"Write"

“Write.”

… every living thing, every leaf, every bird… is only alive because it contains the secret word for life. That’s the only difference between us and a lump of clay. A word.

Words are life … All those blank pages; they’re for you to fill.

(from movie “The Book Thief” - 2013)  

Synthetic Life

• "To live, to err, to fall, to triumph and to recreate life out of life." 

from semi-autobiographical novel “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” (1916)  by James Joyce.

• "See things not as they are, but as they might be." 

from the book, American Prometheus which is about Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of first atomic bomb.

• "What I cannot build, I cannot understand."

A quote ascribed to physicist and philosopher Richard Feynman as the last words on his blackboard at the time of his death.

May 20, 2010 is a day to remember in human history. On this day four years ago, researchers at the J Craig Venter Institute announced the creation of first self replicating synthetic bacteria (M. mycoides JCVI-syn1.0). It was an organism that was programmed on a computer one base pair at a time. Then it was booted up in a recipient cell and behold, it started to divide.

In case, you are still wondering about the relevance of above three quotations; these were the watermarks written inside the DNA of that bacterium along with the names of its 46 creators and a web address.

The field of synthetic biology has advanced a lot in the past four years. Now life's basic alphabets can be extended and there is talk of using 3D printers to create synthetic life in near future. But these are just the baby steps as compared to the shape of thing to come. In the times ahead, man-made organisms would dominate medicine, chemical and energy sectors. 

Such artificial life forms might also carry the stories of their creations within their genomes. Eons from now, future archaeologist might stumble upon these watermarks. Would they be able to understand the aspirations of their designers; admire the ingenuity of the architects and feel the awe of their creators at the moment of inception?

I wonder.

There are only two questions really worth asking ...

... But the point, what I've got it down to, is there are only two questions really worth asking. "Why are we here?" and "What should we do about it while we are? And to help you, I've got two things to leave you with, from two great philosophers, perhaps two of the greatest philosopher thinkers of the 20th century, one a mathematician and an engineer, and the other a poet.

The first is Ludwig Wittgenstein who said, "I don't know why we are here. But I'm pretty sure it's not in order to enjoy ourselves." (Laughter) 

And secondly and lastly, W.H. Auden, one of my favorite poets, who said, "We are here on earth to help others. What the others are here for, I've no idea." (Laughter) (Applause)

An excerpt from TED Talk by John Lloyd - An inventory of the invisible. Filmed at TEDGlobal in July 2009.

Clash versus fusion and synthesis

     "Every age, every culture, every custom, and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties, and ugliness; accepts certain sufferings as matters of course, puts up patiently with certain evils. Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures, and religions overlap."

These lines by the novelist Hermann Hesse were written in his book Steppenwolf nearly a century ago. The idea of the clash of civilizations has also remained prevalent in recent years. It was popularized by Samuel P. Huntington in the late 1990s. Many people still believe that their culture, religion, or way of life is under threat by the opposing forces. Fears of modernization and new technologies are likewise common. 

Although there is no doubt that every civilization and time period has its unique characteristics. However, the notion that conflict or overlapping between cultures, creeds, or distinct eras would result in human sufferings can’t be true in a broader sense. In my view, these are the intersections where ideas, thoughts, morals, beliefs, and norms get challenged. Without these collisions, growth in human thought will be hampered and stagnation would ensue. At these boundaries, new ideas take root, synthesis is achieved and flowers grow.

Rainbows are not limited to the skies

Double rainbow with reflection in the water, Lappland Sweden by Jerry Magnum Porsbjer

     Charlie Chaplin once famously said, “You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down”. It is supposed to be a motivational quote, but then a friend of mine quipped that one can also find rainbow reflection in water while looking down. That was certainly a clever observation and a kind of improvement to the original quote. In fact, a full rainbow circle can only be viewed from a plane or some other aerial vehicle while looking down towards the earth. Rainbows can also be seen in prism light, the mist of waterfalls and spray of fountains. Even iridescent surface of a transient soap bubble exhibit something similar.

Mist rainbow at Takakkaw Falls, Canada by Michael Rogers

Rainbow as seen from the Helicopter by Brocken Inaglory

A soap bubble rainbow by Brocken Inaglory

     
     Rainbows represent hope. It is a promise that gloomy clouds are receding. Hope gives us the courage to face grim odds and like rainbows, one can find it in unexpected situations.

  

So I would like to offer a corollary to Charlie’s quote.

“Rainbows are not limited to the skies. You can find these at many different places. Just keep looking and never give up.”

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons