Story of your life

 

Ted Chiang’s "Story of your life" is arguably one of the best short stories I have read. I read it sometime back and even saw the movie “Arrival” -adapted from this story. The movie though is interesting doesn’t really match the nuance of the writing, then of course there is limitation of medium. Good Hollywood movie is certainly a notch up, and this languorously developing movie is definitely at the top. The other day I read the story again. This is one story that stays with you for long time and influences your thinking.  Chiang has heightened sensibilities as also the awareness on wide range of field of inquiry from mathematics to linguistic to philosophy. Control over language and expression that exudes humanity and deep love while tries to understand the alien thoughts in the process creating a new way of thinking that further asserts humanity in an entirely refreshing way. Amor fati. Savor these lines that leaves you fascinated and rivetted 

“Humans had developed a sequential mode of awareness, while heptapods had developed a simultaneous mode of awareness. We experienced events in an order, and perceived their relationship as cause and effect. They experienced all events at once, and perceived a purpose underlying them all. A minimizing, maximizing purpose”.     

Human language is bound and limited by time and its sequential order. While the experience of wholeness of life in a moment transcends time. So the question here is: Is the language limiting the human experience or is it -accumulation of experience through time, enriching it by a new way of seeing the world? 

“For the heptapods, all language was performative. Instead of using language to inform, they used language to actualize. Sure, heptapods already knew what would be said in any conversation; but in order for their knowledge to be true, the conversation would have to take place” 

Ted Chiang’s "Story of your life" is strongly recommended. Read it, and then maybe you could watch the movie -it's a commendable attempt (short listed for Oscars). Stories like these needs long space of rumination and vast silence. It is a tremendous effort. Such a brilliant writer.