Integral Infinity

Om 

Purnamadah Purnamidam

Purnat Purnamudachyate

Purnasya Purnamadaya

Purnameva Vashishyate

Om shanti shanti shanti! 

Om

That is infinite, this is infinite

From that infinite, this infinite comes.

From that infinite, this infinite removed or added,

Infinite remains infinite.

Om. Peace peace peace!

I start with this verse from Isha Upanishad, because it reads like a mathematical proof. When adding or subtracting from infinity, infinity remains infinite. I can't recall the first time I learned about the concept of infinity, but I can imagine how difficult it must have been to grasp its abstractness in context of something as defined as mathematics. In theory, if you add up every number from -∞ to +∞, you get 0. This is an unbounded sum, one which has an indefinite beginning and an indefinite end. And yet, its solution amounts to nothing. 

However, if you take this concept from the realm of mathematics and into that of philosophy, the equation changes. As is described in the verse above, the beginning and the end of time are on this spectrum between -∞ and +∞. Yet, this unbounded philosophical sum encompasses not just the existence of humanity, but that of our entire universe. It truly is, "through infinity and beyond!" And if you assume mathematics and philosophy to be on a continuum, then our universe should also amount to nothing.

 

So is it? Is the infinite breadth of our existence not even a mere speck? Or is this a more relative theory? Perhaps when compared with the truly infinite, as in God or Science or some other supreme force of nature, our being is truly miniscule. If this is true, then maybe it shouldn't matter what my legacy is. And assuming that my essence means something, is just a fancy way of expressing my vanity. 

On the flip side of infinite sum is infinite precision. Like the digits in pi. It is both irrational and necessary. Everything in this infinite universe may sum to nothing, but the details of this world are infinitely defined. This is why all constants are approximations. It is impossible to fathom these values, yet so easy to experience them. All of sudden, my existence which amounts to nothing in the infinite sum, is still infinitely defined. The forces that act upon me and the energy I release into this world is precisely defined. At a given moment, something happens because it was infinitely planned. The parameters of this infinite definition and this infinite precision are also infinite. 

I use this symbol of infinity to validate my existence every day. Sometimes, I stare at my infinity sign and use it to zap people's brains. Other times, I stare at it and wonder if this infinity sign can truly transform lives. But most of the time, it only serves as a reminder of the infinite knowledge I have yet to learn. And while this is overwhelming, for that moment I find a purpose for my miniscule self in the vastness of infinity.



Occasionally I also use infinity to define my indolence. My laziness is like the number 8. If it lays down, it becomes infinite!

Uncanny Valley

"Yeah, I can fly!" - Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man is one of the greatest movies of our time. Not because Robert Downey Jr. plays an attractive engineer from MIT who is nick-named "Merchant of Death", but because it brings alive a character that we fondly imagined after spending hours underneath our blankets with flashlights and Marvel comic books.

Well, these stories of fiction have caught up with reality. The exoskeleton suit that enabled Tony Stark to fight with supernatural powers has already been invented in parts across the world. In fact, research studies involving humanoid robots are heavily funded. Their applications have been identified in the fields of military, assistive devices, social replacements and to develop superpowers for ordinary people. Superpowers, you ask? It has been said that much of this research is progressing towards building unconventional suits to arm the common man with insane amount of power we witness in superhero movies.

What is ironic however, is the hypothesis of the uncanny valley, first coined by Masahiro Mori. The origins of this concept can be found in the works of Ernst Jentsch and Sigmund Freud. The theory is that as a robot is made to look more like a human in appearance and function, the response from human beings will be positive. However, at a certain point this response will become that of a strong revulsion. As more advances are made on the product and the robot's characteristics become even less distinguishable from that of a man, the response once again turns positive. The valley results between "barely human" and "fully human" states of the robot.

The reasons for this valley have been attributed to mortality salience (strengthened fear of death), sorites paradox(stimuli with human and nonhuman traits undermine our sense of human), and a violation of human norms.

However, I believe that we all have experienced this valley already even without coming across these robotic engineering marvels. There are enough humans walking around this planet to instill the fear of death, undermine our sense of of human and question our belief system. Humans are threatened by other colleagues, jealous of friends, and always struggling towards that peak of power. How many times have we shut out our best friends because they can do something better than us? How many times have we abandoned people in our lives because they just don't serve a purpose anymore? How many times have we stepped on toes to climb that ladder of success? Unfortunately, I stand guilty!

These robots need to come around sooner, because with a common enemy at least our revulsion against each other might be minimized. Perhaps this futuristic concept is not too far into the future. But our encounter with the uncanny valley is definitely historic. We are not waiting to fall into this valley, because we're already buried deep. And when we fly with these super human robot systems, we can finally dig our way out!

Four eyes

Every night as I crawl under my blanket, I take off my glasses and tuck them under my pillow. My sister, my father and my grandfather all followed the same ritual. Perhaps this is an old habit that I inherited. Or it is just another one of those small things that was meant to teach me a bigger lesson.

I never gave much thought to my eye glasses or the way I treated them until they broke one night. They were kept under my pillow for convenience and in the middle of the night, I rolled over them. The next morning, I woke up blind. My glasses were shattered and my world was blurry. I had to wear contact lenses for a whole week until I got a new pair. Unlike my old Prada beauties, the new maroon pair was Chesterfield Seventh Street 4. Not only was it not designer, it was cheap, funny-looking and I hated it. Nonetheless, my dad paid for it and restored my vision.

Last night, I noticed a crack on the frame. I spent over a year making these glasses a part of me. I tuck them under my pillow every night and for some odd reason, I now love them. However, I recognized two key things with this incident. First, I was forced to recognize the innate objective of eye-glasses to provide new sight and how they symbolize clarity and perspective. Secondly, it made me realize how easily we get attached.

Gaining new perspective on situations is the most proven way to be successful. It becomes even more important when you understand how it correlates with the desire for victory. Any incident can be viewed as a win as long as you approach it with the right "perspective". I spent several years chasing a dream that was neither a part of my fate, nor an honest ambition of mine. Now, I am doing what part of this world will consider pointless, another part will deem overly-ambitious and yet another part will be ignorant of how happy it really makes me. But it really does make me happy and therefore I am a winner for finding what I love.

I hope the US government can find some perspective on the issues our nation is facing. I am sure blame is not part of gaining perspective. Nor is shutting down completely. Perhaps, it would be "perspective" to learn from other countries that are actually doing it right and implement it on our government to pull out of this mess. Maybe, it would be "perspective" to recognize the mistakes of the past not as an excuse, but as an opportunity to improve upon a system that was created hundreds of years ago and is definitely due for an upgrade. It would be "perspective" to accept that you're NOT the supreme and just this once, you can opt to focus on problems on the home-front instead of judging, meddling, and "helping" the world.

Attachment has been described as the inevitable evil. Personally, I think my attachment has transcended the basic. I may even refer to myself as a generally possessive person. I am attached to my family, my friends, Chicago, my blanket, my memories, pretty much everything. Sometimes, I can't differentiate whether my feelings towards something are a result of my attachment or my stubborn-ness. I guess this is where I'll need "perspective"!

I believe America's attachment to power has grown to an addiction. However, like me, America is stubborn and divided. Each individual is attached with a group. Each group is attached to its principles. And each principle is attached to our downfall. This is where perspective isn't just an option, but a necessity.

America needs a pair of glasses. The brand should be honesty. The objective must be to recognize their attachments and find perspective on how to undo this mess. And the result will be a clearer and happier world for all us. I hope!

"The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it. "