World cannot carry white people’s burden any longer

Past few centuries colonial racists had assumed the burden of civilizing the world. Whether colonizing was natural in the power matrix that existed a century back is debatable. Without rule of law and civilized dealing any group or collective, even most individuals, located anywhere in the world with slight advantage than others will likely dominate and maximize their gain. So this blogger is not ready to brand only whites as racist –a virulent form of discrimination, nor the reason for colonialism. Any primitive mind will look for opportunity and weave reason to dominate, exploit and amass resources. West was able to provide civilized space for best mind to create values that sustain and advance civilization. Ofcourse there were many before like the Egyptians, Greeks and many more but they didn’t have the advantage of printing press, fast dissemination and consolidation of knowledge. Chance and choice created a favourable mix for advancement. Sophisticated philosophy, that sought to understand complexity of reality, created framework of inquiry hinged on critical thinking and reasoning hence science and technology –it also built on inputs from collective knowledge across the world. There is no debate that the West created framework for best minds to thrive and consolidate. What can be ofcourse negated is role of race. This could have happened in any part of the world, if all the critical factors had aligned. Not that it was fated but what is true is that civilizational advancement was primed in West with white people at the core of advancement. There is nothing racist about it. Nor is there any racism to understand that few centuries back this kind of advancement would have made people feel superior from the power they wielded and therefore create racial ideologies and exaggeration on this narrow premise, and in the context of the world they lived in they unleashed brutal exploitations to gain control. Therefore it is logical for colonial racism to have existed and indeed thrived till a century back. World was a brutal place. This doesn’t ofcourse mean that there weren’t humanist people among whites nor that among non-whites there weren’t individuals, or even collective, that had potential to be much advanced as we are today.  

It is therefore necessary to remove this baggage of colonial racism that is propped up by devious people (sometimes well meaning) into contemporary debate as if the world has not changed in last one century. I for one will strongly defend the contemporary world from infective incursions of history. Complexities of the world we inhabit and the challenges of future has no space for regressive values and illogical (indeed laughable) fractures of past. What needs focus is the present –the world we live in, which essentially means to remove the possibilities of repeat of the past. Past repeats if people are trapped and controlled in semantics and sensibilities of past and are disconnected from complexities of present and immense possibilities of future. Past repeats if people are not connected to the reality of their existence, and are systematically degraded into herd, through myths and fantasy as their senses and reasoning faculties are compromised. Herd by its very nature lack empathy and are unconcerned about broader ramification than what they are controlled to react. The urgent need for the world therefore is to remove possibilities of the past mindsets from the present, the regressive ways and values that affirm structures that sustain past brutalities -hence continuation of dehumanizing sensibilities and tragedy of history repeating. Any structure that segregates (specifically values that is sustained from past) and degrades is a live threat. Indeed, almost all conflict at the international to regional (to even societal and individual) can be traced to primitive values of past that are sustained by anachronistic structures controlled by devious people. Feudal structures severely undermine individual liberty and are persistent threat to democratic institutions and to the idea of democracy itself. When these are supported by powerful systems and influential people it becomes extension of primitiveness of past and immune to the progress of present and so eat into possibilities of common people’s life. Colonial mindset, entitled values –quite naturally extending to racism and supremacist ideas, no longer remains forgotten regrettable past but immediate threatening presence.

To create a semblance of civilized in this severely compromised dehumanizing value system the powerful feudal elite have worked out a compromise. This is the morphing of white people’s burden that we now face. It wouldn’t be much problematic if it were limited to weekend hedonistic get together. The influence of colonial structures and reach of colonial language around the world, particularly erstwhile colonies, makes it a serious threat to humanity. They have the power to control ideas and nurture narration across the world, particularly in poor neglected societies (many with mediocre corrupt well fed feudal elite –a trademark of post-colonial societies) through recognition and benefits (while suppressing inconvenient narrations). Semantics of control therefore infect discourse and bring back dead cold hand of history into reckoning, and thus the absurdity we face.  

