The Internet

 

It is much too hard
climbing mountains,
      and so,
we just surf
      the web.

Everything after all,
      chooses the path
of least resistance. 

Fitting in a Puddle

 

Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, “This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in; fits me rather neatly, doesn’t it? In fact, it fits me staggeringly well! It must have been made to have me in it! — Douglas Adams

Arun Kumar

Arun Kumar + AI

That is quite a remarkable thought. However, I do not need to be a puddle to ponder such a profound question. I, as myself, can wake up one morning and marvel at the miracle of finding myself in surroundings that fit me so well. Furthermore, I wonder, how is that even possible? Do I happen to just fit into the surroundings, or is it the other way around, with the surroundings having managed to fit my traits?

I could imagine a thought experiment where I go to sleep and during the night, get hit on the head, waking up significantly more intelligent than I was before. [Note: I guess this could be considered a different kind of awakening — suddenly gaining enlightenment.]

When I wake up in the morning, endowed with the newly acquired gift of intelligence, I find my mind overflowing with all kinds of questions that I lacked the intellectual wherewithal to contemplate before. Intriguingly philosophical questions about how and why my personal traits align so harmoniously with the external world.

Back in my school days of elementary physics, I had learned about the electromagnetic spectrum, but my mind did not show any curiosity about why my eyes are attuned to seeing the part of the spectrum that ranges from violet to red — a range in which so many visual wonders of the external world exist. Now, my more intelligent self is eager to understand why.

Similarly, why is the audible range of my hearing from 20 to 20,000 Hertz (Hz), allowing me to hear things happening around me?

Filled with curiosity, I start to wonder where I should look for answers, or if there are any answers to begin with. If I keep my curiosity burning and continue searching for answers, I have a feeling that I will find them.

With perseverance, and by digging through the books in the local library and conducting searches (thanks to Dr. Google and Bing), I begin to unravel the reasons.

The reason that the physiology of my eyes and their interaction with neurons are tuned to register the electromagnetic spectrum between violet (380 nanometers) and red (750 nanometers) is that the Sun, the ultimate source of energy for all living organisms on Earth, emits radiation whose spectral density peaks around these wavelengths.

The physiology of the eye is similar for other living organisms in that we all have also evolved our visual traits to take advantage of this fact. In this way, we share a commonality in what we can perceive.

The curious fact is that we did not need to know anything about the electromagnetic spectrum or the spectral density of the Sun. We did not have to first analyze the spectral density of the Sun and decide, ‘Hey, let’s engineer the physiology of our eyes to take advantage of this.’ Instead, the process of natural selection, working under the given environmental conditions, did that for us.

The physiology of my eyes is a case where the hole was there, and I evolved to fit into it.

The story is the same for the physiology of my ear, which is capable of responding to longitudinal waves between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz.

This is because the typical conditions at the surface — namely, the pressure and density of the air — allow such longitudinal waves to travel most efficiently through the air. Once again, most biological organisms share this commonality, and the reason is the guiding hand of natural selection. Needless to say, once again the hole was there, and I evolved to fit into it.

The fact of the matter is that, living under the glory of the Sun — the giver of energy that we all rely on — and guided by the patient, yet firm hand of the principles of natural selection, various biological organisms are actors on a stage. They have evolved to share common traits and are engaged in a play where they can see, hear, feel, and smell each other, participate in the unfolding of each other’s lives over time.

So, what to tell the puddle about its amazement upon waking up and finding ‘an interesting hole that fits its form so well’? The answer is to say, ‘Not so fast, my friend. Perhaps the hole was already there, and it was the malleability of your form, working with the tendency of natural systems to settle into a state of least potential energy, that did the trick. And when you woke up, you discovered that you fit so well into it.

In the end, considering the innumerable characteristics, traits, and forms I could have embodied, there is likely a reason why a particular solution was selected among many possibilities. To understand why, I just have to wonder and ask the question.

Ciao.

May be or Maybe

 

There is tomorrow
but perched at its front,
       always sits a 'may be'
or a 'maybe'—
and if not leading,
      then it follows.

‘May be’ tomorrow
      or tomorrow, ‘may be.’

‘Maybe’ tomorrow
      or tomorrow, ‘maybe’.

Whichever way, perhaps
we will still be together
      come tomorrow
and that is so much easier
      to convey.

The tale of Justice Stalwart

 

I don’t know that there are any short cuts to doing a good job -Sandra Day O’Connor

Arun Kumar

Arun Kumar + AI

Once upon a time, in the hallowed chambers of the highest court, Justice Stalwart sat in his high-backed leather chair, ready to ponder the weighty matters of equality and fairness before him in an impartial and unprejudiced manner.

On this particular day, unusual urgency was apparent in the rustle of legal briefs, and in the hushed whispers of clerks. Along with signs that something unusual was in the air, something else tugged at Justice Stalwart thoughts — an old memory of an upside-down flag fluttering in the wind and how it might affect the proceedings today.

It had begun innocently enough. Justice Stalwart’s wife, Delilah, had always been enthusiastic about flags. She collected them — American flags, state flags, even obscure historical flags, and sometimes on whim, created entirely new flags of made-up countries, like Drussia. Their home resembled a museum of vexillology in a peaceful and non-descript suburb.

But one day, the winds of discord blew through their neighborhood.

Anne Hutchinson, their neighbor, had erected a sign in her yard — a glittering, cursive proclamation that read, “Fay Umptray.” The sign sparkled like a rebellious star against the suburban backdrop. Delilah, ever the patriot, took offense. She marched over, her indignation flaring like a phosphorus matchstick.

“Anne,” she said, her voice trembling with righteousness, “this sign is an insult to our democracy!”

Anne raised an eyebrow. “Delilah, it is free speech. We are allowed to express our opinions. Particularly, against the aging politicians who chase and grab our cats.”

Enraged Delilah retreated to her own yard and unfurled one of finest American flag in her collection and hoisted it upside-down. It was her way of saying “This is my protest against my neighbors indecent and uncalled for behavior.”

And so, the flag flew — an emblem of defiance, a silent scream against perceived injustice.

Justice Stalwart was caught in an awkward situation and when confronted by journalists squarely put the responsibility for an upside-down flag in his front yard on his wifie’s shoulder and tried to come away clean.

Then came the day we started this story from — the day Justice Stalwart sat on the bench, robes billowing, ready to hand over judgments as needed.

The case before him involved a First Amendment challenge. A man had burned the flag during a protest, claiming it was his right to do so. The courtroom buzzed with anticipation wondering what stance Justice Stalwart would take, particularly in the backdrop of an upside-down flag flying in his own house.

Justice Stalwart leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. The flag outside the window, that stubborn symbol, seemed to mock him. He remembered Delilah’s fervent defense, her insistence that the upside-down flag was a symbol of her voice and way he had distanced himself from the incident. But now, faced with the same situation but in a dissimilar context, he had different thoughts.

“Your Honor,” the attorney argued, “burning the flag is an act of free speech. It is protected.”

Justice Stalwart glanced at the flagpole outside the window. The stars winked at him, as if daring him to decide. He thought of Anne’s sign of political defiance, of Delilah’s rebuttal, all in the name of free speech.

And then he spoke. “The flag,” he said, “is more than cloth. It is a canvas for our ideals, our past struggles as a nation. Desecrating it is a dishonor to the country.

The attorney blinked. “Your Honor, but you yourself stood complacent and watched the flag fly upside-down.”

Justice Stalwart straightened. “In this case,” he declared, “the flag was burned not as act of freedom but out of disrespect to the history of our nation.”

There was a pin drop silence in the courtroom.

The flag outside fluttered, as if ashamed of double standards right under its shadow.

Justice Stalwart walked out into the sunlight, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting allegiances. And somewhere, in the quiet corners of his heart, he wondered if he had made the right choice.

Ciao.

Epilogue: If I was in the Chambers of the court on charges of flying an American flag upside-down and put forward the defense that I had nothing to do with it and it was an act concocted by my spouse on whom I have no control over, I wonder what Justice Stalwart’s viewpoint and decision would be? Not what he passed on himself.

People in high places think that they can get away with any misdemeanors of ethical or moral issues. Do they really think that people hold a shred of belief in cockamamie stories they tell to justify their unethical behavior?

The employees of the United States federal service (the Executive Branch) have to take an ethics training once a year and are told that they cannot receive a gift exceeding in value above $20, and if they do, they could be fired for breaking the law. The same rule either does not apply to the members of the legislative and judiciary branches or they know that they can get away with.

The double standards want to make us, the common citizens, simmer in a silent rage.