"The Purposeful Life" -AbstruseGoose

You think we dont have a purpose in life?

... Well, there are billions more humans than there were dinosaurs. What do you think our purpose is?

On putting things off...

"Its never too late to reconsider an Important Decision
It helps you attain more Precision
You can explain things with Concision
But everything is Preceeded by a Distant Vision"

- An anonymous BITSGian Spamming on DC

Of the innumerable things that each of us has to do, we choose to put off some for later, while concentrating on few others. Often, there are things we keep putting off without realizing what we are losing out on. And most often than not, its the long term things that we put off, and prefer to complete the short term ones, so that we may focus on the long term "things" when the time comes.
But then that time will probably never come until we choose to make time for them.
And for me, that time has to come.
Now.

State of statelessness

It is at times such as these that you wonder the state that you're in. And the only solace you can find, is in the belief that "itll pass".
If you're confused, so am I. Coz I find myself in a state where I have ample time for nothingness, and no time for work. Will get back to blogging when I'm out of this state...

(Picture courtesy phdcomics.com)

The Smurfs...

This is a tale of a place far away
paradise on earth, its an island at bay

The 'Smurfs' as the inhabitants were fondly called by the people,
Had nothing to do with their skin-colour being purple

The smurfs were happy, they knew no desire
No competition, no fancy fashion, no claim on property, no quest for attire

It was all fun and joy, and everyone was content
until one fine day, arrived a jew... , with a malicious intent

He sold them an idea, a business, a plan
He sold them a dream, He said 'together we can'

And so it was, and indeed, together they did
The smurfs worked hard, they were diligent and intrepid



Scrooge, the Jew was visibly overjoyed
It was his farmland for which the smurfs were employed
He grew crops and fruits and vegetables that were nice
of breeds exotic, befitting the smurfs' paradise

The smurfs were happy, for they got fat payments
10 coins each, for a day's work, for enjoyment

Within under a month, Scrooge was overjoyed and excited
for his tiny little market, brimming with buyers, was crowded
He also ran a restaurant, where he offered delicacies exotic
The smurfs watched in amazement -
-as the fruits and vegetables of their island, transformed-
-into delicious retreats of wonder and magic

Scrooge was happy, satisfied, overjoyed and content
He brought new joy and pleasures to the ignorant smurfs; he had a happy intent.

Even the smurfs, their payments increased
With new delicacies to relish, their excitement had peaked

And so the smurfs were happy again, they knew no more desire
No competition, no fancy fashion, no claim on property, no quest for attire



Until one fine day, a new dish adorned the menu. It was called the 'paradise bright'
Those who had relished it, cried out in ecstacy; nowhere on earth will you get such a delight
But alas, the heavenly desire cost 50 coins per dish
'How are we to arrange, for so costly a dish?'

Dont worry, said scrooge, you can take it now, if you want, for ten
your earnings will increase, and with your savings, you can payback then
But every day you delay, you incur upon yourself
A payment of interest amounting to a coin a day in itself

The smurfs thought for a moment, decided it through, and said why not
"we earn 15 coins a day; and for today's delight, we can spare a coin or two a day, can we not?"

So it was decided, and the smurfs were happy again
From every perspective, it was everyone's gain
They were overjoyed and content, it was anyone's call
Living beyond one's means is so much fun after all



But then one fine day, Scrooge decided
It was time to expand, new land to be added
More smurfs to be hired, expansion is fine
"But How am I to pay, the new smurfs who join?"

"Dont worry, I know what ill do" thought Scrooge, he was proud.
He summoned the new joinees, and told them aloud
"I'll pay you half your wage, every day for this month
and give you your rightful due, in installments from next month."

So it was decided, and Scrooge was happy again
From every perspective, it was everyone's gain
He was overjoyed and content, it was anyone's call
Living beyond one's means is so much fun after all



Until one fine day, the weather gods relented
It thundered, it stormed, it poured unbounded
The crops were destroyed, the produce wasted
The land was flooded, and the smurfs were disappointed

With nothing to grow, the profits finished
The employed smurfs, had their incomes diminished
A frustrated Scrooge demanded his due: "You all owe me for the 'paradise bright'
Which you so excitedly relished, with much delight"
"How can we pay, with our incomes dwindled?", said the smurfs with exhaustion
The end of the month was soon approaching, it was a perilous situation
For now it was time, for the installments to begin
"What do I do now?" thought scrooge, from within

The smurfs owed Scrooge, and he owed them
"The bubble's burst; this crisis, I have to stem"



The smurfs, concerned, demanded a fresh start
But despite the crisis, Scrooge was smart
He went to the landlord, of his own accord
and Demanded some credit. "Liquidity Crunch, My Lord"

And so they discussed, and they all agreed
That liquidity and credit was the solution indeed
"Why not?" said the landlord, "I have some credit"
If you promise to repay from a part of your profit

So it was decided, and everyone was happy again
From every perspective, it was everyone's gain
They were overjoyed and content, it was anyone's call
Living beyond one's means is so much fun after all

Until, that is, the bubble bursts again; and you fall...

Yes, I know what you're thinking, and before we jump to that, lets see what different people say about the situation:

The nazis would blame the jew. The jew robbed the honest and hard working smurfs, a rich and happy and content island; and corrupted them with greed. The jew should be executed and all those who dissent should be too.

The Socialists and communists would blame capitalism and the free market system. "Its evil" they'll say. They'll criticize the landlord for supporting the Jew. And would ask for a complete nationalization of the land and resources and let everything be owned by the state. They forget, though, that by doing so, they are putting themselves in Scrooge's shoes; except, they have absolute power and control over law.

The free market thinkers of the likes of Edmund spencer would put this off as a case of inflated economy, and would call for corrective measures and increase in credit and liquidity...

Me? I just feel that the people are dumb. The free market way is the best way there is. Its the people who misuse it. If a street rogue comes to you and sells you a watch which you later find out is fake, who are you going to blame? Its you who is to blame.
If someone commits a murder with a swiss army knife, you arent going to sue the manufacturers, the culprit is the guy who misused it.
Its the people who misuse the system and since no-one likes themselves blamed, the blame shifts on to the system.

As long as our mindset will be focused on the belief that we can relish, now, the fruits of seeds we are yet to sow; then there is something fundamentally wrong with our thinking...

Within the margin of error

This post is inspired by an anonymous saying which goes 'Dont let art be all about comprehending the expression of the artist. Its so much more than that, and indeed it is this very incomprehensibility that makes art truly and uniquely beautiful' 

Indeed, what I gather from this saying confirms what I believe generalizes all of human emotion. If you ever give it a sincere thought, human emotion has arisen from things beyond our understanding. There's no clear definition of beauty that is documented; neither is there an epitome of perfect beauty accross which anything else could be compared. The inability to understand ourselves, the working of our mind and that of our own body confuses us, and causes us to react so. 

Just to make it clearer for those who have reached so far, this post may seem utterly pointless and even a waste of time for most of you; and indeed you would be right. To those of you, please proceed and devote your time to something more fruitful. But to the rest of you, I would like to appeal to your sense of understanding, to grasp the inadequacies of the heuristics we take for granted; and relate to what I feel truly describes our life - within the margin of error.

Lets start with an example. Lets start with the word 'Ideal' (you would associate it with perfect). For those of you who watch Boston Legal, you would recall a scene in Season 1, episode 6 'Truth be told' :

(background: Sally is defending a guy who jiggered in a spoon right thru a toaster and got himself electrocuted. Sally's case - its the toaster manufacturer's fault for not considering safety of users, while the defendant claims its the guy's fault for behaving non-idealistically)

Sally Heep exits Alan’s office, walks down the hallway, and enters a library area and picking out a book.Denny Crane is there.
Denny Crane: Ever used a computer?
Sally Heep: Denny. Um, yes. Yes, I have.
Denny Crane: Remarkable machine.
Sally Heep: Let me ask you a question. A manufacturer of toasters should anticipate that their written safety instructions will be ignored to the extent that they’re counterintuitive and should plan for that contingency, right?
Denny Crane: In an ideal world

My second take: In an ideal world, we would expect every user to use the toaster only within the limits of its stated usage. And in such a scenario, It makes no sense for the manufacturer to plan for contingencies arising out of un-idealistic behaviour, in an Ideal world. 

I know I'm playing around with point-of-view or frame-of-reference (From the point-of-view of the toaster manufacturer, an ideal world would be one where every user behaved ideally and within limits of stated usage instructions; while from the user's point-of-view, an ideal world would be where every toaster were manufactured to handle any conceivable usage), but whatever it is, we have just succeeded in thwarting the impression of the word 'ideal'. So now, 'Ideal' is not so ideal after all.