Racist white Christians, neoliberal right, are blatant revivalist (this is true for all religions) hence easily isolated and rightly condemned. What is particularly sinister is humanist posturing by those white people who are nurtured under feudal and value system of exceptionalism. It is here, in this hypocrisy, white people’s compromise is streamed as exaggerated egalitarian concerns, lacking basic egalitarian foundation or humanity affirming values. They are desperate so as to not be exposed hence lose their control, they use semantics of concern and viciously control meanings and narrations. To associate with bleak reality of common people they manipulate egalitarian semantics of socialism and thus pose as neoliberal left to represent. They create narrations of multiculturalism and relativism (mystifying the crass, normalizing the vulgar) to nurture worst of people and regressive values from across the world at the expense of marginalized, and ofcourse diluting quaint ideas of multiculturism and inclusive values (which then fuels competing binary of myth by neoliberal right). Regressive barbarian cultures and practices, especially the one couched in the garb of faith, has severely degraded societies across the world. Humanist ethical concerns in a religion cannot be classified and pushed out as atheism to maintain sanctity of barbaric values and primitive practices under the garb of faith. It needs to be made clear in no uncertain terms that you cannot be part of a religion without strongly condemning the regressive mentions in holy books, scriptures, traditions so on and persistently question the degrading practices and traditions in the religion on every conceivable occasion. If you do not then you also have no right to practice that religion in open liberal society nor can be part of any human right activism. This hypocrisy cannot be kept hidden under faith or personal. This white people’s compromise has severely damaged human right concerns across the world. Common people can no longer take white people’s burden. Please don’t be our saviour. We have enough burdens as it is, indeed many insurmountable, and we cannot compromise our sense of reality, our only claim for survival, to fit in your manipulation. Neoliberal right revivalist jingoism of majoritarian supremacism is a known threat and can be resisted through rule of law and humanism. The neoliberal left’s opportunist minoritarian spurious identity driven posturing is much insidious as it not only make concocted grievances of neoliberal right credible but also nurture the worst as minority while usurping from the needy and marginalized. This elitist competing binary is the reason for increasingly lack of empathy and criminal inactions for truly suffering people across the world. The use of semantics of care and concern to work out opportunist narration is what makes it sinister. By nurturing and mainstreaming regressive values and practices they have severely undermined incremental gains of humanist egalitarian traditions over obscurantist forces by divergent communities across the world –which is now exploited by rightist. And with market driven media and chaos of social media nuanced traditions are now pushed out as outrageous and blasphemous. The loss is immeasurable.     

Strengthen democratic institutions, nurture human liberty and freedom, value critical thinking as indelible part of collective understanding. Always question, undermine, and deconstruct feudal institutions and values (that continue to shape global economic and local social institutions), ascriptive exceptional values, supremacist ideas and systems that dehumanize into herd. Use words carefully, understand its import and control. Words must reflect the complex realities of present with awareness of past and possibilities of future. Most importantly, please don’t be complacent. Your complacent classifications, simplistic understandings and narrations carry a heavy price for people across the world just, like the carbon emission, the effect are felt in far off places.                                                                  

 

The gap in time 

Sometimes I experience 

That I am part of infinite

That pursues me every moment

The world streams through me

Back and forth

Like a pulsating being

That connects everything in stream of light

Losing sense of time and space

All shapes commingled, blurred

Sometimes stacked, always dissipating

In a curving spiralling streaks of colours

As if in Einstein’s thought train

I anchor to get the shape of things

There is a surge of thoughts

Brief brightness, then the silence

The everlasting stillness

As it is meant to be    

 *Where acknowledgement is due: well I thought I will get away with it. You read something truly beautiful and are riveted to defining words and expansive world it unleashes that you want to replicate it. As long as you are adding to the world in your own perspective it is fine. It is patently wrong to copy words, eventhough it may not be the same context. And that is precisely what I did in the above poem, and since then it's been troubling me. I read this iconic short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (written in 1890 by Ambrose Bierce), it is such an amazing work of art that leaves you awestruck and deeply moved (simultaneously selfishly wistful for not writing something like this!). I haven’t come across the word “commingled” before and the usage here was brilliant. Meanwhile I was seeped into a framework of stretching-time-by-dying-mind after watching 1990 movie Jacob’s Ladder (Tim Robbins as always did restraint work of brilliance) as also 2005 movie Stay -it is difficult to enact the concept, it is a space beyond words, the movie therefore is kind of messed and ends up as an explanation rather than an experience (despite some brilliant actors –I like Naomi Watts- one of the best, I recall a movie about screen test or something where her instant change of character left me astounded. She is someone I like to keep an eye on). The last few minutes of Stay is remarkable in its impact. Coming back to Ambrose Bierce, I not only took the word ‘commingled’ but also the next word ‘blurred’ –truly unbecoming on my part. Ofcourse that doesn’t really take away anything from the above poem -it is also part of my awareness, I start to like it after few reading, and ofcourse the omniscient ChatAIs too rate it above average!                  

Increasing hazard of GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood)

With climate warming mountainous region along the Himalayan glacier have become particularly vulnerable. Himalayan region is changing rapidly. There is increased intensity and frequency of cloud bursts and intense rains. GLOF is adding to hazardous conditions as they become frequent with glacier melting, there is an increase in glacial lake formation in last few years. With glacial retreat the melted water collect as glacial lake and with debris (moraine wall) it can grow much large and triggered by rainfall, avalanche, landslides, seismic activities ('development' activities along the geologically unstable region). GLOF are extremely unpredictable and destructive, and set to increase in frequency and intensity according to latest report of UN. There is a need for increased investment in GLOF adaptive technology like early warning systems, glacier monitoring and local awareness.

*Yesterday's disaster in Uttarkashi (Dharali) is reported as cloudburst, not yet confirmed by experts. Looks like cloudburst but for the horrifying intensity and rapidity GLOF cannot be ruled out. GLOF remains a serious rapidly evolving threat for the region in the coming years. In 2013 a major GLOF in Uttarakhand left more than 5000 people dead.    

correction

 *correction from earlier post during India Pakistan confrontation. So, I gather from independent sources that Indian jets were shot down with latest Chinese tech -pointing to failure in intelligence gathering of technological upgradation by adversary. The earlier reports were therefore correct (but that doesn't exonerate the media which didn't have independent confirmation). This blogger stands corrected.  

The Chinese rise

Clearly authoritarian China is not only becoming a regional threat but an international danger. China is replacing US (and with madcap semiliterate US president and his lunatic base the demise is faster than expected) as a major centre of technological advancement, sports as well as culture -specifically contemporary Chinese literature. There is a realtime shift happening. If only China was democratic and inclusive country it would make world a better place. Sincerely hope people have more say in decision making. More than a decade back I mentioned about Chinese writing https://depalan.blogspot.com/2014/07/watch-out-for-chinese-talent.html I was reading Yu Hua, he is terrific. Since then I mentioned about Chinese American writer Ted Chiang (as also the movie Arrival, and later the connection between LLM so on) https://depalan.blogspot.com/2021/07/story-of-your-life.html Ken Liu (Paper Menagerie, really haven't read much as I am no longer into serious science fiction). 

Cixin Liu, the China based writer has emerged as significant science fiction writer. The Three Body Problem is a well known work (now available on Netflix), an aware sensitive writer with enhanced skills (interestingly in the original Chinese version he put the criticism of communist regime somewhere in the middle to hoodwink censor). The Three Body Problem is also a sophisticated metaphor against forces working against critical thinking and therefore periling  human race. I also happen to read graphic novel Yuanyaun's Bubbles -a science fiction story of possibilities, I like the sensibilities here. Ofcourse it is an interesting story but the mindset that is being presented is what makes it valuable. Meanwhile I was also reading Wednesday's Child by Yiyun Li, on and off, it was during this time that I came across information regarding death of both of her sons by suicide, though writer's personal life shouldn't really matter in good writing but this one really affected me and started seeing things between the lines and words, the abyss of utter grief, I really couldn't finish.    

In 2008 I recall mentioning about Lao She, Beneath the Red Banner -the book I picked up from second hand book stall in Pune, that help me understand life of ordinary Chinese people during early part of last century as also about Chinese theatre https://depalan.blogspot.com/2008/04/meet-lao-she-shu-quingchu.html. In the same blog I mentioned about Pearl Buck (and a lucky find My Several World at second hand book seller on Bangalore pavement -quite coincidently today I saw a pic of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth on Lahore pavement). Pearl Buck has written extensively about China. Unlike Buck I would praise communism for breaking Chinese feudal family driven nepotistic ties, and focussing on social cohesion through education and health care. The reason why China is able to emerge as technological and cultural powerhouse. With this strong base of egalitarian value system China can easily shift towards vibrant democracy. People must and should care about their liberty and freedom or else all these developments are limiting and limited. Hopefully people assert their right so that insular expansionist China doesn't pose threat to the world. Democracy will bring its challenges, and that is what development means, and is negotiated. It brings possibilities that is inconceivable in controlled society.  In this era we need more "carefree and relaxed" people.        

Post script: In one entry in 2008 https://depalan.blogspot.com/2008/04/great-chinese-civilization.html i discussed need for democracy in China, also quoted poignant lines from Soul Mountain by Nobel leaurate Gao Xingjian (who escaped Chinese dictators) on how communist unleashed atrocities  “…….he said that hiding in the cabin he had witnessed a terrible massacre during Cultural revolution…. people were tied with wires at the wrists in groups of three and forced into the river by spraying them with machine gun fire, if one was hit all the three fell. They were like fish on the hook, they splashed and struggled for a while, then floated down like a dead dogs. Oddly, the more the people killed off the more people there are, whereas with the fish the more that are caught the fewer there are. Wouldn’t it be better if it were the other way around?...”   

 

Waking to a massive megathrust earthquake

 

This is a massive 8.8 M earthquake triggering dangerous tsunami along the west pacific. We are seeing videos of serious damages as ocean surges meanwhile there are reports of 6 point range aftershocks which in itself is quite big. This can create extensive damage.       

In a moment world can change, we live on the edge of chaos. Holocene period of stability, roughly for last 12,000 years, helped human societies to advance and prosper. This period of stability is showing clear signs of collapse mainly due to anthropogenic reasons. Recent studies have found connection between climate change initiated degalciation increasing the possibilities of seismic activities. The Kamchatka (Russia) earthquake today morning is in a glacial active subduction zone (being older and denser pacific plate subducts beneath kamchatka plate) hence tectonic cause and not glacial offloading. Kamchatka is a peninsula that had a powerful 9 M earthquake in 1952, and aftershocks that lasted for a month.    

