Monday, May 23, 2011

Of anomalies, ecology, paradigms and poop

Top row: Uranus, Neptune; Centre row: Earth, w...Image via Wikipedia

Poop. It is something we all make. Why? Because we must so that we may allow our bodies to carry on with the rape of mother nature. Yes, I said poop. Get over it.

Confusing. That’s the only way I can express it. It’s just so damn confusing. I look at all the other species on the planet. They live in such perfect harmony. As Edward Elric would say, “All is one, one is all”. Everything is part of this circle. Living and dying. In dying, making way for the newly born. A perfect, finely tuned, never ending circle. As Mufasa told us in our childhood, “the circle of life.” If you don’t know who Edward Elric is, watch more anime. If you don’t know who Mufasa is, did you even have a childhood?

So why confusing? Confusing because, In this perfect circle, there is one big anomaly. Humanity. The best killer that this planet has produced, oddly sticks out. An anomaly in an otherwise perfectly balanced equation. Our blood lust is insatiable. We’ll kill each other, we’ll kill life that surrounds us and if we take a step back from all the killing for a moment to lift ourselves high enough to see the big picture, a larger fragment of the grand design, we’ll realize that there is one more victim of our crimes. One more life that we are all slowly ending.

The big picture? Well, to simplify, lets try a paradigm shift. I love doing that, we should do that more often. Such a beautiful concept isn’t it? If you can’t play the game, just change all the rules. Come to think of it, it’s dangerous concept too. So lets change some rules. Lets redefine how we see our planet. Lets assume that it is just an organism existing in a wider ecosystem. The atmosphere, the deep blue oceans, the rolling plains, the hauntingly beautiful deserts, the mysterious forests and the veiled mountains are all mere organs of this organism. All the living beings within this organism are merely cells, that ensure that the organs function as they are supposed to.

Get the picture? Well, lets keep going then. The circle of life. All is one, one is all. Everything has a defined role. They will consume that which is defined for them, taking no more than is necessary and in turn be consumed by another. No exceptions. It doesn’t matter whether you are a miniscule insect or a mighty predator. You will serve your time. You will fulfill your ordained purpose. You will consume that which is allowed to you. Then, having done it all, you will pass on, in the end being only nutrition for the body. For the new organisms, for the new cells to consume.

The anomaly? Well, all the cells are in perfect in harmony. If we leave this system of cells and organs unregulated, it will carry on forever. That is, until you factor in just one last cell. Mankind. This cell is different from all others in the body. It has no predator. It will kill almost anything, for reasons other than self preservation. It continually evolves, always changing, always adapting. Unlike all others that dare not go beyond the boundaries set for them, mankind will find a way to survive even the harshest of conditions. It has no natural evolutionary advantage over any cell in the body. No claws, no sharp teeth, no strength. All it possesses is a neo-cortex and opposable thumbs. One final thing, Its hunger knows no bounds. It will consume anything and everything, going beyond its own needs regardless of whether other cells or even if its own kin starve. Death of another, even extinction, matters not.

Does it make sense? The behavior of this one cell is irrational. Unlike the other cells, it is aware of the body. It knows the bigger picture. It even knows the consequences of its own actions. Yet still, its behavior remains outside the boundaries of what is rational. The brightest minds are employed, not to save humanity but to destroy it. Their job is to come up with newer more efficient and creative ways to kill itself and everything around it. Millions of its kind are starving, on the verge of death and yet knowing this the others hoard resources for themselves, far beyond that which they require. As a species, humanity is suicidal.

How does humanity fit in this picture? Well, lets think on it. What is the one thing inside any living organism that does nothing except consume its hosts’ resources, destroy everything around it and reproduce so that its offspring may carry on doing the same? There is one organism that matches the description. Agent Smith tells us, it's a “virus”. If you don’t know who Agent Smith is, where have you been for the past ten years?

What now? Do we carry on? Do we change our ways? We will have to ultimately. The sooner we do, the better chance we have at a brighter future. Like any living being, our planet can only sustain the wounds we inflict for so long. Maybe it’s for the best we haven’t discovered any other inhabitable planet yet. In our current state, we’d only add another victim to our list of murders.

Talha A. B.

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12 comments:

  1. Ah, all that be too true and needless to say very well written. The marvels of the pencil and paper I tell you :D
    Anyway, to talk of context as humans we have gone way beyond the norm to disrupt the mere equation of nature. The "no more, no less" equation. Its all one sided now right? Destroy, snatch, rip etc etc. Honestly I disagree on the part about the claws and teeth. Humanity has quite enough of those, just not there to see. Honestly, what is more marvelous is that we go beyond the realms of physical hurt and hurt a place deep inside that no other species can ever think of. Now that's talent.

