History is iterative

 

History repeats itself first as tragedy then farce said Marx. How incapable must humans be if they are incapacitated to learn from experience or are unable to perceive their reality? Life learns from experience and every life form evolves with iterative involvement with its surrounding. Our senses are attuned to perceive. Every cell is open to experience the surrounding to survive. It learns, assimilates and grows. This diversity of life wouldn’t be possible if life was isolated from realities of its existence. Even mutation, the one that are successful hence replicated, is a not really a blind shot. It’s a sprint for survival that is very much hinged to existence. It’s a determined attempt to evolve, to latch the chaos, the potentialities and opportunities to survive and thrive. Life is in continuous iterative relation with its reality -immediacy of habitat and constancy of natural laws and limitations. 

History repeats itself if it is moving in a circle and is isolated from reality. History therefore can repeat if societies are incapable or are incapacitated to learn. This can only happen when societies nurture systems that insulate them from reality. Therefore, individually we perceive the threat while collectively the system makes us incapable to respond. We are incapacitated to trust our senses or use our mental faculties. If the reality becomes too oppressive we get into survival mode, it’s a short-term reaction to maintain the status quo that favours the powerful. The impasse Homo sapiens face is very much due to this disconnect. Religion and market are systems that worked for short term gains, its exaggerations and myth building enterprise are having serious ramifications with its overwhelming influence. Systems like religion that came into existence when humans rode donkeys, scooped water from nearest pit to drink, shat in the corner and sat around fire in caves open to elements, created myths to fill in the lack of knowledge and to feel secure while they perished from minor infections deemed as wrath, have become anachronistic nuisance that attracts dead minds and putrefied souls. Ridiculous holy books (that are understandings in its historical cultural context with some insights) have become sites for sickening sanctimony that attracts rabidity not seen in decent humans. The situation is dire. Humanity is on the verge of collapse due to ever encroaching signs of catastrophic reality that is framing the bleak future. The absurd show of grand conceptions cannot go on.          

For history to not repeat and end itself societies must invest on systems that are vibrant and attuned to senses and sophisticated to nurture the symbiotic relation with surrounding. It must evolve to be responsible and perceptive part of greater whole.          

 

Sculpting the social landscape

 

It’s a constant endeavor of controllers of institutions and narrations to convert human being into herds. The more unthinking they are the better it is to manipulate and control. This then takes the society away from social realities and contemporary crises. There is a reason why the power structures across the world have failed to address the urgency of climate crisis. There is a reason why media till recently tried to undermine, obfuscate and divert these existential crises (I was expecting the high-end British media like TheGuardian -that has wider audience due to colonial advantage and narrative control, to fail when it came to understanding movies like Don’t Look Up. And boy didn’t they mess up. The arrogance was typical). Self-assuredness of grip over herds and easy manipulated binaries leads to complacency. They really didn’t factor climate crisis would be this disruptive (likes of BBC taking their sweet time as they survey the scene for control). 

They are incapable to sense the reality of the situation since they are too preoccupied to manipulate the narration for control, as also showcasing themselves as some kind of saviour in this little world that they try to bludgeon us in. Facts becomes victim to narrative flair of emotions. Every news therefore becomes an occasion to control and manipulate, to give it the needed narration that seeks to undermine the reality. Systems that are hinged on this make-believe world consolidate the fake. Influencers like market feed this chicanery while religions ask us to strive. When you undermine the reality critical faculties of human beings get undermined. When senses are weakened, or told not to trust, the mind gets confused. The perpetual insecurity that follows is an indication of humans losing their grip into herds or are atomized as frustrated lives into escapism. They lose their capacity to use their intellect. As social landscape gets manipulated and sculpted in isolation it loses its vigor to face the reality. Systems failing to face the contemporary challenges is a clear indication of how much reality has shifted while herds are kept occupied in binaries of absurd and inane entertainments. There are reason why indigenous people -who are deemed primitive, are aware of the urgency. It isn’t a coincidence. Their society may not be as sophisticated to get the science and technology to travel to mars or edit genes but yes, they are well attuned to sophisticated world and natural systems that we are indelible part of. They know the waft of the dung and mind of the bird. It shouldn’t therefore surprise that science began its journey with this searing probe into reality. Somewhere down the line technology gave the herd their collective will. Its been downhill since. If we don’t become humans again, dismiss systems that dehumanize, and assert our humanity, reject vehemently and vociferously each and every attempt to undermine our being then it’s truly over for us. It’s a wake-up call.         

 