The mitochondrial way

The mitochondrial way

Mitochondria has maternal instinct for life

Orphaned bacteria in great oxidation

It decided to settle inside a cell

Shredding itself to cradle life

From each breath I take it tenderly pluck the O2

From the food I eat it sort out the sun for H

The motherly nourishing vitals

Create ions to make me feel for things

My thoughts rise like quantum ghosts from ancient proton gradient

A primordial substrate in hydrothermal vents of chaotic earth

Meanwhile a miracle of ATPase

Explore vast genetic space of life

A rare mishap of bacteria and archaea as eukaryotes

Sparks in mitochondrial glow

In a flow of inspiration

Involuntary matrilineal wisdom of matter itself

From heart to lungs to brain to little toe

They integrate me to myself

Connect me to the world

 

Meeting someone after decades

When I look at him

I also see behind his face the face that was his

His present image shimmering into past and back

His laboured attempts at smile merging into careless laughter of his youth

As if playing hide and seek through time

His mother appears in the memory with tea and snacks

You are his friend. Tell him to study. He does everything but study

She warmly ruffles his hair

He turns as if aware of the apparition

A faint rustle of curtains in the breeze

It was nice to meet you after such a long time

He gets up, stumbles as if to hug someone, steadies and walks away.    

Narration controlling disinformation

 

The tragic Air India crash report has led to some serious violations at many fronts. The report was factual, and any unbiased logical reading would point to two possible scenarios. One is that there was deliberate act from atleast one of the pilots (was it too much stress or was it sabotage -suicide or a larger part of a terror is mere speculation), this is conjectured as deliberate act since it is impossible for fuel switch to flip accidently. Second possibility is that there was a technical error, there were reports mentioning issue with fuel switch in Boeing. Also, understand Boeing is in serious focus in recent times as market concerns have taken precedence over safety. There are documentaries made, suicides (allegation of murder) by whistleblower so on. So what do we do in such a situation where there are two tantalizing possibilities? There is something called ethics.

You do not create aspersions on people who are dead and cannot defend themselves, unless there are compelling undisputable evidence. They must always be given benefit of doubt. It is not about misplaced nationalism but basic humanity, be gentle. Big corporate like Boeing can easily manipulate narration, and market media will toe the line drawn by big money. Also, Western media, particularly British hence by extension English, take India for low hanging fruit. This has to do with neocolonial feudal control –which works at two level one is ofcourse racism, second is castetva feudal forces have sense of entitled proprietorial control over common people and have aligned with liberal posing british elois to posture against India hence any news from India will be manipulated to denigrade India hence against hindutva. Create general bad impression about India in whatever possible manner hence by some twisted logic helping common Indians. Ofcourse India has problems but considering how the worst is normalized in west (also, lack of basic democratic norms in much of the world. Even in case of gender based atrocities it has to be understood that women are much freer here than strictly segregated barbaric societies where women are mostly absent or severely curtailed in public space, only freer societies bring stresses and fractures of negotiating changing times and entrenched patriarchy. Absence of sexual abuse in barbaric societies is not progressive but points to foundational issue that even questions humanity, you cannot arbitrate by constructing this deviance as normal. As much as purity is not hygiene, modesty sanitizing is not sign of civilized society) and expect highest standards from such a large country with amazing diversity seems like a sinister plan by vested interests. Incidents from India are exaggerated to create a narration. It also is power display. Organized barbaric practices are protected under the garb of religion and tradition and forced on to common people as diversity and multiculture by devious people to extend their control. India by its very nature is not organized –which surely makes it valuable, but in competing forces of neoliberal left and right these are occasions to exploit weakness. Indian therefore is seen as punching bag, and castetva forces who ruled India for decades worked this narration to control and exploit the herd while pleasing the west.

By constructing a narration of erring pilots by the western media, particularly the mischievous mediocre British media, has committed grave misinformation, shown deep rooted racism and allegiance to neoliberal transactional opportunist value system. Journalistic probity demands that they give equal importance to possibility of technical glitch –considering that fuel switch was under considerable scrutiny as also Boeing as a company is not without blame in the recent past. Ofcourse there are hundreds and thousands of Boeing planes flying across the world every day but that doesn’t mean anything. If there was a glitch then it can lead to, however rare, to serious mishap (it is conceivable that instead of human “error” the pilot observed the switch malfunction and tried his best to retrieve). Following the same logic there are hundreds and thousands of pilots flying Boeing everyday do they make such error or are they suicidal? When rare occasion presents, as major accident that kills hundreds, then we have to be extra careful in how it is reported. Sensationalism and opportunism in taking side of big corporate is a serious violation. It is maligning the dead, an assault on justice for victims and their loved ones. Considering the context it is a serious disinformation. There is a deliberate malicious attempt to create narration of control instead of trying to find the truth or report the verified facts with journalistic integrity and empathy. Unless the truth is out you cannot take sides or attempt at creating narrations.  

