Friday 1 April 2016

Yesterday, Today

It has been many years it has been since I wrote, if not at all, about my thoughts on life and whatnots. As most of you now know, our dearest friend Mak Pooi Guan is sadly no more. Kicked the bucket; bit the dust; cross the great divide; Mr. Chan Foi Onn would agree that no idiom can mask the grief of this tremendous loss.

Personally, I'm not a spiritual person. One exists as a collection of atoms, perhaps not different from perhaps the chair you are sitting on or the screen you are reading this on. Or, from a pseudo-scientific, philosophical point of view, are we a virtual creations of chemical and electrical impulses in a highly complex biological crucible that is the human mind? I believe that both are true in a realistic standpoint, however insensitive and austere it may seem; but it isn't all that simple.

Gradually this leads us to ponder upon our existence, as many do. Undeniably ours is a not as lasting as a large pine tree or as resilient as the minutest shrub along the motorway; so are we as insignificant as the universe suggests? Again, this may not be the case. No, it has nothing to do with DNA if that's what you're thinking of.

We define ourselves as a complex set of algorithms I guess we call a personality; input 'what do you want to eat?' for example and the output would be your favourite meal. Evidently not everything is an absolute answer. Many a time an unknown is introduced to our algorithm and even we could not predict our response to it. Interestingly, sometimes we hear things like 'I know you'll like this,' or 'I knew that isn't what you want,' especially from those closest to us. Seems that the phrase 'mother knows best' is true, and proves that one can know another better than themselves. So, does this mean parts of us exist in those around us in the form of memory?

Yes, very much so, even if our algorithm is constantly permutes. Our existence is not limited to the physical manifestation of atoms, or the chemical and biological processes within us; extended to the memories those around us our personality no matter how much or little that may be. Unto relating it to the unfortunate events of late, I urge everyone to remember our dear friend as best as we can; she will be sorely missed.