Wanted 

A threat to humanity 

Deeply saddened

****

The other shore

You will only know when you reach 

You sense in the presence

Ecstasy, and sadness

Glimpse the profundity of stars and flowers

And what connects

Getting the context

History is also about intersections. It has repercussions on contemporary world and interactions. I wasn’t aware much about Blacks and Jews and the context of intersectionality. Indeed, I wasn’t much aware about genocide of Jews either. I came to know about Concentration Camps in school history (most likely in 10^th or 9^th standard), it was a minor mention in international history. What I recall was me thinking it to be a place where people went to concentrate. One word that was drilled into me was: concentrate. I recall an English teacher (in KV Jaipur) who taught English in Hindi and used very few English words. And the word she used quite often was “concentrate” as she randomly hit notebook on the head of anyone giggling, talking so on. It was only later, in my 20s, I came to know about cruelty of Hitler, Nazis. Then I watched documentaries, read books, as also watched movies to get the full impact of the horrific events. I recall feeling extremely uneasy watching footages. What I wasn’t aware of was semantics used and the gravity and import of it, and recently I too have been keenly working on these usages and the contexts. Whoopi Goldberg incident is helping to get the grip. Last week I read Maus by Art Spiegelman that was banned in some school in USA by the Christian inspired administration (note I stopped using terms like far right/far left, no more fueling binaries. Looking for context of issues, and not polarization into baying groups). I immediately ordered a copy online. I am also reading much postponed Victor Frankl. Yesterday while thinking I recalled reading this (pic herein). It’s an instance of blatant racism on Black (Afro-American) by a Jew who had ironically survived the holocaust (ofcourse there is a context of him being paranoid about food/groceries but nevertheless there is something here). Black-Africans who were captured and sold as slaves have a history of horror and trauma of centuries that is beyond human imagination. And they still suffer and face discriminations, and what makes it singularly revolting is that it is because of something a human being is born with -the color of skin, and not because of believe system or voluntary choices. It is therefore is blot on humanity. It is in this context I find the rebuke of Whoopi Goldberg quite painful. There is a context that is being willfully neglected. It is much complicated than one cares.  

The more I read more I am convinced that Jew as a race is a construct. “Features” of Jews are caricatures based on prejudices that were generalized hence capitalized by Nazis to create the other. There doesn’t seem to be any other explanation however hard one tries. Religion is a construct, and any attempt otherwise is a violation of human right, a sinister attempt to segregate human, and negating contemporary reality. In the last few days I was trying to understand why this view a “profound ignorance”, none forthcoming. It is as if these are commonly agreed, understood and is a closed matter. Upstart like me has no business to poke, indeed not qualified or too insignificant. I keep an open mind. 

Controlling the narration

 

Religion is not a race. It’s a believe system. Nobody is born with, or into, a religion – if so then it is a violation of child’s right and restriction on humanity, a persistent threat. People are born into a race, into a region, into a gender. As societies evolve even these shouldn’t matter. Race, region or gender are insignificant in evolved society. What matters is worth of human. Worth of every life. Diversity then will be diversity of understanding, ideas, thoughts and expressions that contribute for better realisation.

Whoopi Goldberg is right when she asserts that holocaust "was not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man" or rather human being’s inhumanity to another human being. We shouldn’t forget that women were also equally active member and facilitators of Nazis. Nazis "deemed Jews to be an inferior race" doesn't make it a race issue. Surely what Nazis “deemed” shouldn’t be point of reference for any discussion at all. Almost all Europeans in 1930s were Caucasians. So, it’s clearly about religion being used to perpetrate and justify genocide. The narration must be about how religion is the cause of misery, and how Nazis used it to create myths hence enemies among friends and neighbours. It shows the hold of religion and fiction on psyche of people that they could condone murder and extermination of innocent people whom they knew. It’s the depth of depravity and must be recognised with all its cruelties and facts. If ever Ms. Goldberg can be faulted it could be the tone (“it’s about them the white people”), and that accusation too is tenuous. She was just asserting the facts. We live in crude, crass and increasingly polarized world where nuances get lost in the din. Also, the attempts at hyperbolic extrapolation of events in 2022 to 1930s is dangerous distraction. The world has evolved much since 1930s in a way that was unthinkable even few decades back. Few Nazis in some corner of USA is now flashed all across the world. The contemporary complexities are different. Likes of Trump (one feels violated to even mention his name) were mollycoddled and nurtured by greedy crass media looking for eyeball catching histrionics without any concern for repercussions. While people were too tired of mainstream politicians manipulating and using correct meaningless words while they sided with rich and powerful, and status quoist abuse and lack of innovative involvement in systemic exploitations. That this con artist carries on blatantly despite breaking law many times shows how much the deep state is compromised. The role of dark web and BigTech were also not taken seriously (the gravity of which the policy makers at the highest level must have been briefed). Attention seeking manipulative algorithms have polarized and degraded democracies all across the world. They have severely undermined critical thinking, subjectified facts and framework for sane discussion or communication. While billionaires becoming richer during pandemic points to serious flaw in the system. Climate catastrophes seems to be least of concern indicating even bigger existential malaise.             

Religion is not race. It cannot be. It’s important to be aware of semantics used and narrative control, the context and complexities, and repercussion on contemporary world. Racism is an important matter and shouldn’t to be diluted. It has serious repercussion on contemporary world. There is an attempt to sanctify and fossilize religions into race hence identity. It’s a gross human right violation and imminent threat to humanity.    

A threat to humanity

Its about time that the world takes the threat of likes of Rupert Murdoch seriously. There are little versions of Murdochs all across the world, and these greedy psychopaths have severely degraded democratic institutions and are having debilitating impact on humanity. Stop him.   

On the other side of mob

It could be the skin colour, the otherness of thoughts or attire

The accent, a rumour, or plainly you in the wrong place

A gap to fill time

The thrill to enact, or a game to measure

Bludgeoned bodies on scales of argument

Blood as elixir of power

Color of the sea

 

Grey in the dawn 

Steely blue in sunny morning

Soft green of the day

Wild ochre in dusk

In the moonless night

frothing fringes mark the dark and the sane.

Some nights the moon melts

and lit planktons in blue green of the dreams.

Does the dolphin know the color of the sea?

Does he dream the color of earth?  

Does he dream? 