    Maybe that's why the human cell was introduced in the first place, for a heartless flexibility. All others come with a predefined manual right? We don't and even if we did we'd get bored too easily no?

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  2. As always, arigato gozaimasu :P

     Well, I know you feel that we disagree about the "claws", but we're on the same page there. As you said, they are just not there to see. Our neo-cortex is truly a blessing. A gift. We can use it to achieve great things, and we have, but we have also used this gift to do terrible things. Our claws come with instruction manuals and bullets. We are the only species that possesses the power to destroy the earth not just once, but multiple times. What was the purpose of creating such things?
    Also, could you elaborate the heartless flexibility part? Seems like an interesting way to go :P

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  3. The sad bit is that we know all this is happening. We can see it happening all around us, and yet we still remain apathetic, or worse, ignorant to it all. If we're on a self destructive path, and we know we are, whats stopping us from changing? Do we really have to get to the point of no return, with one foot over the cliffs edge to realize this?

    also, i'll take a crack at embedding the image :P

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  4. Hmm well its like this, we're flexible right. Overall we'll always be the same, as we have agreed but some ways, opinions and preferences can evolve or even dissolve to be honest. 
    The heartless flexibility originates from the level of desperation a human can have. It is directly proportional.  There comes a limit where all right and wrong are forgotten. We like to say, limits defined by the same world and society but in reality only we define our own limits.
    So it is in the pursuit of some wish or some object, driven by a level of desperation that we become highly agile, quick and highly flexible. Flexible because we can change our direction at a whim, sometimes even overruling the rules of humanity and a total disregard of consequences, thus the heartlessness.
    Come to think of it thats animalistic no? Animals don't care who they eat too but thats because they know they're SUPPOSED to. Like you said, all species take what is theres and turn around. All except the damned human. Always wanting more. Forever hungry.

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  5. Ummm. WOW. To say someone raised the stakes up high for length and amount would be a big understatement! 
    Nice :)

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  6. Theres a song by tool that I just remembered while reading your comment.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLjrD-oXkhA

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  7. We have to change the way things are going. Thats all I can say at the moment. I am really exhausted and my mind is not working at the moment after going through the article and all the comments, esp the one by Hussnian. Some really good suggestions by hussnain. Hope that hussnain you do follow these. I ll try to follow these as well. Well for talha, you really have made a nice comparison and the way you have described all the species as being the cells who work towards the proper functioning of organs is really .... (dont know what to say)... I felt like that we, humans, as cell, are suffering from malignant neoplasm (cancer) where the cells undergo uncontrolled growth invasion and destroy the adjacent tissues. and it is resulting in metastasis ( spread of disease to other organs). and you know what the worst part of the picture is? The so called educated people (yes i call them so called educated people) are more involved in all this than the people with no education. and if we are not going to put an end to this we are infact laying ground for our own suicide and to start the change we have to change ourselves first of all. and i hope that we will all be a part of change and will educate our near and dear ones to change as well so as to create a better world. (btw we will include this as well in our curriculum. I hope to you remember, what i am refering to).

    An eye opener article, just like your previous article. Well done and keep up the good work.

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  8. your article made me remind of the 2 videos related to the global warming. They are really touching. the links are
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXvpDoGrRGU

    and
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK5v8AtMVho

    All the best.

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  9. Yes Omair, I do try to follow these suggestions (at least try to). These may seem minor and insignificant, but collectively can make an impact!

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  10. This be in my newly acquired song collection :D

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  11. Global warming and the environment has always hit a separate string of my heart. You can't imagine the utmost lengths I go to to save paper. Especially in offices, paper is exploited like it doesnt mean a thing. For me paper is like some tiny twig that was broken off.
    With water and plastic too actually but it seems we are less on alternatives here. If we stop using plastic and revert to paper bags, thats still trees right, if we shift to cloth bags we ultimately wash them dont we. there will be some sort of loss down the lane, just need to see which is less damage inflicting I guess.

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  12. LOL. I don't know man. After the brutality of the curriculum you and me are studying I'm beginning to think twice about adding things to the curriculum. Lets see what you and me can come up with. And thanks for liking the article, I can assure you, as long as there are studies for me to ignore, I'll be writing good posts :D

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