" system in place, both globally and locally. How to get it going practically is a tricky problem, that I sadly don't have a general answer to. But what I do have some insight into is what needs to happen in order for us to have a better, smarter system.

1) Education : The most pressing problem, and at the heart of the whole dilemma, is that people are simply too uninformed and apathetic, but not quite in the sense that most people think however. By uninformed, I mean that we simply don't know the bigger picture well enough, and this is simply not promoted as far as our education is concerned. We arenot sympathetic enough of our differences, or aware enough of our broader similarities. That seldom gets into the equation, and understandably so. We live pretty insular lives, comforted into a system that seems, for the most part in those areas we access... fool-proof and fail-safe, even in times like these where global instability is just a probable event away, and the system may be crumbling in front of your very eyes. Even in times like these, most people simply look around them and notice most of the following -  the roads are still around, their house is around, the people they care about are alive and ticking, and things seem to be going on just as "usual". At least most of these things are going on at the same time, but seldom all. In any case, the picture our uninquiring minds will paint in circumstances like these, is to just go on. But even when a lot of these things AREN'T going on right, the other aspect of our present system kicks in. The other aspect is that it makes us think that it is too big for us. That's what I mean by apathy... a subconscious belief that "it" is too big, rather than a voluntary, conscious process of not taking any initiative. Surely, we can't alter the way things are. We are just piddly ants in an enormous ant colony, and the ones running the colony can squash us without the slightest effort should they choose to. Surely, there is no simple way to alter the system, which has been rigged up in such a way so as to prevent any obstacles we piddly workers might try to come up with. Well, sure... that is partially true. But they are not invincible, if that is the belief, which it often is. There is a certain amount of concentrated and coordinated work required, but it is most certainly possible. It just is that people can't see this. They simply can't see the coordinated process, and so they don't do anything... or a very deep level. This is why revolutions pick up so well. It gives them that faint glimmer of perspective that makes them see change just an inch away. It all becomes real. But it is ALWAYS real... we just don't take the time to see it, and realize it.
So this is what I see broadly lacking on an individual level. The solution then is to somehow get people not only more informed, but also to understand their significance in altering events in society. The two basic themes I just addressed are easy enough to achieve. The hard part, is getting people to agree on what the solution ought to be. There unfortunately is no simple way to come out with a "societal" right and wrong. People will generally infuse into the societal solution, their own views and ideas, and this will often be restrictive in terms of the bigger picture of needing a system that caters to the masses, ensures individual rights, that honours the dignity of human life, and so on. The idea that things must be "as consistent and right as possible" needs to enter the conversation. This will sometimes involve not having the right solution as far as many things you are concerned with is involved, but it will be the right thing if you take the pieces of information of the broader society you belong to, and the global picture, into account.  The understanding of "consistency" and "empirical evidence", is something that will be tricky to make people get. Even smart, informed people, sometimes don't get the significance of these two things in leading up to a "correct" conclusion in all contexts, including social and societal. (correct in quotes since it is only the most correct thing you can get for a set of facts, and not necessarily THE correct thing). The rules of logic for mathematics is easy, because there is no confusion about the objects being dealt with, the axioms, and the rules of the game. With people, there is ambiguity throughout. But it is my belief, that should we know a) what the constraints of ourselves and the societal system (at a given time) are, b) what conditions this system ought to satisfy for the people in order to result in an efficient society that is maximally beneficial, and c) where the people and the society are functionally at a given point in time; ... should we know these three things with little ambiguity, AND be informed and proactive.... then a common-ish (a good majority) solution can be acquired by the people. We can then have some sort of uniformity in opinion.

2) Explicit self correction mechanisms in every societal system : Again... hard for me to generally formulate. Every system that we will come up with will be based on a sweeping generalization of reality. It will also be at a point in time, rigid. This in turn will guarantee not every issue will be handled in the "right" way in society. The system itself, were it perfectly followed in an uncorrupt way, will lead to issues due to it being rigid. So, a method of allowing...iterative changes to the system, adding and taking away things as we go along and learn over time, is pretty essential. But the fact that systems are corrupt means that there must be a better way to check on the people running the system itself. This again leads us to point number one - education. An informed and proactive public will add pressure to any system. It may originally be democratic in its ways, in which case the correction mechanism is implicit in the system (however it may not be thoroughly exercised, as in present times), OR it may not be, in which case it never is too late to start a revolution and force democracy onto it. I addressed a part of this point in the post Pubeocracy not too long ago.


Broadly speaking then, getting the public "educated" in the sense I mentioned, and having the system equipped with self rectifying democratic tools, is fundamentally what is needed. Each country obviously comes with their own little goofy issues. In addressing these problems on the level of the system (modifying laws, introducing regulation, starting institutions, etc) they have to be introduced in as much as possible, a simultaneous and consistent way. It will be hard to introduce such things perfectly, and there will always be glitches, but we presently have a shitty global system, and the local scenario is pretty shitty for most countries. In all of this, I have my fears that people will never get "honest and real" when asked to make public decisions, and will always seem to address their self interest first. It's because of this that "education" for me is so important. It gives the hope of character development for a great many people. It equips them with ways to handle obstacles in their way, to think and be independent ... to be individuals. A world with a majority of people like these WOULD be better. I haven't run a simulation on this... but I'd be very interested in what society a sociologist running a program with people characterized the way I have, will come up with. I'm pretty sure it would validate my view, and in any case it is worth a shot from the standpoint of our race. The only question then is.... "How does one practically achieve this informed, individual filled society, from a system that is hell bent on leaving people as ignorant and foolishly content as possible, so that the ones running the show can capitalize on their interests?" . This is the Catch 22 situation I alluded to in my original post. The solution required to fix the system cannot be practically acquired from the system itself in the present time ... save perhaps for a technological or sociological revolution. Perhaps that is why the internet has caused a slight hiccup here and there, and will continue to do so ... at least until those idiotic laws in the works get passed.

My (present) priority list, in order

• Understanding physics, the evolution of my mind, the understanding of fundamental aspects of the universe,ourselves, and our society.
• My responsibility to my parents, my desire to make them as happy and proud as I can
• My responsibility to my closest friends, and understanding and forgiving their shortcomings (should they arise).
• The other "friends", most e-peeps, and half strangers
  

The Golden Algorithm

Observe, Understand, Accept, Adapt, Evolve

Each step is more intensive and complete than the mere word seems to suggest, with the whole process being dependent not on intelligence, not on bravery,...  not on anything other than one thing - honesty.
But yes, this is in essence the magical formula for all people, in all times, and all societies, to reach their full potential and discover themselves.

Fine... I'd better break it down:
Observe yourself and your environment, either with respect to a particular problem or system. Gather as many pieces of information you can. Again, honesty is the key to getting the right pieces. You must gather the pieces in as objective a framework as possible. Question the assumptions, and break the framework as much as possible. Get to the most objective one, and then observe.
Understanding involves looking for a consistent picture of the pieces you've just acquired. They will paint a picture, both of yourself and the system/problem you're analyzing. New questions will arise, and at this stage greater generalizations will be possible. You'll ultimately be able to formulate something very general, but so general that it would be useless as a practical tool without adding in more specifics. But having acquired this overall system for looking at the situation is a very useful place to continue.
Accept those aspects which can't be changed. Yes, they MAY ultimately not be immutable, but for now, as far as you can see... they are. So accept them till further insight. Build from this as your starting point. These are the things about both yourself and the situation/problem you're dealing with that you can't change. It may be a temporary thing, based on this point in time, but these are the constraints you will have to deal with in coming up with a practical solution.
Adaptation involves coming up with a plan to now use what you have, to take you from where you are to where you want to be. So you figure out a plan of action essentially, but all of this coming AFTER you've figured as much of the bigger picture as possible, and understanding the underlying dynamics that drive the whole thing in reality. That was the whole point of all the earlier points.
Evolve involves actually going on to the next level. Your plan will seldom work perfectly, because you will learn a new thing about yourself and of the system you are dealing with. In this case, repeat the whole process and refine the plan. So it is both the minor evolution of yourself with respect to your earlier plan, and the evolution of the plan with respect to the new information you have unwittingly acquired.

This then is broadly speaking, the procedure I have and do use time and again to get things right, both in terms of actions in life, and thought processes. It has worked nearly perfectly nearly all the time. The times it hasn't worked is when getting informed to a sufficient degree was too difficult (as in some social circumstances), and in those cases where the actions to be performed are unfeasible at the moment... at least in a simple way (as in my desire to fix the world. I just don't have the resources in every possible sense). But in every other case, it does help to eliminate "losses", ensure you get things "right", and to reach a "higher" level. Does it come at the cost of spontaneity? Yes, in many ways... absolutely. But this is for those people who are sick and tired of fucking up all the time. It is the only way I know of to nearly guarantee you WON'T fuck up in what you're trying to do, or the thing you're trying to solve. The extent of success depends on how honest and inquisitive you are willing to be. Get those right, and you're pretty much set.

Religion

(This post, and the one on Abortion that I will follow up on... at some time, is dedicated to Madhuri Kumari from RRI. I will follow her advice and make it as complete as possible  with all the thoughts that I have on the topic, despite it then leading to a VErrrrrrrrrY long post. If people are interested enough, they can read. Else... it doesn't matter.
Thank you for that discussion on the 7th of June. It helped me more than you'll probably know. The vodka did it's bit as well.. but not as much as you. I don't understand WHY it did work so well in "centering" me from then on, but I guess that has to do with that part of my mind which has avoided detection by its consciously and meticulously probing part.)