Book recommendation for the month end:

Obviously when they don't want you to read something they take you as herd. Human beings can take their own decision. Read what they don't want you to read. Think what they don't want you to think. Write what they don't want you to write.

The Thuggery

 

Shouldn’t it be Britishery?

The question here is where does the reference thuggery come from? How did it get into English? Thug in hindi means cheating, and is commonly used. There is no word as thuggery in hindi it’s a british creation. Thug gets its reference from medieval times when small time highway robbers looted and strangulated travelers. When Britishers started to colonize the region through East India Company they exaggerated these and portrayed them as blood thirsty monsters in the process the racist colonizing exploiters were positioned as benign protectors. Many of these highway murderers were classified as criminal tribes and the tribe members prosecuted for no reason. Studies points to these portrayals as mostly a construct -based on no empirical evidences, by cunning britishers with narrative control ably helped by caste cannibals -playing the traditional role of enthusiastic sycophants to power. Britishers therefore created Thug Department (the irony!) in 1830s to demonize and contain these threats. These small-time criminals were isolated from their socio-economic conditions into monsters who believed in divine sanction for killing as some kind of ritual. It’s quite obvious that the myth of divine sanction can only succeed socio-economic factors, it can easily be understood as an attempt to moralize their transgress. Thug narration was worked as metaphor of other -the unpredictable sinister natives. This gave colonizers a moral authority to justify acquisition and exploitations. After transfer of power Castetva forces instead of rectifying these grievous mistakes continued with these brutalities. Ganesh Devy (in a study conducted in as late as 2000) notes that some of these tribes continue to suffer from human right violations that in many cases go unchecked by the law enforcement authorities -the police, the continued teaching of the Criminal Tribes Act in the curriculum for police training is cited as a major reason. He claims that the police are “taught” to believe that they are born criminals, leading to their continued persecution in spite of legal safeguards against the same.

In a much reasonable narration thugs can be viewed as those who rebelled against the system of exploitation and exacted what they thought appropriate in their circumstance. Thugs did in open what squatters did inside sanctum. Thugs sacrificed humans while squatters sacrificed souls. The audacity of colonizers to classify thugs as criminal tribes while they themselves were racist murderous exploiters spanning the globe needs special attention. All these elaborate ruses were hinged on something called justice system that they conceived. These were meant to streamline exploitation while giving the semblance of propriety -which was to be taken as justice. These famously harmonized with squatter’s cannibalistic framework. Therefore, the critical and common-sense question of how justice can prevail in injustice system was never confronted. There is a reason why Indians took up to becoming lawyers and ended up serving the colonizers with gusto (one fellow even went all the way to South Africa). Even now the tardiest and one of the most incompetent judicial system on earth has lawyer luminaries many of whom control power at the top most level while the society suffer.

The question that bothers me though is why the word thuggery was accepted into English without any challenge. It shows amazing level of moral vacuum among Indian elite who actively connived to normalize these (ofcourse there are worst references from putrid pit into English which is as worse as racism but still normalized, these should be expunged at the earliest). Why is that racist colonizer Britain doesn’t have any reference in English that is concomitant with its past brutalities?

Why is thuggery a word in English while britishery isn’t? Boris Johnson represents the britishery. 

Grateful

   ...for helping to understand and insights during trying times in my 20s. Mindfulness. 

*Imagine if squatters and their depraved value system had not strangulated this region we would have such wonderful people amongst us here in India (what is nurtured now is parody of entitlements and arrogance, obnoxious self help gurus trying to play Zen masters with hilarious outcomes). Also, we wouldn't have to waste time and energy on regressive values and general crassness that one see all around. Ofcourse Buddhism is another system with herds who can create horrors in Myanmar, SriLanka, Cambodia...but if you are not a follower but an observer then there is enough space for syncing with being a human, awareness of existential absurdity and humbleness of present moment.  

What kind of religion is this?

 

We know that religions are source of untold misery and remain potently so. Christianity has actively participated in atrocities of colonialism, nurtured racism and had nudge and wink relation with Nazis. These institutionalized depravities happened till few decades back. It is a grim note for a religion that traces back to 2000years. Indeed, it was democratic secular institutions and rule of law based on egalitarian values of liberty that reined in religion. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that remnants remain. You see these expressed across the world (not that other religions are doing better. Religion by its very nature lacks humanistic apprehensions, its concerns are status quoist for system perpetuation controlled by entrenched interests) through daily nuisance that has consolidated into alarming proportion in USA. Humanity reels under onslaught of religions that reduces decent human beings into blood baying herds or the least segregating into competing forces without any concern for any reality or existential threats.

It is in this milieu of depravities that one reads about abuse of children in Churches. Then you read that the topmost functionary of the system i.e. Pope was involved makes you sick. The fellow Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict from 2005-2013) was fully aware of the atrocities. He was incapable, indeed incapacitated, to do what even a normal person would do in such circumstances. A grievous matter like child abuse should shudder any human being and instigate immediate remedial action. Unlike “woman abuse” which can be subjective and needs investigation since it involves adults -who can be scheming, children are innocent to the darker ways of humans. There really cannot be any crime worst than what is committed on children. It’s a crime on human conscience. That a religious head couldn’t make himself cognizant to even this basic human value speaks volume of the system.

