Evolution!

So, I have been thinking a lot lately, taking a break from those electric circuits, graphs and all other "fuzzy" things that I have been tied to for quite some time now. I had always thought that we should do better in looking for the answers of our own origin than go space-hiking. My idea had been - "If you don't know your own back-yard properly, there's simply no use going glancing at your neighbor's houses." Of course, I had been a bit retarded and narrow-sighted. A lot of thinking and referring to publications has led me to contradict my earlier views.

As you must be knowing, stars and various space bodies contain a lot of organic molecules, the same molecules that make us the intelligent, powerful, complex and beautiful creatures we are. And like the majority of things there is no co-incidence or the Hand Of God at play here. It seems (and it is) that we have, literally, descended from the stars, we are a part of this cosmic extravaganza - we are the children of the cosmos. So, now it makes sense to me. The answers to our origin lie in the stars, it's there in the endless vacuum of the cosmos. Someday, maybe, we will find it.

OK ... so back to my non-emotional self. Evolution, as is generally perceived, is a funny little thing that Nature does to check which creatures are worthy to be with us on Earth and which should go to hell. Very true. This is called Natural Selection. Consider it like this, all life-forms that you see around (and the ones that have become the wallpapers of your desktop) are Nature's experiments. She does all the stuff- mix-n-match and twist-n-turn, to see which life-form can stay and which can't. So, all extinct life-forms are nothing but experiments of Nature that have failed and had to be discarded subsequently. But that's just one face of the coin. Do humans, the most intelligent life-form, the most complex, the most exquisite, have no role to play in this combinatorial game? Oh yeah! Sure we do!

So, now comes our part, which is really great! It is called artificial selection. Just as Nature picks and chooses which life-forms can live and which can't, we select life-forms that are most beneficial to us and discard the rest. When I say discard, I don't mean that we go on a rampage, destroying everything that has no use to us. (Actually we do the same, but in a more subtle way) What we do is promote and aid the reproduction and propagation of life-forms from which we can derive the most. For example, corn in ancient times was never so beautiful to eat, in fact it was "scrawny" but lo! don't you love corn today? 'Cors you do! Because we have promoted and propagated the evolution of corn just to suit us well. So much so that corn can't even reproduce without our help. We have done the same things with cows, dogs, sheep and many other life-forms. So, evolution is incomplete without us. Way to go!

The advice: Please, for once in a while, immerse yourself into the study of Nature. I agree that your computer, robot or circuit is great and of huge practical value, but just once in a while do fall back and give Nature a thought. You will be amazed at its beauty, complexity, interconnectedness ... it's a perfect symphony, a grand orchestra, not to be missed at any cost!

The conclusion: Our Earth isn't special at all with the O2 atmosphere, optimum climate, availability of water. It's just that we and the other organisms are so well adapted to our environment that we think that our Earth is special and one of its kind in the entire Universe. Remember, life-forms in other distant planets maybe thinking the same thing!

Cheers!

Bouts of Randomness

"To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost." - Gustave Flaubert

It's a funny feeling, you see, to be in love. You need to reconsider the situation every ten minutes. Life suddenly starts feeling beautiful. You back no longer hurts. Your eye no longer hurts. Oh, I know what it is - its an anesthetic! What?? Bloody no! Its gotta be more subtle than that ... then again ... you always account for variable change. Nevermind.

I guess love is like an analog signal, much moved from the mundane digital signals of everyday life! And its a funny function at that. Keeps on going up, up and up. And suddenly you are too high too fall! But fall you do. Fall you must. Then again, even the fall seems awesome. So, if you have come back from a hot, sunny day and switched on a fan you know what love is. Its similar!! See, as the fan-blades start revolving slowly, there's heightened excitement! You feel so damn good!! And then when the fan has taken full speed, and its been there for some time, you feel What? That's It? Gosh, now this is getting boring .... Well, sorry for the crude example!

So, OK don't mind this post. The title is self-explanatory actually. And yes, remember - you don't fall in love ...... you rise!!