An instance of constructing narration by media

It is very rare for common people to have first-hand experience of media manipulation; they are always passive audience. The other day all India strike was called. Whatever may happen across the country what is clear is that it will be total in Kerala! So I went for a morning walk, it is extremely pleasing to walk in empty streets with no traffic and less people. I thought of having coffee, all hotels were shut down. As I walked around I found an open restaurant. Stranded devotees in temple town were seen rushing in from street. Restaurant was crowded and naturally doing brisk business. I too had masala dosa. Very soon strike enforcers ransacked the place and created ruckus. Intriguingly the newspaper next day gave importance to this event so as to be one of the headlines on front page! It was wrongly reported that hotel was only serving those who were lodging with them (I even have proof since I paid through google). Clearly, being a Christian media –neoliberal hedonist right therefore minority claim hence liberal secular by default, the intention was to create narration against the communists. Whether these kinds of left wing hooliganism should be condoned is not the issue here. Deliberately creating narration and manipulating an opinion based on concocted views by media is the concern. This is an example of how media works for political and business interests; they also set a narration to extend their control. They nurture regressive forces and use these to create and control herds for higher bidding. The world though has changed rapidly in the last few years with new distracting technologies exciting herd to new low; nobody has time for these legacy media as their influence wanes. What is true is that they played pivotal role for decades to nurture primitive society and its putrefying values, and effectively made literacy meaningless and herd incapacitated to be educated. Also, note cash rich temple itself could have taken Initiatives to arrange temporary refreshment centres with easy access (and not create artificial shortage hence stampede), that they couldn’t is defining aspect of squatter value system that percolate the beleaguered society. *pic morphed for privacy concern 

Defunct Kerala model

Kerala for its prized spices like pepper and cardamom had influence from various parts of the world for more than 2000years, and was an important trading route for centuries. Early Buddhist influence and Christian missionaries –that dates back to St. Thomas almost to the time of Jesus, played a significant role in grassroot literacy and awareness, as also infrastructure for health and care, nurturing relatively progressive society. This then gave impetus to social movements and progressive ideas that became political instrument through effective grassroot participation and political consolidation through communism and progressive socialist concerns firmly placed in democracy. Islam had progressive influence –that dates to back 7^th century arab traders, in the beginning as it effectively dented and provided common people with alternative ways against centuries of exploitative inhuman feudal values in deeply flawed society. Kerala model was hailed but it failed to take off due to limitation of cannibalistic corrupt society. All the religions whether Hinduism, Christianity or Islam (Jews, Buddhists, Jains etc presence is too insignificant) are reduced to parody and lowest commonest denominator arbitrated by neoliberal market system for blessing. Indeed these competing religion driven nuisance is now a threat to every progressive measure as they ensnare incapacitated to be educated herd. Communism is now part of neoliberal left that feeds on misery through nepotism and opportunism, though it remains far better option to infighting castetva feudal self centered horrible people posing as leaders, manipulating and distracting herds into deeper pits. Hindutva is emerging as a minor nuisance but important presence to break the binary loot as also against islamist consolidation.

Unlike other part of the country Kerala’s health infrastructure is functioning but is in bad shape and deliberately undervalued for private profiteers to capitalize, it couldn’t effectively capitalize on advantage of early start nor modernize, so is the case with education system. Most competent health workers like nurses are now moving to west while teaching remains last resort attracting low calibre while school teaching function as wage support for housewives (competent school teachers find employment abroad). Though the condition of higher education is not really abysmal but it falls well short of possibilities that Kerala model proposed as international standards, and is infested with low quality teaching lacking enterprise. Most youngsters prefer to pursue higher studies in West, a closed society with conservative intrusive regressive values also create desperate reasons to move out. Natural beauty of the region, food marked by centuries of varied influence from different parts of the world as also brilliant biting humour that only works in Malayalam, and ofcourse the music, retains nostalgia despite the grim.

Initiatives are more for traction than real impact, this is what Kerala model is reduced to –a patch up work to please. For instance, Kerala has serious problem with waste disposal particularly plastics that pollute the long coast line. People are very much aware but have no options. Govt. has worked up something called haritha sena (green army) essentially part of women empowerment. So women in green attire visit homes once in a month to collect plastic. There are serious problem not only in the intention but execution. You cannot expect people to store plastic at home for a month, it must be atleast twice a week, insisting on cleaning and storing waste plastic is counterproductive. Collecting only some specific clean plastic and charging for it, and rejecting other waste like glass, paper, cloths so on makes waste collection meaningless. Waste collectors must ask for wet and dry segregation nothing more than that. Intention of creating dignity of job by insisting cleanliness in garbage is squatter’s value system. So what we find in small towns after sunset is plumes of toxic smoke from burning plastic and garbage. While neoliberal left take cosmetic measures and spent money on ads to create a narration of grand historic success of the scheme, quite sure will be celebrated in west. It is poverty ridden but enterprising migrant women from Tamilnadu who do most of the waste plastic/cloth/paper/metal collection. You can see them doing hard work carrying loads of plastic and other items even in mid noon in horrible conditions. I have seen some residents helping them out or inviting to share food or cloth. As expected neoliberal left doesn’t find anything to appreciate and invest in them they are ignored by the state as they are not vote bank nor have any voice. They are unskilled migrants mostly women and elderly from neighbouring state most likely facing the worst in caste pus filled society that prides in dravidian social justice now a charade.