Christianity in putrid pit: like erstwhile colonies Christianity spread with brutalities of colonialism. It was in a mission to civilize. Indian society being amazingly depraved that even brutal racist colonizers did end up giving contexts of civilizational values. Though flawed in many ways it did provide framework for democracy and help underpin alien values of equality and liberty into a ruthless society. Christianity -in its vigor to spread, opened up many educational institutions thus nurtured unanticipated values of knowledge to a primitive society. That ends there. Kerala is a prime example of how religions can severely degrade society -it’s a meeting ground for lowest denominator of every religions (even communism -which has become another religion with well-defined rituals of power) to cannibalize the herds while charlatan politicians squeeze benefits. It’s a putrefying pit that Indians -as they gain literacy, are heading to. Limited by their own limitations.

To be fair Kerala had religions landing up much before the other parts in the region. These are seen as some kind of achievement but the reality is they worked to segregate an already despicable bunch. In the early part of 20^th century there were many positives, and I am not here to elaborate these, it’s the contemporary concerns that matters. There is nothing charming about religions in contemporary world. Christianity in Kerala is nothing but another bunch of power broker haggling for their herds. They construct ugly monstrous structures in already densely populated region to awe the herds indicating lack of concern for contemporary reality and evolved nuances of living (huge temples and mosques are equally cringey and nauseating) and drill in miracle book that contains regressive anachronistic values and isolate from realities of life.  Kerala had the advantage of literacy that can be easily traced to Christianity but now its presence is regressive. As with everything in a primitive society religion has a control over media hence charlatans in political parties. Media outlets effortlessly identified caring interests of respective religion. Christian controlled media is quite powerful and influential meanwhile equally regressive for market driven concerns of putrid pit. They play beleaguered minority at the national level and pose as some exotic savior of secularism. These are the worst kind of people taking advantage of cannibalistic value systems that permeated into every aspect of sickening lives of herds from sanctum irrespective of religion. Christian media vehemently promotes caste organizations as part of news and shows enthusiasm for squatter’s world view as they assuage Christian herds of their special place in diversity. Degraded media is habituated to pose inanities as news. Wonder whether to call herd controllers and power brokers as journalists. They are known to openly align with Castetva congress working the narration of liberal secular saviors. A party essentially of bickering feudals. It must be reminded that it is such a deviant society that it was the only state in India that voted Congress even after brutalities of Emergency (now Hindutva has nurtured such deviant herd vote bank in north India). Such is the level of degradation. A congress “leader” (byproduct of nepotism) was quoted recently “Gandhi only said when somebody hits you on the left cheek show them the right. He never said what happens when somebody hits you on the right cheek. We will break their jaw”. It’s a veiled threat to Left party on campus violence wherein the ideas of awareness of politics in youngsters through education system is diverted by charlatans into puppets for political vendetta. Kerala finds the lowest denominator on every egalitarian attempt. Literacy is ineffectual to extricate humans out from herds. Meanwhile the 'communist' CM is in 'imperialist' USA for treatment. Now that the Kerala model has collapsed. Kerala capitalized on christianity and communism to rise spectacularly in 1960s and 70s but the primitive society just couldn’t work on itself. It now spews grandeur of putrefying pit to rally the herds.    

 

   

Commemorating Kumar Gandharva

 

Not into Indian "classical" music, actually don't even recognize it. Exposed to Carnatic music -that is ensconced in squatter's world, and with very rare exception I find it tedious and unable to connect -shows the quality and self assured arrogance that permeates the music. They are promoted by racket while 'folk' is alive and strongly connected to verve of life. There is a reason why western classical connects (not the high pitch singing though, I even went for paid sessions to understand but just couldn't connect to this one) sometimes brimming in tears -its searing and yes scary that you will be lost in a such beautiful world that you may not be able come back. Hindustani has much openness but trapped in "pristine purity" of cringe -the spiritual religion. Kumar Gandharva worked his magic by bringing in the subtleties of 'folk' into 'classic'. And really changed the syntax and aesthetics of music, context and narration. I wasn't aware of him until happen to land up in a festival on Kabir in late 1990s. When it comes to Indian music Kumar Gandharva is right there in a special place. The other day I was listening to him and realized it was his death anniversary. Humanistic prose of Kabir find voice through Kumar Gandharva and epitomizes everything that is human. These humanistic value system were severely degraded by Castetva forces and now passed onto Hindutva (and the worst binary projected through Islam). Religions are serious threat to humanity. Any system that seeks to nurture religion is therefore a threat to humanity. Religion can exist in sidelines but cannot be given primacy that is being appropriated for last many decades. It cannot be allowed to intrude into human identity. Religion is a pity, and really is woefully incapable to contain vastness of life. 

Ud jayega hans akela...is hauntingly beautiful rendition.

Imagine a world where language could listen

Words could understand

Say the things soul sense

And express itself in pause 

Imagine the words as breath itself

That gives life in prose, and music

Black hole 

There is a stillness that grows and summons at busiest of hour

Reaching the expanse of blue sky, envelopes the darkness of the space

Relating with random breeze, synchronizes with fireflies

Merges into the pastel yellows and blues of garden flowers

It presents in the most chaotic occasion as a drop of silence

Eating into loudest of noise, turning gibberish into music

Scatter thoughts into meaningless, memories into hallucination

Past into illusions

It exists, you can sense it, but is unknowable

Like a vortex in space time

When you know you cannot tell, if you tell it vanishes

What goes in cannot come out, if it comes out it’s not the same

Event horizon a realization  

Of living and dying into expanding still.