Similar arguments apply to beauty as well; and in fact to any known human emotion. Going back to the original saying:

'Dont let art be all about comprehending the expression of the artist. Its so much more than that, and indeed it is this very incomprehensibility that makes art truly and uniquely beautiful'

Okay, so when the artist goes about making a piece of art - be it a painting, sculpture, inscription, or anything, s/he has a mental picture of what s/he wishes to convey. And more often that not, the mental picture is either a mixture of emotion, or a message. Whatever it is, once the art-form is ready, what it conveys differs from observer to observer. Many artists have considered this implication a positive one. They say: The true beauty of art is to convey an expression and let it imply different meanings to different people. And if you happen to observe true art, you must find the conveyed meaning in your own way, and not necessarily the way the artist meant it. This is why art is 'so much more' than just a medium of communication. 

I do not disagree.

But I would like to point out an objective view, that questions this behaviour. First of all, if the observer is unable to determine what the author had in mind while creating the art, it is evidently clear that either the artist was incapable of, or the mode of art chosen was insufficient to convey the emotions / expressions effectively to the user. And this incapability / insufficiency is something which we as humans cannot bring ourselves to face. So we find solace and choose to extoll this rather unique form of expression, where the incapability / insufficiency is regarded as necessary for the resulting beauty that art cannot do without. 

Since it is unclear as to what the artist wishes to express, the observers make their own interpretations of what the artist probably meant. And since this interpretation depends on individual personality, it must be different for different people. 

Associating this differentiation with beauty or the brilliance of art is something that artists take great pride in doing. Indeed, this is probably the only reason that art as a profession even exists.

And yet, there is another explanation. Probably, art is indeed not about a form of expression or communication. It is about rediscovering ourselves, as we observe the piece of art. 

Often, as a part of psychological analysis of patients, researchers display them abstract images drawn on a paper by threads dipped in paint. They make no logical sense, but when forced, the brain tries to draw analogies to make sense of the painting. Through these analogies, patients either see 'snakes' or 'cats' or 'lions' or 'tigers' or what not. It is these interpretations that lead researchers to their understanding of the patients' mind or cognitive state. But is it really true 'understanding'? In my opinion it is just a manifestation of how little we understand ourselves, so much so that we pride ourselves for researching on how little we know about it. And the more we know, the more we realize how little we know. 

We constantly live in heuristics of what we consider to be benchmarks of beauty, of joy, of happiness, of freedom, of serenity, of peace, or of emotion. How can you define peace, when your definition of violence itself is clouded? How can you define imperfection when you cannot know what perfect or ideal is? I do not wish to be misunderstood, and am not against the claim made by artists. Indeed, what our mind conjures or is capable of conjuring in the form of art or science (yes, true science is inseparable from art), truly transcends all our perceptions of beauty and emotion. But taking such an interpretation for granted and as the basis for understanding is, in my honest opinion, a false premise. 

Writing has always been considered a mode of communication and expression. However I believe it is much more than that, it is also an art. What you interpret from what I've written above may not be what I intended to convey in its entirety. Probably you have formed an interpretation that draws meaning in your own unique way; that instills in you an understanding of a different kind. In such a case, you will truly realize the essence of what I intend to convey, that we live in our own unique world bounded by its own heuristics that we have learnt not to question. But when we do question, we realize how little we know without the heuristics to support us. And scary though that thought may be, it is the true reality. we live within a Margin of Error, the bounds of which we still do not know...

Goa Beer Festival 2008

Anyone wants to join in?
Goa Beer Festival, coming soon...

Yes, I know. Its been postponed to October this year.
Its goin' to be a fun experience, the first of its kind. You Game?

Amazing...

Amazing by aerosmith... Its been twisting, turning, ringing and churning in the depths of my subconscious all morning.
The Lyrics just don't seem to slip out of my mind...

I kept the right ones out
And let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins
There were times in my life
When I was goin' insane
Tryin' to walk through
The pain
When I lost my grip
And I hit the floor
Yeah, I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired
Of livin' a lie
I was wishin' that I
Would die

It's Amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It's Amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
It's Amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight

That one last shot's a Permanent Vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen to all that righteous talk
I was out on the street,
Just tryin' to survive
Scratchin' to stay alive

(Chorus)

"So, from all of us at Aerosmith
to all of you out there, wherever you are.
Remember- the light at the end of the tunnel
may be you. Goodnight!