e 3 a s h i g R E F L E C T I O N S

The Chemical Scum

I have been going through a bad phase. I have always suffered intermittent low moods that last for few days at a time. Nothing that my sofa and a day-long TV session could not fix.

Earlier this year, I made a commitment to read all Richard Dawkin’s books in the space of 12 months. I have indeed managed to go through most of his writings to the point where they are now becoming repetitive. I blame him for worsening the severity of my otherwise regular low mood swings. Once I wrote about my quest to find a meaning to life. The truth is, often I wondered if other people are troubled with the same questions I am troubled with and if these questions even mattered at all. Most people around me are happy and content with what they have been told. I now feel, thanks to Mr Dawkins, that my world is so big and empty.

Truly, we are no more than carbon-based chemical scum on the surface of a typical small planet in orbit around a typical star on the outskirts of a typical galaxy in the vast space of this universe.

I am currently reading “Out of our minds” by Sir Ken Robinson (video) which talks about creativity and human intelligence. It is quite illuminating. I shall keep his thoughts in mind when teaching my own children about the world they are going to live in. I wish every parent and educator invest few hours reading this fascinating book. It does give me hope.

The more I read and listen to the people at the forefront of technology and neurological sciences, the more certain am that artificial intelligence is about the take a giant leap forward. I believe that before my generation expires, we will see machines that are far more intelligence and complex than humans. I believe that these silicon-based life forms will be able to explain the universe and utilise it in a far better and more efficient way than we are now doing. I have no doubt that consciousness will be far better understood, manipulated, and transferred between man and machine. I believe that unless we suddenly start killing each other or be wiped out by something else, we are about to be part of an adventure that is far beyond the human imagination. It gives me hope.

PS:This post is dedicated to banoota for introducing me to blogging and for having the first UAE-based weblog I know of.