 

Night flowers 

Night flowers sway in the Milky Way

The meteor ignites an unseen stem

Painted and erased in haste

The canvas shimmers in countless ways

 Like clouded electrons they swirl in space

Mind is the nucleus filled with stars

 Kindles thoughts kept safe deep in time

Till the day dust settles

And arrange a new kind of life and form

    The memories are then packed in tiny gifts

           Left at the doorsteps of abandoned homes.      

They talk by flapping their meat

 

“They talk by flapping their meat at each other” is a line from a funny but incisive short story They're Made out of Meat by Terry Bisson. The aliens are describing humans, they are intrigued, one of them speculate “…they a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage." "Nope. They're born meat and they die meat…”.

This excerpt from their brief exchange:

"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the Weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."

"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads like the Weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."

  "No brain?"

"Oh, there is a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat!"

  "So... what does the thinking?"

"You're not understanding, are you? The brain does the thinking. The meat."

  "Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"

"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you getting the picture?" 

So when you watch the dimwits in media one can but think “They talk by flapping their meat”, ofcourse with no thinking meat, the brain. The meat is driven by money, greed, power, prestige, ego and entitlements. 

Meanwhile the unthinking putrefying meat in primitive society is working on “hindu seer” abusing “mahatma” gandhi. Hindu seer is such an oxymoron. Dictionary meaning of seer is “a person of supposed supernatural insight who sees visions of the future”. How can someone who has no connect with any reality but wallowing in primitive framework (read religion) lacking any basic human qualities hence incapable to even understand complexities of present see future? Future prediction and related BS is Indian speciality that emerged from sanctum led degradation to con insecure people – the beggar minded herds seeking tricks to get blessing. Using the reference of “mahatma” to Gandhi is in itself an abuse of common people and civilized sensibilities. It’s controlling the narration to work castetva narration as also self-justification for being in putrefying pit. Indeed check the “news” (when squatter bless news it is but natural for it to become views that is presented as godsend –like clever use of Sanskrit, which then easily replace news even if there were no facts to begin the news itself!) that is working to create caste vote bank/herd issues as if there are no important issue for a society that has amazing level of exploitation, corruption and challenges. The castetva narrations are nurtured with castetva herd controllers before elections to scuttle and control the herds. And yes, it was the colonial british (after ofcourse the squatter authentication) who fed these nincompoops to control and exploit the society. Pity this putrefying primitive society.

 Today morning I was hearing from blaring loud speaker wherein a squatter was humbly elaborating scripture (wonder how and why gita became prominent?) from local temple to herds. He assures “…of all the yogas, (-gyana so on) its bhakti that is superior” (these dimwits always have hierarchy of dealing “superior” “pure” never much attempts at understanding) meaning just become thinkingless meats, he also requests “…of all your earning give substantial portion to temples!” It’s a package deal. Somnath temple was ransacked 17 odd times every time the invaders (must be few hundreds riding all the way from Afghanistan –clearly brave and industrious but brutal) looted huge amount of precious items and killed hundreds with much ease and least resistance, and everytime herds collected money to rebuild and repeated to store precious things for invader's ease. The nincompoops were incapable and incapacitated to think and create strategies to defend. They were busy brutalising and cannibalising the herds. This in gist is the metaphor of this godforsaken society. Ofcourse now there is wherewithal to create grand stories and myth to replace history and control the present. Castetva’s version of Indian subcontinental history differs from Pakistan’s mullah version of the same history. Now let’s wait for Hindutva’s version. Meanwhile what is increasingly getting clear is that authentic history is the history of common people –how societies evolved to understand and deal with their surroundings, and not feudal wars and juvenile simplistic lazy narrations.    

Threshold of biomass

 

Of all the teeming biomass that atoms conceive through mindboggling journeys of miracle of life on earth humans have evolved its intelligence into conscious that synchronizes life’s system into astounding possibilities. Human life provides matter sentience, an opportune outcome of perilous odds. Humans sense the truth of the reality as they consolidate and evolve to survive and thrive. So the systems that nurture humans must provide all the freedom as also the latest means and understandings for the conscious to sense the reality. In most cases ideas, thoughts, understandings or discoveries happen in an incremental process but many a times path breaking, or disjointed to any narration as if a new stream of sensibility, has presented itself. Einstein’s theory of relativity or stories of Kafka are such examples. It superimposes into the known reality a new matrix. I was watching discussion between Foucault and Chomsky on this matter. Both are equally right while there are path breaking ideas and discoveries that produce cataclysmic shifts, as Foucault posits, there are also constant incremental additions. Indeed cataclysmic shifts are carried out using the semantics and tools of the accrued –standing on the shoulders of giants, as Chomsky the linguist argues.                  