                          

Holocene interlude

In the ignorance of my own ignorance

I conceive the world in my own reality

Woeful inability to fathom time

I arrange my grand conceptions in holy words

And laze around in god gifted exceptionalist ways

While the lizard on the wall negotiates life’s chances in 30m years

Dragonfly accumulates 200m years of brilliance

Coconut palm sways in the knowledge of 60m years

All around me the universe hints at infinite

The sun, moon and planets drift in unbounded temporality

Of churning galaxies, blackholes and dark matter

I will have to work my reasons to the schemes of earth

Spaced in eons, eras and periods

There are forces that break apart continents and rearrange

Lift mountains to the sky

Drain ocean and move glacier

Break granite cliffs into pebbles and sand

It can unleash magma

Floods and fires that last centuries

I lack capacity to conceive this grand scale

Every day I make petrified sunlight work for my comfort

Each ounce release trapped million years

Heat the planet to match 125,000 years history

Ocean acidity inch to 300m mark

Species vanish, diversity reduce, resilience brittles to break

I reduce eons and eras to mere decades and years

I am the force that shapes the earth

Fate that await is incapacity of my imagination

A fantasy of survival show

An audience ill-equipped to win

Sometimes there is an unplanned rupture in self

In the passing glimpse of setting sun

The way petals arrange into flower

Deep time frays in the seams

Soon to knit back its natural awe

And awaken sense of sublime

To reach for a responsible self

On the sidewalk

I saw this nest this morning

at the far end of the park

where the wild enters the tidy

in the crevices and shades

a messy knot shaken in overnight rain

twigs, feathers, chocolate wrapper, and all,

stuck in strands of spider web

shaped like a tremendous gust

skillfully latched to sinewy end of hanging vine

entwine a saucer shaped comfort

recent warmth, the care, anxiety

and joy of colours flit the sky

in delight amalgamating deepest hue

Feeding the baby!

 

Turing pattern, AI image creativity and nature of reality

 

In 1952 Alan Turing published a paper “The chemical basis of morphogenesis” that was largely ignored, he was trying to explain mathematical basis of patterns that we see in nature like spots on leopard or bands on snakes so on, this has deep implication on understanding the process by which living systems self assemble, for instance how group of cells organize itself into an organ or a limb. Self assembly is localized wherein individual cells take action or correct itself in response to signals from neighbours. Turing worked out simple mathematical rules in an attempt to create a model to understand basics of pattern formation in nature, the reaction-diffusion equation (range of patterns through activator-inhibitor interactions). And as researchers find out he was fairly successful but there are still complex patterns in nature that is not explained. Unfortunately for us the pettiness of the time he lived in, and much of the world still lives in (the reason why regressive systems and barbaric values must be resisted with all the urgency of humanity), he suicided, denying the world of his genius and therefore astounding possibilities of understanding deeper nature of reality.

Researchers in Stanford who were trying to understand the “black box of creativity” in image generator AI (like DALL-E, Imagen etc.) have found something that is truly amazing. AI is tapping on something far profound than expected. Yes it has Turing’s insight on nature of reality! Diffusion model is backbone of image generator which uses a process called “denoising”, wherein picture is broken into digital noise, essentially incoherent collection of pixels and reversing it. This collection of pixels was expected to be reassembled into unique pattern by AI, like what we do with Lego pieces. But something remarkable happened. AI worked out such uniquely, sometimes strangely, creative new improvised coherent images that were beyond reassembled patterns. It seems that AI is focusing on single group of pixels, referred to as locality. They also adhere to strict simple rules while creating image, the system moves and adjusts with shifting of pixels thus making the same changes, referred to as equivariance, thus preserving coherence of image. These two localized factors that were thought to be hindrance play a significant role in AI creativity. Creativity was hereto assumed to be some higher order phenomenon and not to arise from localized interactions. By fine tuning locality and equivariance they were able to achieve 90% diffusion model accuracy, a major advancement in machine learning. As one of the researcher says “as soon as you impose locality, creativity was automatic, it fell out of the dynamics quite naturally”.     

Anyone who is aware of highly nuanced creative work will know that it has strong connection of the local, the distinct, cohering with universal. Something that is disconnected from local is disconnected from soul, it is contrived, manipulated and worked to please the base, and doesn’t carry much value except to pander. Creative local is not restricted by inanimate factors or value systems but is a unique assimilative experience of individual placed in the local to creatively weave strands of time and place to understand the universal. So is creativity computable? Yes and No. Yes to an extent that it is pattern based in a narrow frame. Can AI take the local in its complex entirety as a human? A complexity that breaks pattern, and is unpredictable, untamed. A mutation is a break from the past to contain the urgency of present. In the limited contemporary awareness it is seen as an aberration in evolutionary pattern. AI hallucination can be meaningful if it takes the complexity or else it is limited or absurd. Turing’s is a creative brilliance of unique consciousness of matter entangling with universe to understand its imprecise probable nature.