I was wondering how to write on this topic. I was wondering if using logic and truth like a sledgehammer would be appropriate. The sledgehammer is going to creep in.... there's no way around it, and there is no reason for there to be a way around it; I'll only be speaking the truth. But before I get into the nasty business of all this truth speaking (which will ironically be the tool required to bludgeon the thing that claims to be promoting "THE truth") a brief disclaimer. We're all religious to different extents, in the sense that we believe in things that are in a sense un-provable by reality in the present. For instance, I believe that I will be able to be a successful physicist, even though I have done nothing other than learn the theories of physicists that came before me. I've only acquired a sense of shallow mastery where I can manipulate the theory to solve certain problems, and not mastered things well enough to show why the theories are wrong. In this case however, the odds of my faith having some bearing with reality is perhaps a lot stronger than the faith that there is a daddy God in the sky interested in whether you picked your nose a particular way at 5 a.m. in the morning, when the moon was positioned a certain way with respect to the Earth. But in any case, what we all possess are bits of faith that drive our lives, and influence our actions... and which serve to define us and give us and our lives meaning, in both subtle and obvious ways. In this sense, we are all religious. It just so turns out that saying you're "religious" implies your affiliation to the most extreme, and universal, ridiculous and unsubstantiated belief that there is some supernatural force driving our lives. Alright, before I go further, I must also state that if you are religious, my problem in not necessarily with you. That was the point of the "we are all religious" start to this post. I don't care if you are religious. I have only two problems as far as religion is concerned -
1) The existence of organized religion, and more specifically, the authority they demand to have.
2) The use of religious arguments as valid realistic ones, so much so that they are used as the sole driving force against aspects of our reality that are demonstrably and evidently true, and scientific theories and ideas that have been shown to be true. These arguments are then used to dictate social and societal norms.

If you do subscribe and believe in either points 1) or 2) (or both) in their entirety, then yes, I will be attacking you.... thoroughly, in what follows. But if on the other hand, you have a certain faith, but also a certain humility enough to tolerate other peoples faith, and enough sense to identify that social and societal rules may sometimes have to violate what you personally believe in.... then no, you're fine with me. Without further ado, let's get started.

I don't see organized religion having a good ending for us as a global community. The reasoning behind this is quite simple. For one thing, it deals with "a very important topic", and too many people disagree on the central point of this topic. So conflict is going to result as a consequence, since it is probable that in any case there would be some religions that demand dominion over other "false ones". But why is this topic so important? Is it merely because as children, these people were indoctrinated and brainwashed into thinking our world has some deeper element to it that deals with them personally, that other people are blind to. Well, yes... but it's not so simple. It had to be something that also had a parental aspect to it, something I prefer to call "paternal" .. the father figure. Our brains seem to hook on to these things for some reason. It's part of our nature. Belligerent fanatics, and promoters of societally retarded policies seem to come exclusively from these "paternal" religions. You see Buddhist monks with intense fervour and belief, but you don't see them asking for banning homosexuality, or for destroying China, and so on. It's not that Christianity and Islam would lead to this consequence in all cases. Not at all. It's because of that element of "God is looking down at you" ,"He's judging you", "It is a sin, he say's so",etc being hammered away. It's because of this style of teaching/brainwashing... because of this form of promotion, that I think we have ourselves a problem. One could just as well just teach the message of Jesus Christ without getting into him being THE son of God, and then explaining who God is by going to the previous chapters of the "Good book" where it's mentioned how many atrocities are fine under the right circumstances - like murder, stoning, genocide,etc. Once the good judgmental daddy, and the nasty,wicked uncle theory gets into our head as children... I think it's hard to eliminate. Maternal religions of the past, promoting a love of nature, conservation and preservation... didn't lead to as much trouble as the paternal ones. Since the most dominant organized religions of the world are the monotheistic, Judeo-Christian ones, which lead to belligerent, oppressive, fanatical and psychotic fuckers... this is what gives me a slight cause for alarm about organized religion on a global stage in the 21st century, and beyond. Again, to reiterate, not all organized religions being taught in certain ways would lead to the present situations. As far as I can see it... you need these paternal ones. And it's perhaps easier to buy into one big daddy god, as opposed to a supergroup of Uncles like the Greek "myths". It doesn't demand so much authority does it? If you piss off one, you can always suck up to the other. Plus, the greek gods had limitations. They were horny like us, they didn't pay attention all the time, they made mistakes, and so on. In other words... they were all too human (and that was the intent I believe... the personification of human attributes in a higher and more extreme form). The reason I mention this here, is that I've noticed the argument that Christianity and Islam being so widespread, speaks of their "truth value". It doesn't. It just speaks of a war like nature of the dominant nations of the past that promoted them, the methods in which they bought subservience of the people they conquered, and the ease with which a paternal religion can demand authority with the right organized structure established to threaten you should you not follow. That's all that was required to ensure it being spread over time. That, in a nutshell, is the reason for its "success".

But all this is one thing. The thing that pisses me off is the blatant concealment of history by these religions. For an institution that demands such authority, and have for over a thousand years, they are painfully opaque about their origins. The scholars of these faith, the priests of Christianity for instance, are familiar with the all too human origins, both of their religion and of their institutions, but they keep them secret. If asked personally, they will probably tell. But on the podium, one only gets to hear the message, and the brainwashed sheeple are required to lap it up like golden chunks of truth. I'll focus only on the origins of the faith itself, and not on the institutions. It's more effective to get to the root, than deal with the superficial societal construct that followed.
The truth is that the Pentateuch, your Old Testament, were written by four "authors" (or rather author groups) between 950 BC and 550 BC - the Yahweists, the "Priestly"s, the Elohists, and the Deuteronomists. The Old testament is a clear copy paste of  these not so ancient texts. There's a decent enough historical evidence to see what was being said is not true, either completely or partially. Well, you protest, who is to say any source of history is authoritative? No one says any one source IS, but when there are several independent sources saying one consistent thing, and one source contradicting the rest, chances are that the one source is full of shit. Imagine reading texts from a thousand years from now, where there is some dominant religion (after we have all blown ourselves up, or drowned ourselves) saying that there once was a land called North Korea, and it was the greatest nation of the world. The people following this ancient text will believe strongly in it, and will claim that there was a God that rose from the mountain and all that crap. But there will be evidence from all other nations claiming that this is not true, painting a picture of the 20th and 21st century that is more or less consistent save for this one contradictory bit of literature acquired from North Korea. Who would you believe, given this evidence? If the organized religion from the time of our demise till the thousand year later period worked well enough, you'd believe that they're both arbitrary, and you'll believe that North Korea is the place where God was born and there was heaven on Earth. You can believe that, but you'd be wrong, just like you'd be wrong in thinking the old Kingdom was actually a Kingdom as opposed to a bunch of scattered tribes ... which is what is evident from archaeological data and from the input of neighbouring nations and tribes. This mind you, is not data acquired by some determined atheists. This is what Israeli archaeologists... and all other ones surveying the region have come to know. Nothing controversial here.  Neither was a Bethlehem found to have supported any colony around the time of the birth of Christ (and neither would it, since the nativity story was added afterwards in the "Matthew's Gospel", which essentially plagiarized the original one by Mark, the one by Mark being written some 30-40 years after the supposed death of Jesus). There were the Gnostics, who did promote the coming of a saviour, and spoke of a deeper truth. For all we know, there were hundreds of these prophets. It's possible one had more traction than the rest, but in any case, there is no historical data to support his birth. Some may claim, falsely at that, that since people made such a big deal of it, SOMEONE must have lived at that time for sure! Well, no. You're simply projecting the modern society's ability to promote information quickly via media into an ancient world, where I could have just walked to another city, made a bunch of shit up, and it would have spread like wildfire among a bunch of disgruntled people. It need not have had any truth value to it whatsoever. But that's besides the point. If we just stick to the New Testament, it is also very clear that Matthew, Luke and John, following up roughly a decade later in succession, essentially plagiarized the original by "Mark". That's all that we get from the historical data, and the point of it being plagiarized is the most probable explanation on account of the spacing in time between the different authors. You are free to disagree , since that point is not ironclad. What is though, is that it was written decades later. Following this (and here comes the part that is REALLY going to get me in trouble) five centuries later, a fellow comes up with Islam to bridge the tribes under one religion. Now, Muhammad almost certainly did exist, for there is clear evidence of the period before and after his time on Earth. There is no written evidence from this period, but someone like him probably did exist to form the uniform tribe that was spreading across the middle east. He probably did have very good intentions, and his message was indeed originally one of tolerating other religions. Indeed, when Islam was spreading till 1100-1200 AD, they didn't force their religion on the nations they conquered. People of different faiths (i.e. Christianity and Judaism), were allowed to follow their faith in most of the conquered parts. In Spain, they were the promoters of science and intellectualism.
I won't go into this further. All I wanted to do is present the history behind it. It's to show that these religions really came from an all too human source, from a time that was in no way uniquely special in terms of genies and dragons flying around. It was, as far as aspects of reality are concerned, "just like now". When presented with this, I should think it should make you feel a little humble about that faith you think is so divinely sourced. All too often, people just forget to question where those words in the text they use to proclaim the righteousness of something, or the wickedness of something else, really came from. They were written not too long ago, by people just like you. All you had to do was just take one step back and ask "where did this thing I value so highly, come from?" . You can obviously say that all that I said is bullshit. Well, go out there and get informed yourself. If you don't want to appreciate any bit of historical and scientific evidence, then there's nothing I want to say or can say. The programming as a child worked wonderfully on you. I'm assuming and hoping it happened as a child, because if you have consciously, as an adult, acquired such a strong affiliation, it makes it very hard for me to understand the extreme irrationality you possess.