There are reasons why paradigm shifting and path breaking discoveries and inventions happen in certain societies or regions. It has to do with how much a society has evolved. The threshold of biomass of humans to sense the reality and express is very much determined by socio-cultural factors which in turn impacts the systems that thrive and how much these provides independence for minds to explore and souls to dance. Sensing the threads that runs through the universe needs acceptance of silence and systems that nurtures and values contemplative space. It must value varied thoughts, free exchange of views that are built on logic of mind and illogic of soul. It must encourage inquisitiveness and consolidation of knowledge through understanding. Such society creates space for excellence which then percolates into every aspect of human expressions. Individuals too are not confined to narrow fields of inquiry as they seamlessly cross in search for understanding. As they reach the threshold of inquiry it starts to synchronize with expanding reality. Many regions across the world have experienced this. In modern times cities like Vienna, Paris or New York have seen spurt of expressions that significantly sensed the reality and helped in consolidating understanding for humanity. Even during restrictive ancient world Greece, Egypt or China etc. had provided such spaces that help consolidate human civilization by exchanging these into collective knowledge. Think of intellectual vibrancy during the period of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle or during the early period of Buddhism in Indian subcontinent – that saw many universities and libraries being set which latter shifted to East Asia, you will realize how much these matters and how much these have contributed to put foundations of evolved societies. As Foucault asserts it’s not about individuals but systems that nurtures these evolved ideas to be expressed, discoveries to happen and inventions to be carried out. Societies that lack these evolved attributes (essentially primitive) focus on individuals –who are elevated as heroes (or even god/incarnation). They wait for miracles, and work to build stories around these to assure its worth and myths of grandeur. There is a constant need for inane records to compensate quality. Lacking any framework that nurtures free minds and attributes that contribute to excellence –essentially expressions of heightened beauty, they seek to downgrade these.        

In the last few years something remarkable has happened. Internet has created virtual world. Real has shifted to virtual and with it distance has vanished. Though real world cities and centers of learning still hold sway virtual is consolidating and is set to make real immaterial in knowledge dissemination, exposure to liberal values, liberty and freedom, and experience of excellence of all of humanity presented through a click. There are also restrictive system like religion and market that have consolidated, and is attracting unthinking minds and herds, which have started to have detrimental impact. As has been the case through human history these have degraded societies, caused immense misery while wasting human lives into drudgery. It restricted humanity, isolated minds into dead habits and drained souls. It created barren lands of thriving primitives who have no contribution to humanity and seek to trap in dark ages, capitalizing on fear and insecurities. If humanity has to face the emerging challenges and evolve to new realities then it will have to keep its threshold for free minds much above herd reach. It must be aware of this ever present threat. It will have to therefore make every effort to restrain degrading systems. Diversity is crucial but it cannot be representation of regressive values and restrictive systems. These can only degrade and increase potentialities of problems. Diversity means diversity of knowledge, experience from diverse regions and challenges of different social realities, and not the least, diversities of ideas and approaches, these add to vibrant understanding and creates synergy for evolving into better world.                          

Wow that was spectacular!!

 

The launch

Will be watching live. Thanks to internet anybody anywhere in the world can.  Truly amazing.

James Webb Space Telescope by NASA/ESA/CSA is a crucial mission, as also quite complex with complicated deployments. Hope everything goes fine, and we will know more about the universe. Rooting for the mission.   

Also, don't forget to watch this movie Don't Look Up (on NetFlix). Based on truly possible events (truly happening events is probably a better description!).

Human intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, and patterns

 

We are at a crucial crossroad. It’s an epochal moment. Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to alter human beings’ relationship with Reason and Reality. The world is never going to be the same again. AI is changing course of human history. Machine learning algorithm with neural network is transforming human understanding of reality. Its employing logic beyond scope of human reason. There is a non-human form of logic consolidating. Within a discreet set its identifying relationship that not only escape human detection but comprehension. It defies any known human descriptions.

What is important here is that AI doesn’t work on any strategy, atleast the way human being understands, but on patterns from vast set of possibilities. What it means is that it is not working on a linear time frame but is synchronizing with patterns to optimize. You must have studied in school science about how synchronicity (resonance in this case) is exhibited in vibrations/oscillation (famous example being the soldiers crossing a bridge asked to break their synchronous steps), or how chemical reactions reach a critical phase to change the state or attribute. It reaches a point, and then as if with a snap of finger, there is an awakening into new reality. A spontaneous synchronicity that change the reality. It happens when part find its synergy with the system. Patterns are always seeking to synchronize, and when it synchronizes it ignites the path for synergizing with the system. It is how life happened. It is how consciousness awoke in the mind. It is what evolution is seeking; to optimize energy and matter by synchronizing with life system.  It’s clear therefore that the reality that AI is creating or sensing is synergizing with complexities that we are not aware of. A system much nuanced and waiting to be understood. I was reading physicist Wolfgang Pauli who writes (to psychiatrist Carl Jung) “Synchronicity should be defined in a narrower sense so as to comprise effects that only appear when there is a small number of individual cases but disappear when there is a larger number… In quantum physics, there are not just effects that appear with large numbers instead of with small ones…”. It is therefore conceivable that AI is tapping the potential at quantum level of involvement. Strategy works in causality. While synchronicity is meaningful coincidences (Schopenhauer) i.e. simultaneous events not casually connected.     

If you ask me to define human. I would say human being is a pattern seeking animal. Atleast that is how I identify myself with. World is about patterns. Everything has shape but when the shape recurs and associate -sometimes not apparent to human senses, then there is a pattern. What is not apparent to human senses tend to awake in subconscious and creates its own associations that is mistakenly attributed to clairvoyance. For pattern to be apparent one must have deep sense of connection with reality with all senses acutely aware, the perceptions go beyond senses. Its not spiritual nor divine nor any religion driven chicanery but comes with consolidation of all the information sought through inquisitive vibrant presence, contemplation, sustained reflection into stream of knowledge, sifted in time and abstracted into wisdom. Great ideas, thoughts and expressions tend to carry this imprint. It’s an ultimate consolidation of human expression that validate being a human and opens new horizons of reality and reason.