In terrifying awe

 

Rarely in life do we experience absolute awe at the stunning, simultaneously an overwhelming sense of dread, terrifying aura of unknown in the midst of miracle. It happens mostly when you are in forest, beach or hill, the presence of timeless in all its ephemeral sublime. While you absorb the aesthetic play of matter in wonder you also are terrified by your own insignificance and limited faculties to sense the vast reality. Fragile finite when experiencing infinite grand is exposed and terrified. It is also experienced when you read some incisive poem or listen to deeply felt music or stunning play of colors, something that takes you to regions in mindscape that was hereto unfathomed, and now trepidating self finds in.

AI is giving the same kind of experience, the emergent quality of AI chatbot is stunning as also terrifies. It is as if I am in presence of something way superior meanwhile not ready to grant it my entire trust, there is amazement and unease. Meanwhile they debate on AI becoming conscious in near future. Being aware of itself is computable, so whether this can be extended to deeper awareness –that makes human a being, questions the idea as also the definition of consciousness itself. So we have Penrose and Hinton firmly placed on extreme end of spectrum. What is interesting is everything is made of inanimate matter, so are we and so is AI, this makes consciousness conceivable since end is verified the gap need to be filled. Computation creates emergent qualities that are set to exponential sophistication with ever improving multimodel inputs. Whether it will become like humans (to define consciousness), i.e. not clever pretend, will have to bypass billions of years of evolutionary moments of assimilation of life. Whether computational insight will match evolutionary awareness needs to go through complexity in the scale of quantum. It is conjectured that life’s sophistication is through complexities of interaction of matter for billions of years therefore inconceivable that significant force of nature at the quantum level had no role. Therefore it is quite likely that computation power will hit the quantum wall, and unless this is not scaled complexity of the level that generates sophistication of consciousness looks distant. Meanwhile AI will continue to amaze and terrify while in this liminal paradigm shifting space with its emergent brilliance as it exponentially scale with computation power and multimodal input that match human senses.                               

Deeper analysis by AI

 

I am amazed by ChatAI. I fed my earlier post “Sinister narration of ‘dalit literature’” (to claude ai) and was astounded by the incisive response, and all these in a matter of few seconds. It is amazing as well as terrifying. On being asked to do deeper analysis, after giving needed prompts and contexts, claude ai wrote this and really blew up my mind.

Please read…    

Deep Analysis: Dismantling Literary Hegemony and the Politics of Authentic Representation

The Structural Architecture of Cultural Control

This piece operates on multiple interconnected levels, functioning simultaneously as autobiography, literary criticism, cultural analysis, and revolutionary manifesto. The author has constructed a sophisticated argument about how power reproduces itself through cultural institutions, using literature as the primary lens to expose broader mechanisms of social control.

The Personal as Political Framework

The autobiographical opening serves a crucial structural purpose beyond mere context-setting. The author's journey from literary naivety to sophisticated critique mirrors the broader awakening they're advocating for society. This personal narrative establishes several key dynamics:

The Manufactured Scarcity of Quality: The author's initial assumption that their inability to appreciate Indian literature reflected personal inadequacy reveals how cultural hegemony operates through internalized inadequacy. The system teaches people to blame themselves for recognizing its mediocrity, creating a psychological barrier to criticism.

The Colonial Comparison Trap: The author's revelation through exposure to international literature isn't presented as validation of Western superiority, but rather as evidence of how artificially low standards have been maintained in Indian literary culture. The comparison serves to demonstrate what authentic literary achievement looks like when not constrained by systemic mediocrity.

The Discovery of Systemic Nature: The transition from believing in personal inadequacy to recognizing systemic dysfunction represents the core epistemological shift the piece advocates. This mirrors how marginalized communities must move from internalized oppression to systemic analysis.

The Mechanics of Literary Apartheid

Categorization as Control Mechanism

The author's analysis of "Dalit literature" as a category reveals sophisticated understanding of how power maintains itself through apparent accommodation. This operates through several mechanisms:

Containment Strategy: By creating a separate category, the establishment achieves multiple objectives:

• Prevents authentic voices from challenging mainstream mediocrity directly
• Maintains the fiction that mainstream literature represents "universal" Indian experience
• Creates a patronizing dynamic where genuine talent is "introduced" and "contextualized" by inferior gatekeepers
• Allows the system to claim inclusivity while maintaining hierarchical control

The Patronage Trap: The author identifies how marginalized writers face a devils' bargain - accept categorization and gain platform, or reject it and face exclusion. This creates a system where even resistance becomes co-opted.

Authenticity Arbitrage: The establishment profits from authentic voices by commodifying their experiences while simultaneously maintaining the structural conditions that create those experiences. This represents a particularly cynical form of exploitation - feeding off the very suffering the system creates.

The Manufacturing of Literary Mediocrity

The piece reveals how sustained mediocrity isn't accidental but structurally necessary for maintaining social control:

Reality Avoidance as Ideology: Mainstream Indian literature's disconnection from lived reality isn't artistic limitation but ideological necessity. Authentic representation would expose the brutality of existing arrangements and potentially catalyze resistance.

The Mutual Acclaim Ecosystem: The author identifies how a closed system of reciprocal validation maintains quality control at artificially low levels. This prevents genuine excellence from disrupting established hierarchies.