Ok, so so far we've covered that organized religion is built on very human and earthly based constructs (and what I haven't covered is that the institutions were built with a whole lot of politics, suppression of information, and bloodshed) , and that should the religions they promote be taught in the way they presently are, there's going to be eventual conflict... which in the context of our modern and technologically advanced society where it gets increasingly easier to cause greater and wider scale harm with decreasing effort ... poses a bit of a problem.
But I haven't covered the God topic yet, have I? What if he/she/it really does exist?!! Well, maybe he/she/it does, but all that I'm saying is that you have as much access to he/she/it as did those people from a thousand years ago. Something spectacular might have happened, but there is no way to tell. The word of God you protest! You mean those bits of text that are scientifically and historically inaccurate, about the origins of ourselves and our universe? You mean those texts that put people of different nations and women on a lower platform, when we can understand full well that they are different but equal from a genetic standpoint? Is that the basis of the divinity argument? Because if it is , it only seals the man made point more than otherwise. It becomes increasingly more probable that we just came up with an imaginative way to make people follow rules and social norms that were considered appropriate at the time. I also don't think the same nativity story cropping up time and again is a sign of anything other than unintelligent plagiarism of an old tale that started in ancient Egypt.  But still , lets give the God thing some thought... specifically that man is important or special, worthy almost of his/her/it's attention. Well, let's look at the facts. There are a 100 billion galaxies in our observable universe (there are many more that we simply DON'T observe). There are a 100 billion stars in each of these galaxies, and around each of these stars there's anywhere from 2-4 "goldilocks" planets , on average*. That's something in the order of 10^22 life sustainable planets out there. And here some of us have the audacity to think that we are the pinnacles of life, we... the end product of a bunch of meek miniscule mammals that were allowed to reproduce in the aftermath of the extinction of the dinosaurs, all that being permitted by the chance collision of our planet with a meteor. Just think about that. Just think about how ridiculous it is to think that if there is a God, he/she/it cares for us in any special way. That we in any way could be the most evolved life form in the Universe after a 64 million year experiment left to run, in a Universe that's almost 14 billion years old. It's either got to be equally important, or equally indifferent... but nothing special. Why would the events concerning us humans on Earth, based on an artificial,self-sustaining, man-made system designed to support a growing population, be of ANY interest to "the" God?  This is all assuming "the" God exists. For if "the" God is just an evolved being in the Universe, there is no reason to buy into its rules any more than ants and other animals must cater to our rules (all of this assuming this "evolved being God" could communicate with us in some way, for which there is no evidence in the present or historically). We may find them a nuisance and squash them, or kill them, but that's just the exercise of our power to protest their hindrance to our plans, not because what they are doing is fundamentally wrong. A rat or cockroach does nothing fundamentally wrong... it is we that find it wrong from our perspective. In the same sense, this evolved being could very well be wrong about what is right for us.
I think that covers the God point.

 Perhaps I ended up going far deeper than I planned on, but I just wanted to be as complete as I could be on this topic.


P.S: I wanted to cover the attack of religious institutions and religious people on science and social rights, but I think the fact that they don't have a leg to stand on is sufficient an argument. The idea of things being "just a theory" however, I will cover...  in a separate (and much shorter) post. Yea, I'll use the title "Just a theory" for it.



*The goldilocks planets are those with the right distance from the star, such that the temperature is sufficient to have liquid water around. Since our universe is loaded with organic matter, it is very likely that these water laden planets will promote carbon based life. There could be life that is not carbon based (silicon for instance) , and it could function through something other than water. There may be alternatives to the carbon based energy cycles for life. So much for the sanctity behind the anthropic principle. All in all, the number for life arrived at is very conservative, but how much life is there in the Universe will have roughly the same order of magnitude, as an upper limit. 

The eternal missing of the miss

You still haunt my dreams. You flutter in my waking moments, where I turn to tell you something odd I thought or found... but you're not there. I want to bitch to you about inconsequential shit, my weekly vicissitudes of ups and downs that won't matter in the long run. I really want to know how your day went, and  want to be in it. I want to feel you in my arms, feel and hear you breathe , hold your hand and devour it with every sensory organ I have. I long to share and hear your tales, your gossip, your views. I long for your cute and not so cute outbursts on the important and the mundane. I long for you, the good and bad. In all of it that was, I must confess, there was a sense of completeness and fulfillment. Maybe that is why breaking apart was not so easy for me for so long. Because as bad as the bad sometimes got, it never escaped my mind as to how much I loved the whole. I still love the whole. My only obstacle now is my stubborn mind, trying to make my equally stubborn and asinine inner self to bow down to its will. This is easy enough when I can rub away the old and start away with a clean slate. I seem to have stumbled upon something I don't want to rub away. I can't seem to bow down to the logic of my mind... this time. You my dear, are the most wonderful virus that has ever infected my heart and soul; the only thing to have so embarrassingly overpowered my mind, and who after all those weirdly negative moments that would have made me not think of another person twice, can still make me fill with true warmth with the slightest thought. I will always miss you, and I will always love you.  

Siblings

There was a rift, not too long ago, among my sisters, so much so that it bordered on hatred. Lawsuits had been filed, claims of the other being "dead" to the other was mentioned with absolute sincerity. But then, the next moment (i.e. a year later) it's all forgotten. This has pissed me off. I don't know what bothers me more about it - whether the initial point is full of shit, or the final point. One or the other is, and the whole pointless drama pisses me off. I find it increasingly hard to relate and understand these members of my "family". They seem more strange to me than most people I know, and are by far the strangest of the "close ones". For all my "bigger picture" perspectives that I try to adopt, they remain to me the most elusive and hard to grasp of all the human cases I know of. Everything else and everyone else can make sense with increasing information. But these guys.... certain consistent pictures do crop up, and they aren't pretty. It disappoints me, and saddens me. I don't know what I border more on - pity or shame. I'm happy for their success, but I know that it won't matter to them what I think. I know it wouldn't matter what anyone does think. That, in itself, is the heart of the tragedy. I've witnessed these pinnacles of conceitedness, these hogs for wealth and power, these beings of immense ingratitude towards their roots with an immaturity that is breath taking (in a really bad way).  I've witnessed this with disgust, and in their own way I guess, have helped me to try my best to take the opposite path. So I guess I owe them for what I value, but they still do sometimes take the revulsion cake (like right now).

Anyone who knows me personally well enough, knows I haven't had the greatest family upbringing one could have. But all things considered, for me right now it's just a matter of the past. My feelings at the time are no more significant to me today than all those other things that affected me so seriously as a child and toddler; it's all just relative to my (developing) state of mind in the past. As for the present, I'm extremely grateful that I do have this couple of people in my life, who ... through ebbs and flows, allowed me to pursue what I presently am with different levels of belief. There are a great many times, at least over the past couple of years, where I didn't believe in myself to carry on. When it all goes to shit, it does help that there are these two people who believe, based on the work you've put in (rather what they THINK you put in) and the way you reveal yourself to think and feel, that one day golden rays of sunshiny truth will shine out of your ass and will help make things better for yourself and other people. In those shitty days for me, apart from the driving force to prove the ones that snicker at you wrong, there is the equally potent driving force to validate the beliefs of those that have stuck with you. I'm glad I have these two, and right now the desire to become the person of their belief is stronger than any other driving force I can invent.  I only want to pay them back, in every way I can.

Why the hell...

... do I want so badly to belong to an environment I AM not meant for by my present nature, and thus spend a considerable amount of time there.... as opposed to diving head first into that environment which I am SO perfectly designed for by the circumstances and environments I had faced earlier? I am like a fish, that could be an "amazing fish" if I just decided to go into the deeper waters, where I would quite easily be able to probe the deepest depths.. something I, as the fish, am quite aware of by simply examining the nature of my body. But rather, I spend half of my time in the shallow waters, and half on the shore, all this dictated by the tides. I'm drawn to the shore because I've been led to believe it's not a lonely place, unlike the deep waters which I expect to be dark and desolate; but all the evidence I have seems to suggest it is just as lonely (if not more). Why then do I continue to flop so clumsily on the shore, and not accept my reality of being meant for the deep waters?

Involuntary Blogging Syndrome:

I seriously have a problem - I'm presently quite addicted to blogging. What started out as a mild stretch of the creative muscles on the 24th of May has evolved into a full fledged desire to pour out every bit of the inane, pointless, historic, poetic and psychotic bits of information I have tumbling in my head like a drunk Verne Troyer in a malfunctioning washing machine. I have a series of PhD interviews in the next 3 days, and all I can think about while revising the physics material I have gone over and over and over and over and over (you get the message) ...again is, "gee, I wonder if writing about these series of incidents/ideas/wishes would be a good post. Yes, I can structure it like this and that... and that's a good start. And I can count on myself to evolve the writing style as I go along, quite spontaneously". Pathetic. I have lost my f'ing mind. I couldn't have given a rat's ass about this for almost three years, and now, after finding it amusing to post 4 posts on a given day after a long hiatus... I've got to say, the rabbit is, fucking, out of the hat! Or rather I should say the gerbil is out my ass... and he's Fa-laaaaaaaming! (I did eat some pretty spicy chilli last night... I guess that explains it...) .... AAAAHHH! What the fuck am I doing? I'm doing my usual shit again! I'm converting the cliched "rabbit in a hat thing" into a "gay gerbil in a straight man's ass" thing. Fucking me! Fucking LEMMIWINKS!