AI is coming out with insights and aspects of reality that humans have never known and may not even directly know. It is perceiving reality heretofore unknown to human minds that has potential to transform all realms of human experience and fundamentally change social political structure of our societies. AI’s thinking, ofcourse within the defined problem and measurable goal, is far superior to human that it even questions our identity. I think therefore I am is how human being identifies. What happens when thinking is taken away from humans and presented with superior logic of which the process cannot be understood? Where does that leave human beings?           

 Footnote: I was reading about AI named GPT-3 (Generative Pretrained Transformer -3^rd generation) that can generate human like texts (I also registered to test it few months back, the queue is quite long though!). It learns text by constructing approximation of reality -just the way Wittgenstein understood language. As it reads more i.e. inputs more data with context, it constructs an approximation for words by overlap of various representation. As the data increase with variety the approximation tends to narrow to near exact. This is the basic template. Now that is precisely how I learn language! It's astounding. I never really understood grammar nor sentence construction. So, there was no reference for learning except reading. The more I read more it created a framework. Also, considering English was my third language with Malayalam and Hindi being first two while English entered later. We even had English being taught in Hindi! So, it was arduous task when I finally decided to focus on reading in my mid-20s. Slow reading and words floating made it worse. But slow reading helped focus on idea and image better. Meanwhile I was earning by training people for comprehension through fast reading! It was just crazy absurd scene. I wasn’t really aware what good writing was. There were no frameworks to work on. So, focused on Sahitya Akademi (considered with some gravitas) library books of Indian writers, starting alphabetically, very soon randomly, and became quite frustrated by lack of vigor or insight in most writings, mostly staid and pretentious. Soon I had shifted to Russian, French, Latin, Japanese and sky is the limit frame with some amazing writers. I was getting the frame for good writing. Later I needed some contemporary writers, and so focused on Nobel prize as reference. Not disappointed at all. Syzmborska to Naipaul to Beckett and many more…was an exhilarating ride. All the while framework was being constructed with deep loop feedback through great literature. Though my writing was not a very successful venture but this is precisely how I constructed a framework for writing. And like GPT-3 I many times make embarrassing mistakes -a kind of glitch in the system. A paradox of deeply insightful flourish and the very next instance some really stupid mistake. Now, GPT-3 is inorganic meaning its memory is forever it can therefore learn further and further while human mind is organic and prone to deteriorate. That precisely is my concern. If I don’t read continuously, I feel as if I am losing grip for the language. It keeps me in constant state of anxiety. So, when I get the urge to write, a thought, and idea so on, I start to walk. I walk around the room, around the chair or just go for a long walk. I read that walking pace tends to synchronize with thinking pace. When I write I am only conscious, there isn’t right or left frame, words just flow in suiting the thoughts which I make sense through subconscious frame gained through reading. Sometimes the words stampede so you have to use conscious effort to straighten it -which really is scary. Many a times I write words the meaning of which I check only later. I would say, it’s about synchronizing the pattern. There is no time frame. Words synchronizes with the image and works to create close loop of sentences.     

AI has an advantage of space while humans are limited by size of the skull. However, unlike GPT-3, good reading adds to thinking and contemplation. That is a distinct advantage for human beings as GPT-3 only works in specific framework searching connections to reality that may astound but human brain is an open system with potent tool for reflection and consciousness to broader reality. The advantage of good reading unlike digital reading is that it avoids echo chamber closed insular loops. Before I took reading seriously, I was mostly into comics but quite significantly encyclopedias. The things about reading encyclopedias is that its random knowledge. It is a surprise package of different knowledge from varied disconnected fields.

Fractal pattern seen on a walk at the beach  

(inputs from ‘The Age of AI and Our Human Future’)                

Theatrics of power

Nobody is concerned about Britain, it has done much harm to the world (and good too but the final evaluation from the contemporary worldview falls into sinister), but yes since it has had such an influence on course of history and power dynamics across the world it cannot be ignored. Also, it has squiggle into position of influence with money and greed, significantly the English language that has been manipulated to define competence on erstwhile subjects -british accent is deemed as unchartered space of brilliance that only few are capable of, though in the recent times with local assertions these have become parody, desultory call center references. Primitive Indian elite’s civilizational pointers are embryonically linked to britain, the theatrics adds to compelling everlasting values of feudal ways. The binary of absurdities played out in britain is an insight to power salivating elites in erstwhile colonies.

If Conservative Party is about wanton display of special place in universe as herd controllers (we don’t give a f*ck -to put it mildly, you have to depend on us as saviors) then Labor is about opportunists miming the empathy reaction binary frame as concerned meanwhile “minorities” boxed and ardently petted for necessary redemption incase truth hits home. Then there is insidious insular media spread across the spectrum for binary niche weighing heuristic benefits as the occasion provides. Castetva Congress easily worked into the frame of saviors with liberal pointers picked from colonizers -imagine the level of degradation that liberal values have to be learned from racist colonial exploiters. Assortment of lawyers and squatters were baffled that they saw themselves as adversary to ‘refined’ british. They saw more in common hence the easy liberal claim of connecting with humanity -which sprightly gandhi worked into his theatrics. Always benevolent, working for higher and highest morals, for humanity sake while placed in putrid pit meanwhile keenly eyeing the next opportunity to grab and accumulate as blessing. Caste cannibal primitive Indian elite had more in common with racist colonizers they therefore begged, cajoled, supplicated, and indeed argued for transfer of power (hence irresponsible positioners for gravy tidied as liberal argumentative Indians, indeed what was there to argue? Britain left when it emminently suited while causing immense misery for common people as despicable herd controllers haggled for power), afterall we are quite similar humans what is their to fight, hence nonviolence, meanwhile wanton greed and untold exploitations were unleashed on Indian subcontinent culminating in massacre, maiming and displacement of partition not seen in annals of history  -the role of herd controlling natives in this horror is not the least. White racist colonizer, caste cannibal mediocres and monster mullahs struck the deal for arbitrarily dividing land for herd purity – a degraded value system that each understood and empathized.