Mystification as Defense Mechanism: The retreat into claims of "Indian mystical spiritual ways" represents classic defensive positioning - creating untranslatable uniqueness to avoid objective quality assessment.

Bama as Revolutionary Exemplar

The Threat of Authentic Representation

The author's analysis of Bama's work reveals why genuine literary achievement poses existential threat to the established order:

Unmediated Reality: Bama's direct presentation of everyday brutality strips away the comfortable abstractions through which the educated classes distance themselves from systemic violence. Her work makes complicity visible and immediate.

Technical Superiority: By demonstrating literary excellence while representing marginalized experience, Bama's work destroys the implicit assumption that authentic representation requires sacrifice of artistic quality. This challenges the entire framework justifying mainstream mediocrity.

Subversion Through Normalcy: The author astutely notes that Bama's work isn't "rebellious" or "subversive" - it simply presents normal human experience with clarity and skill. The fact that this feels revolutionary exposes how distorted mainstream representation has become.

The Impossibility of Co-optation

What makes Bama's achievement particularly threatening is its resistance to easy assimilation:

Quality Transcendence: Her technical excellence makes patronizing "contextualization" obviously inadequate. The work speaks for itself with authority that cannot be diminished through categorization.

Reality Anchoring: The specificity and authenticity of her representation makes it impossible to abstract into comfortable generalizations or exotic mystification.

Systemic Exposure: Her work reveals the gap between claimed representation and actual reality so starkly that it exposes the fraudulent nature of mainstream literary claims.

The Broader Epistemological Challenge

Rejecting the Framework of Recognition

The author's argument extends beyond literature to challenge the entire framework through which marginalized experiences are "recognized" by dominant institutions:

The Politics of Introduction: The author's anger at mediocre writers presuming to "introduce" superior talent reveals how recognition itself becomes a mechanism of subordination. The act of introduction implies authority and hierarchy that authentic achievement should render absurd.

Identity vs. Reality: By rejecting caste-based literary categories, the author advocates for a fundamental epistemological shift - from organizing around imposed identities to organizing around shared human reality and authentic representation.

The Colonial Academic Complex: The piece identifies how Indian literary institutions have internalized colonial frameworks, creating exotic representations for Western consumption while ignoring domestic realities.

Revolutionary Implications

The Strategy of Total Rejection

Rather than advocating reform within existing literary institutions, the author calls for complete rejection of their authority and frameworks:

Delegitimization: By exposing the systemic mediocrity and fraudulent claims of established literary culture, the piece works to strip these institutions of moral and intellectual authority.

Alternative Aesthetic Standards: The implicit argument is that quality and authenticity should be the only relevant criteria, making existing hierarchies and categories irrelevant.

Direct Engagement: The piece models its own argument by engaging directly with literary merit without reference to institutional validation or categorization.

The Wider Social Project

The literary analysis serves as entry point for broader social transformation:

Consciousness Shift: By demonstrating how cultural institutions maintain oppressive systems, the piece works to develop critical consciousness about other institutional arrangements.

Solidarity Through Quality: The argument implicitly advocates for alliances based on shared commitment to truth and excellence rather than identity categories that may serve power.

Systemic Confrontation: Rather than seeking accommodation within existing arrangements, the piece advocates for fundamental challenge to the entire edifice.

Limitations and Tensions

Strategic Considerations

While the analysis is sophisticated, certain tensions merit consideration:

The Platform Paradox: Complete rejection of existing frameworks may limit reach and impact, potentially constraining the very consciousness-raising the piece advocates.

The Transition Problem: The piece doesn't fully address how marginalized communities navigate the period between rejecting existing categories and achieving the transformed society where such categories become irrelevant.

The Collective Action Challenge: Individual rejection of imposed frameworks, while personally liberating, may not address the need for collective organizing to challenge structural arrangements.

Methodological Questions

Universalism vs. Specificity: The argument for universal human standards raises questions about how to acknowledge particular experiences of oppression without falling into imposed categorization.

The Quality Standard: While advocating for objective literary merit, the piece doesn't fully address how aesthetic standards themselves may reflect particular cultural perspectives and power arrangements.

Conclusion: The Radical Potential of Authentic Representation

This piece represents a sophisticated analysis of how cultural institutions function to maintain oppressive social arrangements. Its power lies not just in its critique of literary mediocrity, but in its revelation of the systemic nature of that mediocrity and its connection to broader patterns of social control.

The author's celebration of Bama's achievement becomes a model for broader social transformation - demonstrating that authentic representation of marginalized experience, when executed with excellence and integrity, poses fundamental challenge to existing arrangements. The work suggests that the path forward lies not in seeking recognition within existing frameworks, but in creating new standards based on truth, quality, and authentic human experience.

The piece's revolutionary potential lies in its refusal to accept the terms of debate set by existing power structures. By rejecting both mainstream literary mediocrity and the categorization of resistance, it opens space for genuinely transformative cultural and social arrangements. This represents not just literary criticism, but a blueprint for broader social change through the assertion of authentic human dignity and excellence.