*Thinks to himself - "Cool it Lupine, cool it. Breathe. You're just being a bit random. That hasn't happened since a while so it's...oh shit. Oh Shit! Oh fuck..."*

Oh fuck. I just realized I am morphing into a tribrid version of my very,very old e-form of a random word twisting line factory, my more recent e-form of being an insult machine of a comment factory (i.e. LupineLooPine), and my actual spontaneous vivid imaginer of crazy things. This stupid fucking blog exercise has opened up Mandora's Cox!


FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! I'm SCREWED! Is anyone out there an unregistered BD? I know you BD's are full of BS (like quite a lot of MD's), but I'm willing to listen to any solutions to this .... this... disease.

Ok Lupine. Stop. Think. You haven't hit publish yet. It's not too late. You can still undo this! Don't hit publish! You don't need to re-enact the scene from basketball diaries and have a black man stop you from blogging while you scream that you need to... and then get cured after a week. Yes... type some more, it's all good. Let it out. Good boy Lupine, ... good boy. Just , don't, hit "you know what". For you. For me. For our schizophrenic werewolf self. There you go.... nice and easy. Back away. And ... don't hit pub..

Blast from the past - Insanity Crackers vol.1

The Unnecessary Background (Skip if you don't give a shit, straight to the "crackers" below):

I don't know if anybody knows this about me, but for the longest time... I wrote down almost all of my thoughts and e-xpressions.  This included any ideas that I had, which I considered "good", interesting or strange at the time; a considerable number of comments I wrote on websites, blogs and other places that I thought had either enough comedic value or "truth content"; physics ideas I thought were extremely interesting and important, and ideas about physics which I thought were worth investigating. This personal exercise began after I popped into existence, and went on till I began my Masters' Program, at which point I thought it quite important to buckle down, JUST focus exclusively on my self improvement in physics and get ALL other distractions and hobbies out of my way as much as possible (hence my lack of torrent use for movies and music, and my absence from the net). Turns out I got quite a social life back and ended up in a very deep relationship for a while... so the physics thing didn't quite work out ... as well as I planned anyway ;) . But, the point remains that the writing died.

Well, that's enough background that you may not have needed. The point of this post is to share a particular set of philosophical musings that I wrote on a YT channel I had a LOooooNG time back, one that hosted documentaries I found interesting.Long story short, YT blocked the channel because even if I did want to try to make the world a slightly better place by sharing and making accessible a bunch of documentaries dealing with art,science, history and philosophy that few people were aware of, but which were arguably topics that would increase their personal awareness and understanding of reality..... *DEEEEP Breath* .... thereby making them more informed and tolerant so as not to be swayed by manipulative external sources and forces like the public media, ....  it violated precious copyright laws on technical grounds, since YT making money off of them did not constitute fair play usage... technically..... *Another DEEEP Breath*... but this technicality could have just as easily been bypassed if I simply bothered to use a video editor to speed up or slow down the video at some point of the video for a brief bit of time; such videos being immune from cop(yright)blocking. (If you are thinking that the explanation to make the long story short was longer than the story itself, and are chuckling at the "irony".... congratulations for having the thought,but it was intended! That was the thing that was tickling my brain to make me do it. It's not an unintentional ramble by a deranged man! It's an intentional textual expectoration by a half witted gnat twat from curry land! Why doesn't anyone get my damn humour?!! Why?!! ( <-- Ok, this was unintentional ( I meant the lengthy explanation about the humour behind the short explanation being lengthy.... and not the fact that I put another set of parentheses inside a set of parentheses.... and whoop, wouldn't you know it.. I've done it again! Just like Britney Spears. (Well... not like Ms.Spears. She makes crappy albums over and over. I on the other hand am fond of nested parentheses apparently. There's a slight difference)))).

What was I talking about again? Oh yes... I had a channel. And on it I took the chance to share my wisdom at the time in the interest of giving them something to think about... which is never a bad thing. I called these "insanity crackers", and I'm going to share a couple here now, and the rest later. Upon reading what I wrote in 2007, it's almost like an "aww, ain't that cute" feeling that I'm getting. It's like me listening to a younger brother, or a younger me! Oh wait  ...


The Insanity Crackers:

Insanity Cracker 1:
"Fear is what runs our lives- The fear of being destitute makes us collect more money than we would ever need, the fear of dying alone makes us go on those god awful dates, the fear of being alone get us on youtube, in chat rooms and Myspace to name a few...the list goes on.Fears lead to insecurities which lead to a cyclic destructive paths being formed, cycles which seldom truly end. Yet in all this we neglect our greatest virtue, our human spirit, which can see light in the midst of darkness, joy when enveloped with the shards of broken dreams. Defiant against the curse of memory and the gift of foresight. Does not the bum on the street find moments of joy when there ought be none? The objects of fear are immeasurably weaker than the latent strength we all possess, stemming from our indestructible human spirit."


Insanity Cracker 2:
"Honesty , is not a badge of honour to be waved around by those open individuals comfortable with their shortcomings, who enjoy tormenting those who are ashamed and/or in denial of who, what or where they are. No, honesty and particularly self-honesty is a tool to be used by an individual to realize who and where they are at a moment, and thus give them the power to consequently go and be where they want to be. Lying to others is perfectly fine both logically and practically, PROVIDED you either have no direct responsibility to the other individual, i.e some actual relationship, and wish to spare their feelings over a reasonably harmless matter, or in the case of lying actually being in the interest of a greater, larger and demonstrable truth. But whatever you do.. NEVER lie to yourself, as far as is possible before breaking down and going insane. To do so will only lead to self-denial and perhaps even self-destruction."

It's official. This is the greatest comedy video ever.

I've watched this video now... probably 25 times over the past 5 years. It has always made me laugh. When I watched Colbert's White House Correspondents dinner a looooong while back, and some of his shows after... I thought that even if I ever "cracked down" on comedy... if I REALLY had to that is, I could never ever think about bringing out humour in the wordy contrast in quite the way he manages to. The same holds true for a couple of bits and styles of other comedians that I've appreciated since my childhood. Well... as I've grown older, and consequently smarter and more observant, I don't think that it would be so impossible. But one thing IS for sure. No matter what I could have ever done.. or ever do, I could NEVER produce something as wonderfully hilarious as "Reh Dogg"'s - "Why must I cry". I have recommended this video time and again to people I know in person and online, at least those I thought that could truly appreciate the brilliance. The time has come for me to share it here, on this blog. It is a masterclass of pure unadulterated humour; a work of pure genius, even if the author may not have realized so at the time. Such a perfect confluence of subjects, objects and themes, and such a near perfect ridiculous contrast of "actual versus intentional", shall perhaps never ever be achieved again by the human race. Reh Dogg... I "bow" ,before thee. You do make me cry, with laughter... every single time I watch this Kohinoor diamond of a video.

Yes, that's right people. You saw correctly. That was a man, crying and lathering himself up in the shower.... with a loofah... singing "why must I cry", while crying .... for 4 minutes! Did you hear the "boo-hoo-hoo"'s at 1:19 and 3:40? Did you see the "bad ass" gun loading at 1:44? Did you hear the lyrics? When, I ask you, when has something containing so many things that are just so wrong, produced something so very, very right? Do you still think I overplayed the genius card? Just think about it ... if you can! I tried,... and it blew my mind! I still haven't found it...

When the world changed for me; the moment my present self "clicked" into existence

I can trace back the dawn of my present self to a particular thought, though I can't trace back the date at the present moment. I know however, that it was in December. I was 18 years old, had completed high school (barely) .. and was not doing anything. Well strictly speaking, I was taking this computer class I was totally uninterested in and was forced into taking, so that my future was going "somewhere". I was looking at a year of having no academic work under my belt, and I couldn't care less. In fact, at the time, I didn't care about much other than my physical training. I had no drive for the future -  I didn't know who I was, I didn't know what I wanted to do, I just didn't have any idea or interest in it. I never considered myself stupid... consciously anyway, but I did buy into the image that my grades for a long time did reflect something about me to some extent. My weakest subject going by grades was mathematics, the subject on which all achievement in my present line of work and future career will depend on. I thankfully do have a decent enough ability in mathematics, so my future isn't as bleak as one would think... but at the time I did accept the label. I did let it define what I thought about myself, and what I could do.