The Indian origin members in Conservative party is also symbolic to the narration. It is not surprising that they got along with these entitled whites (or it must be higher calling, something called conscience!), it’s the same that ruled India with stratospheric connection with liberal values. The Labor party is another chicanery to deal that bleeding-heart gravy posers salivate on. Despite blatant violations, gross behavior and absolute incompetence of Conservative party Labor don’t really find much favor with common people is a testament on distrust. When I became aware of the scene Britain was ruled by Labour party headed by one who went by the name of Tony Blair. He played poodle to US as they attacked Iraq while the british media sexed up the reasons. This then was sought to be balanced by feeding monster mullahs in Britain as compensation who in turn care the gangrene as multicultural display. All miseries meanwhile are easily delegated to common people. With firm control over narration these miseries become nonexistent unless ofcourse there is some eyeball catching scandal and then there is collective “Aw” loop.

Caste cannibals could be seen loitering around labor party venues with enlarged pupils to eke even a half a chance as saviors which resonates back home as ‘making India proud’ within putrid pit ofcourse. The debating clubs in London is where feudals exact their strategies of entitlements while surreptitiously working the semantics of liberal which then percolates into India as desired template. Hindutva has slashed all these constructions to push its own reality that vibe with large herds, it also has firm connections and semantics of Indian reality unlike the debating club fluffing assertions. Castetva manipulators are realizing where the gravy has shifted and will fold up into Hindutva. The entitlements to control will find its rationale.   

Footnote: I recall two decades back, in early 2000s, when USA was preparing to attack Iraq, we took out a signature campaign against war. It is important that each individual make their presence felt when there is atrocity on humanity, as also it was quite clear that this was unwarranted. Unlike some clever positioners I was for targeted intelligence input driven attack on monster mullah controlled Afghanistan as much as firm response to terrorists in Pakistan in the aftermath of Mumbai attack -as the evidence were substantial and compelling. To understand Castetva Congress’s mindset you have to get into the rotted minds of cow urine drinking despicable like Digvijays (it’s a statement that likes of him are airdropped as leaders, and even now finds suitable to be nominated to RS. This arrogance is what defines). They dithered since their concern was whether this will antagonize monster mullah, how this will impact herd vote bank, hence the ruse of nonviolence. They have no value for human being. They don’t care about their fellow citizens who elected them. The state not only failed to protect its citizen against wanton attack but miserably failed to respond thus emboldening the terrorists and their controllers. 

So, we sent few thousand signatures with writings against war – that took lots of effort and time, to a newspaper. I feel violated to even mention the name of this disgusting newspaper (The Hindu) -was quite naïve to the working of charlatans. They not only censored it but even refused to acknowledge. Thus our effort was vanished. This the same third-rate high posturing Indian media that cultivates politicians and agendas, segregating people and undermining issues, creating inanities as news through mediocre celebrities and herd controlling wastrel games. Earns through instigating consumptions, hawking racist products, natural resources guzzling harmful colas and regressive matrimonials. They lack the credibility. If there is one thing that I respect about PM Modi it is his complete disregard, indeed desultory treatment, of Indian media and uses them as he wishes while he directly engages with people through social media and direct contact through AIR. Most in Indian media have not earned their position nor do they understand its significance. Democracy doesn’t automatically guarantee them as fourth estate unless they are responsible and work their way up without losing focus and conviction. When information is contextualized into knowledge and compels conviction it becomes wisdom, it’s a process. Frog leaping from sanctum moral vacuum onto entitlements as imperatives is not freedom of expression nor does it amuse anyone.

Book recommendation for the month

 

Omicron: The variant of concern

 

As long as there is wanton greed, absence of globalized and unified effort, the virus will spread and as it spreads the mutation rate increases and then we are presented with Omicron -variant of concern, and then it will spread, making the vaccine ineffective. We are in a loop of misery unless lessons are learned. The microorganism is insistent on us to face the basics. As long there is vaccine inequity we are in a predicament of entirely human making -the greed of few over other. Yes, earning money for years of efforts and investment need to be compensated (otherwise we are told some are not motivated enough) but how much do you want to earn? Unless ofcourse you are looking at virus as a long-term investment with assured returns through variants and so we are dependent on big pharmaceutical forever in a sinister cycle of exploitation and deaths. Never was merchant of death so suited. This is equally true for religions that has created vaccine reluctance, nurturing narration of fantasy and omnipotence in the image of gods, blessings, arrogance of pseudo science.  International community (as also organizations like UN, WTO, WHO so on -though making persistent efforts) has again failed us. And now we are at the mercy of apathy of authorities, greed of market and irresponsible ways of religions. Its going to get worse in poorer societies accentuated by climate led price rise (for instance flooding is spiking vegetable prices). It seems humans are mutating for self-destruction. Understanding the sentience of evolution this is troubling.