I had watched Memento a few years ago. I watched Gajini (Bollywood rendition) yesterday. Sadly all the latter left me with was this dull throbbing ache across my temples. The former, however, had made me think.
Have any of you read Michael Crichton's Prey? It talks about a nano swarm that escapes from its fermentation tank and wreaks havoc in the vicinity, harming a few of the inhabitants. Crichton very craftily communicates an idea of the self multiplying nano particle swarm that learns by itself.
Mark Twain said that ‘Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written.’
Seeming disconnect in the three "things" mentioned above viz. Films, Nano Swarms & Twain. However, there is a unifying factor in all of them. That being – Memory.
What are we today? What you associate with....or that which associates itself with you. Depending on perspective I think it is either or both. As you start your day, you go for a jog, make yourself the breakfast that you read about the previous day, go to places that you had marked out, meet people as per you plan, lookup the sports column in the local daily to check whether your team won the league title, work, play, log on to blogger, scribble on twitter, listen to your fav track, rev up the PS3 etc..... these acts define you. What you have done, what you are doing and what you intend on doing...with varying degrees of contribution, define you.
There are various and then a few more permutations and combinations to the fore mentioned.... or in some cases there are altogether new acts.... but all of them essentially follow a common trend line. Interactions (in person or through other media) and Ponderings (with self, on paper). I am sure this is oversimplification....but it essentially is the gist.
What are we without these 'Limbs?' What are we without, our phone, the newspaper, friends, home, work, past, car, family, email etc (No particular order is intended). Man, ladies and gentlemen, is a walking block of memories.
Even, what some of us would conveniently label as ‘seldom used traits’ such as, anger, sexuality (Oh! Ouch), jealousy, introspection, which might be vestigial to our existence, are still with us and play a part in defining us.
Can Barack Obama be defined without a mention of the Presidential race? Yes! I bet the impression that the lady who was the daughter of a slave, and who passed away post voting and watching him emerge victorious (notice how we define her), is different from the impression that we will have of him 1 year from now. We will after all be aided by all subsequent events that will taint/nourish our understanding of who the man is. Memories are NEVER static.
Memories are like the ocean.... different rivers, running across different regions, planes and plateaus bringing with them a flavor unique to each participant....and they all empty themselves into the ocean. But each drop has a story to tell... a different story albeit... but a story never the less. We are a moving block of memories... memories that fade and blossom... wane and bloom....with every instant. Our sub conscience itself functions on memories... how else do you explain dreams...memories of things of the past.... memories of fears combated....thoughts of days to come... they are us.
Which is why what Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) goes through makes the viewer shudder. That is how lost we are in the event of the prodigal 'slate' being wiped clean! ID is quintessential. In a day and age where even bovine creatures are getting tagged... not following suit is NOT an option.
The nano swarm, exhibited, what humans inherently are unable to… a leaderless group. We tend to associate such a group as one that lacks direction. The nano particles however managed Just Fine. Distributed intelligence, continuously evolving learning, group synthesis ensured that the particles not only existed but also managed to replicate human traits such as goal setting, defense formation, survival instincts etc. They managed this because; they continuously gathered and processed the information from the environment they occupied and without any angst, doubt or fear, carried out the requisite steps with clinical precision. They shared memories, they shared their learnings and they shared the fruit of their actions...'cause in all fair means... they were ONE individual, with every particle bringing in its own ounce of memory. A swarm of memories.
It seems that to meditate is not so much a process as a state of mind. It is a mind frame achieved when one can distinguish “You” from “Yours”.
Reiterating Mark Twain….you can define his coat, his tie, his hair, his skin, his achievements, his fears, his family, his life, his traits, his birth, his voice…. But can you define HIM?
Materialism is an appendage that has not turned into a vestige yet. Until You exists….Yours, most definitely will.
Have any of you read Michael Crichton's Prey? It talks about a nano swarm that escapes from its fermentation tank and wreaks havoc in the vicinity, harming a few of the inhabitants. Crichton very craftily communicates an idea of the self multiplying nano particle swarm that learns by itself.
Mark Twain said that ‘Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written.’
Seeming disconnect in the three "things" mentioned above viz. Films, Nano Swarms & Twain. However, there is a unifying factor in all of them. That being – Memory.
What are we today? What you associate with....or that which associates itself with you. Depending on perspective I think it is either or both. As you start your day, you go for a jog, make yourself the breakfast that you read about the previous day, go to places that you had marked out, meet people as per you plan, lookup the sports column in the local daily to check whether your team won the league title, work, play, log on to blogger, scribble on twitter, listen to your fav track, rev up the PS3 etc..... these acts define you. What you have done, what you are doing and what you intend on doing...with varying degrees of contribution, define you.
There are various and then a few more permutations and combinations to the fore mentioned.... or in some cases there are altogether new acts.... but all of them essentially follow a common trend line. Interactions (in person or through other media) and Ponderings (with self, on paper). I am sure this is oversimplification....but it essentially is the gist.
What are we without these 'Limbs?' What are we without, our phone, the newspaper, friends, home, work, past, car, family, email etc (No particular order is intended). Man, ladies and gentlemen, is a walking block of memories.
Even, what some of us would conveniently label as ‘seldom used traits’ such as, anger, sexuality (Oh! Ouch), jealousy, introspection, which might be vestigial to our existence, are still with us and play a part in defining us.
Can Barack Obama be defined without a mention of the Presidential race? Yes! I bet the impression that the lady who was the daughter of a slave, and who passed away post voting and watching him emerge victorious (notice how we define her), is different from the impression that we will have of him 1 year from now. We will after all be aided by all subsequent events that will taint/nourish our understanding of who the man is. Memories are NEVER static.
Memories are like the ocean.... different rivers, running across different regions, planes and plateaus bringing with them a flavor unique to each participant....and they all empty themselves into the ocean. But each drop has a story to tell... a different story albeit... but a story never the less. We are a moving block of memories... memories that fade and blossom... wane and bloom....with every instant. Our sub conscience itself functions on memories... how else do you explain dreams...memories of things of the past.... memories of fears combated....thoughts of days to come... they are us.
Which is why what Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) goes through makes the viewer shudder. That is how lost we are in the event of the prodigal 'slate' being wiped clean! ID is quintessential. In a day and age where even bovine creatures are getting tagged... not following suit is NOT an option.
The nano swarm, exhibited, what humans inherently are unable to… a leaderless group. We tend to associate such a group as one that lacks direction. The nano particles however managed Just Fine. Distributed intelligence, continuously evolving learning, group synthesis ensured that the particles not only existed but also managed to replicate human traits such as goal setting, defense formation, survival instincts etc. They managed this because; they continuously gathered and processed the information from the environment they occupied and without any angst, doubt or fear, carried out the requisite steps with clinical precision. They shared memories, they shared their learnings and they shared the fruit of their actions...'cause in all fair means... they were ONE individual, with every particle bringing in its own ounce of memory. A swarm of memories.
It seems that to meditate is not so much a process as a state of mind. It is a mind frame achieved when one can distinguish “You” from “Yours”.
Reiterating Mark Twain….you can define his coat, his tie, his hair, his skin, his achievements, his fears, his family, his life, his traits, his birth, his voice…. But can you define HIM?
Materialism is an appendage that has not turned into a vestige yet. Until You exists….Yours, most definitely will.
PS: Thanks Vini, for planting the idea!
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