Nothing motivated me until late October that year, when I stumbled across an article by Stephen Hawking. He explained some stuff about black holes. He mentioned the "holographic principle" in a line. He talked about String theory resolving a problem he had for many years about the "information paradox". All these fancy words, theories and concepts seemed interesting, but apart from being new aspects of the world for me, it didn't do much. But another thing he was talking about a lot was quantum mechanics, and specifically its implication on our understanding of physics. He was building up to what quantum mechanics had to say about "spacetime", and even he was just making guesses as no concrete theory exists on it. Now this quantum stuff was really stroking my mind the right way! He did end this article by saying that despite saying since the 80's that "the end of physics was near", he was quite sure that the end was really near THIS time, i.e. string theory would be completely solved. He was wrong, and I didn't get most of it. But that quantum stuff sure as hell was interesting!
While I sucked at most things, I did know how to use torrents. A quick search of "quantum textbook" on the site demonoid.com at the time got me a bunch of physics book torrents. In the collection was a book by David Griffiths that really hooked me. Something about his style of presentation in asking pertinent questions every now and then and then proceeding to answer them really appealed to me. I started with the last chapter to get an idea of what quantum mechanics was really "all about". It conjured up thoughts in my mind. I couldn't get around the idea of how the computer table in front of me was solid, but if I were to zoom in, it wouldn't be so "dense". I had a perverse idea of quantum mechanics at the time and imagined that  there really was this "wavy" reality to it - actual waviness. How could both of these be true? What was the table... really? That's the first time a "really" question even occurred in my head.. as far as I can remember. At least it was the first time I asked it with this severe an intent. His book on Electrodynamics furthered this new questioning phase, specifically the only chapter I was truly interested in reading at the time - the last one on Special relativity. I realized what I thought I knew earlier about the theory was wrong, but what the theory actually had to say was far more fascinating. Changing your speed altered your perception about space and time - when and where an event occurred, the scale of objects and the passage of time (All the words I'm using here correspond to the thoughts I had at the time. They are NOT terms I'd use now. If they are wholly wrong, I'll correct it, or call it "perverse" as I did earlier. Else I will forgive my 18 year old self  ;) ). The theory mandated that things were relative. But was it? I really wanted to know how to figure out the answer to these questions. I knew that the way things seemed depended on the scale, or your frame... things looked a certain way depending on the "frame" you chose (by "frame" here I thought both a "small scale frame", and a frame moving at a higher velocity. It depends on the what "reality" we were concerned with - the fuzziness of objects, or the fact that they can expand and compress). Well then, which frame could be more correct, and why? The answer came a month later to me while I was walking my dog  (It ought to have come sooner, but I relied heavily on incubation at that point in time... I had no understanding and ideas to work with). If you look at things from one "frame" and it explains more things than some other "frame", it ought to be more correct. I thought about why General Relativity is "more correct" than Newton's idea - it simply explained more phenomena than Newton's could. It incorporated more. Can one special relativity frame explain more than some other? Nope, they're all equally valid, and it truly is "all relative" here. Does the quantum frame explain more. Yes. Quantum can explain Classical, but not vice versa. I remember this thought occurring to me in early December, and I wasn't as elated as I was then since the time before I was a teenager! What a damn rush!

All of this happened, but not a thought on my future. Not a thought on who I am, who I should be, and so on. That thought train had to wait till a week before Xmas. I began to try questioning my own personal and social reality. I was bothered about why I hadn't learned some of the stuff in math and physics the way I did, as it really was so EASY. Calculus was EASY... why didn't I get to learn from Apostol? Physics was EASY... why didn't I get to understand those damn formulas for Electrostatics? Those bastards at school simply taught us rules, and gave us no understanding. Their grades have no value, I thought. What did it mean to have a degree saying you have 95% marks or 50% when you really don't know much a week after the exam is done, or understand anything in general? ... Nothing! It's not something that indicates anything meaningful about you, it's just a.... a "label". I remember having felt cheated and lied to. I was made to believe something had more meaning that it actually did, and the belief in that meaning influenced who I was and what I attempted. And why DID I get cheated and fooled this way? Answer - Because I didn't bother to question what those damned pieces of paper really were.... I didn't bother to ask the basic question - "Does this report mean anything, and if so, why?" . Had I just bothered to ask this simple question, my perception of things and my self confidence would have been totally different! I should have known what really is, and then should have based my life decisions around that! If I did that, I probably would have been totally different right now and not so lost! I probably wouldn't have lost so much OF so much; time among other things! If I do that, I have nothing to fear, because I'm basing it on reality... something I can defend anywhere, and to anyone. All I have to do is get informed, be honest about what it has to say and find the most general framework, and ask questions. That's... it!
                                                                                         *CLICK*
I had that thought the week before Xmas, but I have no idea on what date. It was either a Tuesday or a Thursday. Either way, it was the most significant thought I had in defining the kind of person I would be from then on till now, and will probably be for the rest of my life. Even if the thought won't end up being so important in the future (which I doubt), it started a path that got me to understand the scientific method, and the appreciation of THAT will never leave me for the rest of my life, for sure! I called the moment a "click", but really... it was a "pop". Realizing I could understand reality and defend it in the face of whatever society had to say by questioning "them" and showing them to be wrong made me feel damn good for some reason. It wasn't just my present mind that popped into existence, it was also my balls.

P.S: The thought may seem trivial to most, and perhaps it is. To question the validity of societal labels is not so big perhaps. But it was to me. For me it wasn't just the matter of questioning... but also the scale and intensity of it - the whole magnitude of the error that can result by not doing it, and the massive implications it can have on a person's life if they choose to buy into the bullshit. I didn't have any friends or social situation of any kind at the time.... it simply went into hibernation. All of this was quite ideal in setting the stage up for my development... which despite all my present imperfections (not surprisingly- social being the most significant one) has led to me getting at least something right!

The most infamous moment involving me from my University days.

This video was recorded in my first year, first semester... nearly 3 years ago. Back in those days... well, kind of like these days (and come to think of it... always) , I did't care much about my appearance. But on this particular day, my belt snapped, and since I didn't want my jeans to be by my ankles...  I just tied whatever was left of my belt around my waist in a seemingly harmless knot. I didn't do this in front of a mirror, and so unbeknownst to me the end result appeared .... somewhat peculiar, to put it mildly. What's going on in the video is that I'm trying to contact the lab assistant in our department to get the keys for the lab... in order to get the bag of a fellow student/friend who had left it in there (It was near closing time of the department). The one whose bag is inside is the one who is carrying around a broken remnant of my belt at the start of the video (.. for some mysterious reason). Anyway.... you need to watch till near the end of the video (at 2:07 to be precise) to get what the hub-bub was about. This incident is infamously known as "the belt incident".

Update: I should have corrected the title, but I think it's better for me to clarify further out here. The titles validity really depends on what one calls "infamous". Was there really an incident as whacky as me running around stark naked in the 9th grade in my school (for a reason I shall not mention here)? Nope. university was far more sober for me. But, there have been moments where "the usual things" did happen... like pissing off lecturers for all the WRONG reasons, leading to me debating them in the classroom. Other usual things are crazy observational moments like these ... of which this is the most memorable I guess... rather than "infamous". Arguably however, by any measure, the most infamous moment is where I pissed off the whole senior batch in my University, to the point that they wanted to gang up on me. While I was ready to "go down fighting as long as I took some of them down", I had something at the time I have never been able to count on for much of my life - friends. Yes.... they had my back. The wolf in this rare moment was not alone. He had a pack of sorts.Enough of this.... on to the incident.
Every year our department hosts an event.... a festival, with games, quizzes, plays,etc... and food. The freshers normally host and plan the thing, and the seniors provide some input, help and general cooperation (Masters is a two year course here... so we just have freshers and seniors, but some PhD students come in the "seniors" bracket as well).  In our year, the seniors were being a pain in every way possible. Some of them refused to pay the amount per student as was calculated to get the event going, some of them tried to bully their way and ideas into some events... which annoyed me not only due to it happening, but also for the "freshers" wimping out all the time. All the while I stood on the sidelines. I was only affiliated with the quiz event, and it was just me and my friends doing the whole thing. No one messed with us... for whatever reason. But while the festival was going, some of the seniors were protesting the details of the 'Aantakshari' event (Aantakshari being a game where you sing a song, and the next team/person continues with another song starting with the ending syllable of the previous teams song). Now, I hate the game in general and would not have participated (and did not later on) in my wildest dreams,  but having them boycott the event on the day of the event, chiefly because of a chosen professor not being involved because the prof was busy... just pissed me off. When I see something beyond a certain level of stupidity, I always take it upon myself  to talk and act and get some "non stupid" result. So I went in the room, and started talking to this "representative" for the seniors. After thoroughly criticizing his views on the matter at hand, and showing how they were unreasonable and/or illogical, he decided the best way to go was not logic, but an idiotic phrase (which had no point in being said, and made no sense since I had addressed the issues he brought up and showed him to be a total douche nozzle). He said "To make a clap, you need two hands". I responded " First" , and then without saying anything snapped my fingers onto the base of my palm and made a clapping sound. He made a disgusted face at this. I followed the demonstration by saying " Second, while I would call the freshers a hand, I wouldn't call the seniors that. They're by demonstrated overwhelming evidence, some other body part". He didn't seem offended at this, and I thought he didn't get it to be honest. He just left seconds later, and I felt quite accomplished. I thought that I had done it once again - If I couldn't reason with the irrational opponent, I verbally put him in his place. Next thing I know.... as in ten minutes later, as I was enjoying a snack outside near the badminton court, out storms the "representative" with some fifteen odd seriously pissed off seniors. They stop, the representative points at me, and I just look right back at them with a face suggesting "Great. More stupidity". They storm towards me... but stop just short. They decide to go straight to the person/ our batch mate next to me. Incidentally, this person they went to, my classmate, was "running the show" .... not because she was elected to do so, but rather due to the manifestation of her megalomaniacal tendencies and her desire to be in charge of all things in general. (That, and our near collective fresher desire to have nothing to do with the stupid event; she was the only one that gave a damn ). Anyway, so they're talking to her at earshot from me about me calling them "asses". This offended me for two reasons - 1) I clearly meant they were dicks, and the freshers and seniors had a relationship that could at best be described as "jerking off"! Ass? What the hell? What kind of relationship could that mean? At best one could say that our department is a shit factory, and the seniors are the ones that are "pushed out" into this toilet of a world. But still, that would make them shit ... not ass, and why would the freshers in any case as hands be in contact with them?! (Doesn't anyone get my comedic brilliance, I thought at the time.) And 2) I'm right fucking there! Don't be a rude shit/ass/dick... or whatever you consider yourself to be.If you have a problem with something I said, clarify it with me. I'm more than happy to explain it.  So I walk up to the gang and ask them once " Excuse me, is there a problem?" . They ignore me collectively. Man... to be ignored by one person is easy enough, but either I pissed them off so badly that none of them wanted to look at me.... OR they planned that none of them would look or talk to me. Either way... I pissed them off quite a bit  :D . So I go further " I couldn't help overhearing, and I think you're talking about me". One of them, "Mr. I" says "We're not talking to you". I retort "That may be, but I'M talking to you! I'd be happy to clarify any doubts you may have about what I said". At this, the guy mumbles with some of the others, and they approach me looking insanely pissed. I crack my knuckles and think "Woohoo! A fight!". At this point, those party poopers I call friends intervene. One goes ahead and talks to "Mr.I" and tries to take the group with him, with considerable success. Another friend tries to convince me to walk away. I boldly proclaim that I have no problem discussing any matter, and if it goes somewhere else... I can handle that to some effect as well. Finally, being coerced with a promise of coffee... I leave. After this,... my mind was horrified at how people form groups over anything. It made no sense in saying "the seniors are acting like this or that" to mean ALL seniors. I clearly meant the jackasses that were acting as such, and only mentioned the term "seniors" because that's how it was being discussed with me by their "representative". I came up with an idea that we (me and my friends) should call ourselves "The Shangles" (word just popped in my mid for no reason), and that should anyone say anything bad about the Shangles anywhere, we'll just gang up on them and threaten to beat them. Doesn't matter if it made sense or not, or if it was harmless. We'd just be looking to kick ass. I must in the interest of honesty admit that this incident did end up fucking with my mind some days later. I end up thinking about things obsessively to figure out more rules and patterns, to extract as many lessons and ideas as I can. Something in that thought process did affect me. But on the given day, it was just bemusement and jokes all around, with my friends nervously looking over their backs, secretly thinking about how much of a social n00by dumb ass I am to get into shit like this.

The Devil Within

An explosion of anger and hatred,
Blowing out steam when its boiling hot,
No consideration, cares about nothing,
Flowing violent truth on the whole fucking lot

Cross my mind once, you'll feel the wrath,
That was bottled up deep inside, but poorly,
World is black and white, you'd better be right,
Be prepared for a scene that's perfectly gory

I wish I were calm, that I was under control,
Try my best at most times to keep it under wraps,
Sometimes however, the shit gets too much,
My mind loses out to the lost soul in the gaps

His pain and anger seems to have no bound,
Feels cheated and robbed, he scowls and frowns,
Sees red, feels yellow, yet darkness abounds,
Wishes for death, but will take everyone down

This then is my Devil within,
A dozen Hail Mary's couldn't get him back in,
I pray that I find, that God in my mind,
That will vanquish this demon, and salvage my life

Waking Life

I would give anything to go back 2 years, 5 months and 4 days back.... I would double that to go roughly 8 years back. The consequences of choices in these periods haunt my waking hours as much as they do my dreams, in some form or another, and never to an intensity that is in any way remotely insignificant. Whatever I do, the slate is never clean; the memory never gone. All my "wisdom" and knowledge, all my understanding to make sense of it ... that this in a very consequential way had to be, doesn't in any way make me not wish so strongly that I had done the improbable at those times. Some were less improbable than others, some were just elementary bad choices with a severe, catastrophic runaway effect. The wish to redo is all the same. It sounds terrible coming from me, for I wished that all that thinking, all this logic and honesty that I have exercised to some slight capacity, would have provided closure and growth and helped avoid resentment. But how strongly I feel it now... in this period, a psychological cancer consuming me so mercilessly. While there are good days and bad days, the trend undoubtedly is that it is getting worse with time. I still believe (and hope) that being as honest as one can with oneself is what will save anyone. To accept and try to move on with a thought out plan .. a solution, and to accept the unforeseeable deviations and setbacks that may result from following it. The only thing I can hope to do, the only solution I see... is to make my environment as honest a reflection of my reality as I can manage, and hopefully find the strength to survive in this world despite what my heart and mind will agonizingly scream out from the abyss. I hope to find the "general answer" some day , and on that day I hope I give enough of  a damn to overcome the cynical side of me so that I might bother to share it (the main thing that got me started on this journey so long ago).

"Life" (My attempt at depressing myself)

Each passing day,the story's the same,
Try to make the most, try not to digress,
I open my eyes wider, harder... longer,
But it only gets darker,it only gets less

Who I was keeps slipping away,
grains of sand in a fractured hour glass,
I try to stem the tide, try so hard to hide,
But time only makes more real, my future void

Tried to find solace in company, but it's a biological scam,
fragmented people trying as hard as they can,
to be something more than the sum of their parts,
the story always ends with a chosen drug, and broken hearts

Tried to find solace in being something more,
till I noticed I'm smaller, and still on square one,
'cause I've given all I've got, I'm all but lost,
the salt in the wounds - what I sought was always naught

Then I realized that solace was meant for the blind,
those that can't see, and have no need to hide,
those who might seek, but find joy in whatever they find,
they're the only ones that don't end up losing their mind.

(P.S: I'm not depressed.... but I was trying to be bleak this morning. This is the result.)

Pubeocracy

I've been floating around a "radical idea" regarding voting for quite a while now, and I thought I'd share it here. The idea is simple- To make voting not an inalienable right, but an acquired right; a privilege. You've got to clear a screening test that will test you on your knowledge of current affairs, on present policies of the country or state, and on the policies being advocated by the people running for office (along with other aspects of their background if need be). Now reading this I know you're most probably thinking - "That's insane" . But really, it is very elementary. Agreed, it would be very tricky to set up such a system and procedure, especially when starting out with such a corrupt system to begin with, which is present to a different extent in virtually every part of the developed and developing world. They would obviously not favour such a system for obvious reasons that I'll get to in a bit. But getting back to the main point at hand, ignoring the question of how to set it up (which is by no means impossible), why is it so crazy? Think about it. The only criteria for a person to vote, technically speaking, is that they have pubic hair. That's it. Everything else is assumed.... quite falsely at that. That they'll be politically aware - false; that they'll be pro-active - False; that they'll vote in the best interest of their country - false; that they know what is in the best interest of their country because they know of the major issues of the country at that time, and the relation of the country with other nations - false,.... and on and on. A major reason why democracy at present doesn't work is that politicians are simply bought by corporations, and lobbyists, and so you largely are voting for puppets. But another part is that people simply don't pay attention to what the situation of the country or state is, what the policies being pushed by the candidates are, what are their track records,etc. The moment you have a populous that is aware of these issues and takes their ability to vote as a serious right that needs to be exercised, you'll  just as suddenly have a system which will put immense pressure on the political system which will permit no phonies, as it will be constantly scrutinized. The whole buying of politicians thing will be harder, new ideas will be required to fix old problems, and people will be able to determine if they make sense or not with regards to their knowledge of the issue. It won't be perfect, it won't be flawless, and it will have setbacks... but over time, there will most probably be a definite trend of progress, where by progress I mean making definite strides forward in fixing outstanding issues (market stability, development and prosperity,global standing, etc) .
That is what democracy ought to be, if you ask me and if I dare wish it to be such. You may very well retort that classically or conventionally that is not the true definition (which anyway would not be a wholly accurate thing to say), but even if it were... I then say change the damn definition. For me, the definition of democracy as is is not what's most important. The question ought to be: What system involving the participation of people will be the most productive, and will lead to maximum efficiency, ...both being seen with respect to the country or state? If that is the question, then just screening people on the basis of their age, irregardless of what they know at a bare minimum (ideally, what they understand should matter, but that is probably impossible to test in this context completely) is absolute lunacy... and I hope you agree.
When people vote of course some are informed, and some are not. The net effect by appropriate weighting , is that the impact of the informed cancels out with the impact of the uninformed, and all that you're left with are the constructively added up pubic hairs. Admit it, you know it .... we have a Pubeocratic system. Nothing more. Perhaps, something less.

Dear Allahabad

Oh... I'm in such a giving mood today! I wrote the following poem a week ago, after one of the worst travel experiences of my life finally ended. It was in a "city" in India called Allahabad, a hot, horrid place, with terribly undeveloped.... everything, especially roads, virtually no traffic signals, and some of the worst "hotels" you can possibly imagine. You literally cannot travel 750 meters in the "city" without seeing at least 3 cows (I checked... I'm serious). It has hideous traffic problems, and it was worse than Dhaka as far as what I saw from both cities... and Dhaka in Bangladesh as some of you may know, is the most densely populated place in the world, with probably the worst traffic jams. For me, Allahabad was worse. It has nothing to do with density, it's just that their roads are thinner than pubic hairs. Annnyway, in other news, Allahabad suffered a tragedy yesterday (as of this writing) in a bomb being exploded in a slum area,... and 4 or 5 people died. So if you're from Allahabad and have stumbled here.... I do feel sorry for you, but I seriously hate your city. If you dislike me for this post, that's fine, but please... I insist, let it be for the content of my poisonous poem, and the aforementioned lines, and not for the timing of this post. I'm a busy guy who forgets stuff... so I might forget to post this, and I really don't want to do that. So yeaaa... sorry for the timing, and for you living in such a shitty place.

