Udupi

So what if there are aliens

I was reading a BBC article about why we have not made any contact with aliens yet and what would it mean to us if we did. "It's probably the most important question there is," says Dr Frank Drake, who was a pioneer of radio astronomy and is considered the father of Seti - the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.

Then I started thinking at a personal level what exactly would it mean to me. Like everyone else, I am fascinated with the topic. And I am sure I will be very exited if we actually find someone. But will it have so profound an effect on me personally. Assume that I read in tomorrow's newspaper that they actually found something concrete. Would it shatter my world. I don't think so. I will just finish my tea, get dressed and come to work. I will surely discuss this with people at work, shout a lot and then go back to find an alternate design for the problem at hand.

Of course the level of excitement will depend on what they actually find. It will have a much more dramatic effect if the aliens actually land on earth on a spaceship like ET. But even then, at a personal level, what effect will it have. Will it change the meaning of life to me, will it change my value system, will it force me to rethink my priorities in life? Will it change me noticeably as a human being? Not sure. But I doubt it will have any profound, everlasting effect on me personally.

What if they find that there are aliens out there at a very distant part of the universe (say one trillion light years away), so far that we can never make physical contact with them? What effect will that have on me personally. Even if we find that they are almost same as us? What if one of them is named "Subhendu" :)

Another possibility is that they find someones nearby, who are technically at our level or even better, but emotionally like a worm? How will that effect my thoughts.

Interesting. I will explore these questions in next few days.

My idea of heaven

Ranjita and I went to Goa in April 2006. Goa was almost empty by that time. Most tourists were gone. Only a few die hard fans of Goa like us were there. The coco huts were dismantled.

We spend around 4 days in Agonda. The sun and the sea was overwhelming. Ranjita was such an amazing company. We had fun with each other. I never had a better time in my life.

Here are a few photos and sounds of that trip.

Flat 2011

I had enough of my tummy. Every time I look at it I feel depressed. How in the whole world did I collect it in the first place? I used to have a concave stomach. Now I carry a pillow with me! Shit man. This is disgusting.

Now it's time to get rid of it. Come what may, 1 January 2011 I will look like the attached photo :)

Imagine

This morning on my way to work, I was listening to Lenon’s Imagine. I have listened to this song more than 20 times before. I enjoyed the music, appreciated the lyrics, but never actually paid attention. Never actually tried to “Imagine”. Today I did! It was fascinating.

To be honest, I find the lyrics quite pretentious. All these “A brotherhood of man” and “Living life in peace” sounds BS to me. IMHO, we are violent animals. We will keep fighting even without country and religions, in fact we do. Lenon makes this BS palatable by his incredible music, but it remains bull. May be in another 20000 years our genes will change and we will become peaceful. Until then we will fight, no matter what.

But I did try to imagine a world without boarders and religion and I found this idea fascinating. It will be such a beautiful world. For example, I hate the Chinese. I don’t hate the Chinese people. If fact I am deeply intrigued by the people and their culture. But I hate the country. If there were no countries, I would love the Chinese people and would like to go there, eat their food, share their thoughts, and see the places. It would be fun. Same with Bangladesh. I love their language, their warm hospitality, their food. But I hate when they persecute the Hindu’s there, because of religion. It’s such a shame.

Thank you Lenon for this nice idea, albeit with a ton of bull.

By the way, half of this idea was there in Rabindranath’s “Where the mind is without fear”. But that was even bigger load of bull.