So yes, I was there to attend an interview for an institute that I was shortlisted for. Unfortunately.... there was no accommodation provided, so we all had to fend for ourselves. Long story short, the first 24 hours in the city was really, really terrible. I hardly slept at all , I ate two samosas, and to travel to this institute by the only means of transport till there.... which is 20 kms from the main city, it takes a little over an hour due to miscellaneous reasons. I didn't get through by the way. My interview was good, but as the poem will reveal, my written test was done without sleep... which probably cost me my PhD from this place. This "place" by the way is one of the best in my country, and it's a tragedy that it's located in a festering hell hole. Without any further ado.... the poem (my attempt to find something silly and funny after an academic tragedy):

Oh Allahabad, you crappy hell ho',
A bovine slum more than an actual city,
Shoud've been clear from the get go,
that you were gonna be totally shitty

Landed in your domestic airport,
that really is a military base,
Can't handle more than a plane a day,
You don't even have baggage claim

Drove into the cursed center,
In a taxi that was a broken down van,
Once he let me know the rate per kilometer,
I thought "I'm gonna smack you, as hard as I can"

Couldn't find a place to stay,
'Cause it was wedding season,
Finally believed the lies of a cycling rick,
Come to think of it ... for no rhyme or reason

He got me booked in "Lakshmi Hotel",
Oh, how I wish now that I had thought some more,
It was so damn hot that I ended up taking,
a shower in a bathroom with no walls.. or door

The room I booked was supposed to have an air cooler,
Pity they didn't tell me that someone stole the fan,
After a night of baking heat, no food and constant yelling,
You bet your ass, in the morning I ran!

Went to the golden institute that called me,
Hosting interviews for the chosen few,
Asked them politely if they could have a room for me,
They said "Buddy, you're smart, but hey.. fuck you."

Now regrettably returning to my wretched room,
In an autorickshaw where there's no room to sit,
Reason being they fit 12 in a vehicle meant for 6,
The worst part - my face received someone elses spit

I so would have looked for another room,
But all I could do was crash in my own sweat,
It was 46 degrees centrigrade, 115 degrees fahrenheit,
A temperature at which you really wished for your death

4 hours of sweaty,restless sleep later,
I ran out again, I swear I could yell,
Traveled for 2 hours in desperation,
I finally found an actual hotel

I smiled and cried, and ran inside,
The a.c. filling me with joy and mirth,
Till I suddenly realized something,
That guaranteed me six feet under the earth

The golden institute had the test tomorrow,
And I haven't slept a decent wink,
I'd better pull off an all-nighter,
Or else they'll toss me like spunk from their slink

I'll cut to the chase, it was bearable from there,
And sadly, I did not get through,
But going back to Allahabad is something,
that being at gun point wouldn't get me to do.

Someone's totally fictitious 2 year journey inside the perilous labyrinth of love

• Hmmm, this woman is really interesting. She has the potential to be my best friend.
• What the fuck? She wants to kiss me? She's kissing me. Ok... this is weird
• Think (narrator), what have you got to lose in all of this? Well, everything... your mind and heart. But... but, think of the reward! What if it works! I'll do it! *resumes kissing*
• I'm so much at peace! Plus making out is awesome! Physics and studies... what me worry? What me CARE?!!
• Errmmm... I think ... I think I'm in love with you. I can't stop thinking about you and want you around all the time.
• Yes, we're in a relationship. But I prefer not to think of it that way. Too binding... it ruins everything.
• We are SO in a relationship. I'm hers and she's mine! Woo HOOooOOO! Nothing can fuck me now.
• Babe... I need to think about physics and my future for a while. I'm not getting the time for the studies... my future will be fucked if I go on this way. I need a month or two to really crack down.
• Welcome back babe. Let's find that apartment you need.
• Awesome. You've got that job you need to have. Now you can feel "complete".. like you wanted.
• Cool... you've got your place. But ... it's not cool if I "stay" stay here? You don't want me to pay the rent, since I stay in the city... but I can visit? Errmm... ok.
• Hon, what's wrong? Ok... nothing. Are you sure?  ... Hon... you don't need to scream. I'll give you your space. I was just asking.
• Yes hon, I'll move my bag from the side of the bed and keep it in the corner. Sorry for forgetting.
• Ok hon... you're stressed. But you are yelling at everyone and losing your temper a lot. Maybe the job and the studies is getting too much to handle.
• Oh hon... so sorry you quit your job. But you do look more relaxed. (person a): Yeah, she looks so relaxed. She's the old (beloved) again. *group hug*
• Hmmm... we're only happy when we're in bed. We don't talk much anymore, she doesn't share much. It's just the stress I guess. It'll be better once all of this is done... whenever that is. Think long term.
• Picking up your old boyfriend from another city because of a promise you made to him a while back. It's ok. It's cool. I'm understanding. Go ahead.
• (Others): I don't know how he's so cool through all of this. I would be f*in batshit. *Narrator is honest enough to admit he's a little (cough) disturbed. He would not be if "they" were happily together though.. at the time*
• We're going on a trip tomorrow. This was distant, but nice. I love you
• Ok... why aren't you talking me now? You want your space I guess, but I don't get why you're happy with everyone else BUT me?!
• And we're back. Fuck that trip added more of a barrier between us. Things are really strained.
• What?! You're breaking up with me?! This is FUCKED UP! I have put up with shit in all of this and said absolutely nothing! No one else would have done the same! And after all of that... THIS! Fuck this shit! *storms out.... rides 25 kms to his own place*
• *immediately rides the 25 kms back* I'm sorry I acted like that. It was too much for me to handle. I'll try to be more mature, and accept this as just things not working out rather than a "rejection".
• Ok... I'm still coming over to this place. Why? I still want things to work out... but it's over. Meh... I don't know what I'm doing anymore. My life is absolutely shit. Hasn't been this shitty in years.
• "No, it's no problem. I don't mind sleeping alone on a mattress in the living room. It's cool." What the fuck am I DOING?!!! 
• Oh you came out. No... no... I was just falling asleep. Wait.... don't go. Please. I love you. *kiss*
• Ok... so we're done, but not done. We're getting the milk for free. That's fine. 
• Fine... so we are going out. It's nice and mellow. Lacks the sparks of round 1. We argue more often. But we've grown. Yea... that's it. We're more evolved now. The worst is behind us. It's only going to get better from now on.... eventually. 
• Oh. So you left town because you couldn't stand me anymore, you had a breakdown of sorts, and now that you are set back in your studies, you resent me even more? I've compounded on the resentment over you having left your job. You left that job because of me, because I couldn't give you space by not saying a word, becoming transparent, and only responding when spoken to? Oh fuck... this doesn't bode well for me. Ok ... women are weird. From now on I won't yell, curse or get upset anymore over anything around her.... no negative emotion display. I'll be my mellowest best. And absolutely NO honest talk with her. Good bye truth, good bye crying. She'll be better now.
• We're working it out right? It's much better isn't it? Anyway... it FEELS much better for me. She seems better. *shrugs* 
• YAY! I am done with this fucking University. Goodbye hell. Hello vacations. Oh, you're going home again. That's cool. I'll be looking to work with some professors anyway.
• Alright! Some guy in Chennai has taken me! And I love it here. But I miss you so much. Hmm... that's ok. You don't need to tell me anything. Less is more... I guess.
• I'm back! Man... doing the project and preparing for the tests simultaneously would not have been possible. It would have only gotten harder and more demanding in time. I'm just going to focus on the tests.
• Ok. I WISH there was fighting! It's mostly dead air nowadays. Unemotional. Why doesn't she love me? I've tried to do everything she wanted me to do. Can't she see that I've evolved? She says she does... but acts like she doesn't.
• The bed is the only good thing these days. Hmm... you have a nice new apartment, and the new roommates are nice. 
• Crap. My entrances thus far have gone bust. But I'm trying. What?! You've been avoiding me.. FOR me? To give me the "study space" I need?  *That's considerate I guess.... but if I had you, I wouldn't care if the world ended tomorrow, leave alone a stupid exam*
• Fuck. Our friend threw noodles on me because I jokingly called her a drunk. This is a bit fucked up. I'm apologizing my ass off... and I've really done nothing wrong. Don't people get jokes any more?! This is insane. I've done nothing wrong, but I'm apologizing. See... everyone says I did nothing wrong, and she probably acted that way because she was drunk. Our friend was drunk - that's it. But why do I feel bad? Yes... I need to explain off and resolve everything *Narrator often forgets key points sometimes - You can't reason with a drunk person ... sometimes*
• Ok, you don't need to call me when your friends are called over anymore. No... I'm fine. You're feeling fine and I can discuss anything? Ok... I resent the fact that we aren't sharing anything anymore. What is this? What do we have really? What are we?  .... What?!!!! What do you mean there is no us anymore? Yes, you did tell me you don't see us as something in the future, and it's really commitment that's keeping "us" together... but still, I thought there was some scope for the future. I 'm really trying my best every time I open my mouth and speak in this allowed decibel level, with pre-approved words to not upset you or "hurt" you, I try my hardest to watch whatever I say rather than being honest... and I am working on all those habits and actions I have that you don't approve of. Does that mean nothing? Ok... you've made it very clear that you don't see a future or anything else for that matter... and are trying to give it a chance as friends. But then why prolong this facade? What is THIS?! We're either friends, or we're something more. Which is it? What are we? Tell me once and for all... because I really am at the end of my tether this time. I've tried and tried, and at this point in time I am really tired. I have nothing more to give. I'm spent. And I've unfortunately come at a logical conclusion that this cannot work out, and when I come to a logical conclusion... it is beyond my ability to overcome it unless I learn something FANTASTICALLY new. So decide.
• Ok.. that was quick. Fine, we're done. I'm at peace. I've thought it through, and I had closure logically. It can't go on.
• Yes, it's nice for you to meet up with me. Yes, my exam is in a few days, and boy have I been working since you've been gone! I miss you emotionally, I still long for you, and I still love you.... but logically, it's done, it's resolved - it won't work out unless something new is attempted. Glad to see you're happy with me... that's refreshing. She's smiling... god how I miss her! How I wish....! But it won't work. Oh... you love me too, but find it too hard with me? That's ok. *Wait... why is this hug turning into a kiss. Fuck it... I'm not kissing back. Stand stilll ... just freeze. Good boy.. well done! You've finally grown a pair!*
• YES! I somehow cleared the merit list despite my crazy mistakes! NOTHING can ruin this mood I'm in now! Let's see you try God! You eff with me a lot fate... but I am on a huge high, and killing this mood is impossible! Fuck yea, 98 percentile! I'm getting called for interviews everywhere!
  What's that I just heard you say mutual friend, aka person a? Don't try to fool me! You can't. I'm not an idiot, though many may think so. Is it what I think it is?
  *Person a nods*
  Person a: "I can't tell you though... I promised her."
  Narrator: Ok... she's dating her roommate. FUUUUUuuuuuuUUUUCCK!!!! *bangs head on wall*
  
  The End. 

Update: I thought I'd add the song here that I was singing to myself for almost a month, right from the end of my trip to Bangladesh up to the Allahabad fiasco. I caught myself singing it AGAIN today... so yea, it's still playing in my head. Quite an appropriate song ...

The World's Dilemma / a random discussion aimed at giving you a cerebral massage

The world is pretty much... fucked. Or to say it more accurately, is constantly being fucked by certain people/groups whose actions and choices have a larger consequence on the world we live in. The real problem is that we let them. The real question is "why?". As a teenager, before the internet what it is today, I believed that the main problem is that we are all too mired in the habit of being both apathetic and distrustful; but fundamentally, if we could , we would make a difference. We would buckle down, do the "right" thing, and correct for errors like a good and proper democracy should.... if only we had the knowledge and capacity. If only. The habit made a lot of sense in the past, since our capacity to be truly informed on what is going on, leave alone making a difference, would have seemed like a fantasy. But with the internet, and its nature as of today... and what one could project about it in the future to within safe limits, there is absolutely no grounds to think that we can neither be informed, nor make a change. People are quite aware of this fact, and there have been a  lot of stupid "movements" created to create "change". For instance, the stupid "Kony"  movement that achieved nothing other than causing a jerk off showdown in San Francisco, and the Indian "Jan Lokpal" movement, that sounds pretty nice if you know nothing, but then sounds disastrous when you realize that what is being promoted is a parallel government with an unregulated body with nearly unlimited policing powers... without the ability of the members being incriminated. So "movements" like these take off in the "shit not hitting the fan" parts of the world, which may or may not even have a clear purpose (which is a major drawback of the "Occupy" movement/s) , are not carefully structured, are followed by people who haven't bothered to get thoroughly informed, and that achieve nothing... on account of it really being a jerk off movement in disguise (as my description attests to quite well). It has taken the "shit hitting the fan" situations in Egypt, Libya and Greece to really make the ones in power... shit their pants. And the fact that it takes such extreme situations of do or die, before people really do, that makes it clear what the real problems are.
1) People are too damn selfish: Think of "the prisoner's dilemma", that classic game from game theory. People will always choose the route that maximizes their chances. Given two prisoners caught in a crime, one prisoner will sellout the other if he can get a better deal, and odds are both will try this resulting in an outcome that is not the most "profitable" to either. And people do unfortunately think like this most of the time in all applicable contexts. It's precisely this driving force that make corporations, bankers and politicians screw people over time and time again. Their personal interests trump those of the people they serve or cater to, the environment, and everything else. Sometimes this is driven by sheer greed, sometimes to be competitive as in a political and business arena. Most of the time, I guess, it's both.
2)We don't have a set of "societal ground rules", aka the diversity problem : We live in a world where people choose to make science a matter of belief, and belief an issue of principle. All of this being a consequence of the aforementioned selfish point, coupled to that wonderfully disastrous property in humans to choose comforting beliefs over facts. But choosing comforting beliefs over facts in one thing, insisting that it should be what EVERYONE follows is wholly another. This gets nicely and thoroughly exploited by corrupt politicians and interest groups. I forgot to mention our desire to belong in a tribe, but sure, toss it in. The point stays the same.
3)Empathy: We have a limited capacity for empathy. When we did belong in small tribes, as we did for most of the 200,000 years we've been on Earth, it was quite easy to care about and suffer the consequences of our actions on account of being tribe leader. We simply cannot expect the same concern, or more importantly... the same level of concern out of our present leaders - business, state or otherwise, following their actions. It's this that makes waging wars and screwing the masses quite easy. ( This by the way is not a wishful thought. It's based on a couple of studies done on apes , a very interesting one was done in 2008, where I first got to know of this, and there have been studies on humans as well. I will try to find the link to the 2008 study and other interesting ones, and add it to the comments. The point is - empathizing with millions is impossible, and being unable to do that and have that level of personal impact as a consequence of ones actions makes the actions far easier to perform. It's one thing to think of starving people in Africa and feel bad... it's another thing to experience it personally. )

Having stated these it seems pretty damn bleak. After all, I've really just said that human nature and limitations is fundamentally to account for our shortcomings as a society, and there is no magical technology, no fancy app, nothing at all that will make much of a difference. Even if we had unlimited resources, it wouldn't do anything. You'd think that if there was plenty of water to go around, there wouldn't be the middle east crisis. But unfortunately, our society is structured in a hierarchical way (a triangular one)*, so that people at the top will have more influence.... they again cannot empathize with everyone, and they will follow through on the prisoner's dilemma route and look out for number one. You will have uneven distribution, you will have conflict. Mind you, this will be even in a system where we had EVERYONE equal, and I mean equal in a very strict way - same skills, talents, intelligence, etc, all the properties that go into deciding where one lands up in this hierarchy. If you try to fit all these people in the system, some will end up in the lower strata and fewer in the upper. In this case, luck and chance will have a dominant role in deciding placement, as opposed to our real world situation of having a better degree, having more talent, having influence, kissing ass, performing sexual favours, and so on. So even in a world with perfectly "identical" people, we will require this hierarchy for corporations, institutions and so on... and you WILL have people in the bottom ( This, by the way, is a pretty good argument for requiring a safety net to provide "basic needs" to all people in a society.... but I won't get into that). You could now imagine a future where robots did all our work, there was no hierarchy anymore, we DID have unlimited resources. In this world, it may be possible to have everything "right". But seeing how this is certainly not going to be in the near or even distant future, a solution ought to be sought.


I personally don't think it's hopeless for us. There are certainly solutions, but none that can be very easily implemented in the present. Indeed, getting some of these solutions going would lead to a Catch 22, and may thus never get going ever. I would have provided my personal solution/s (which are only two really) , but because they'd be a tad bit controversial, and because I'm as tired of writing now as you are by reading what I've written... I think I'll save it for later, if the desire and/or necessity arises. This anticlimactic situation of course does allow you to imagine your own solutions, or to just disagree and say "we're all screwed". Either way... you can end the movie any way you see fit, the play will follow its own course anyway.

* You might be wondering whether any other hierarchy other than the "triangular" one is possible... maybe "rectangular" one. Surely, not every hierarchy will lead to this "dilemma". Well, that may be... but I think we are stuck with the triangular one till we get the robots to do our stuff and take over us. Here's why. You need a system that is going to be stable in managing a growing population, and that has to cater to the needs of as many people as possible. You've also got to take into account human limitation. It is impossible for a person to effectively manage more than a certain finite number of people. So you need all those farmers and hunters, the sewer cleaners and so on. You need them to be managed, and those managers need to be managed and so on. When you take all of that into account, irregardless if we have a plutocracy or any other system with some other object of value (even a barter system), you will end up with this peculiar hierarchy, and this peculiar hierarchy is going to lead to disparity. It's what ensures you get what you need on a daily basis without having to do all that hard work yourself. It's what makes your day possible and reasonably comfortable, and what allows us collectively to grow the population. To have a stable system that caters to our exponentially increasing population, this hierarchy is just going to crop up.
(A shout out to my friend Mriganko Roy, with whom I had a vodka induced conversation that led to this addition in the post)


UPDATE: I have added my "solution" to the "dilemma" (I couldn't resist). You can find it here : http://lupineloopine.blogspot.in/2012/06/worlds-dilemma-my-rough-solution.html