The Passing

 This too shall pass... I too shall pass

The complex systems of this world

This world is a very complex system. A system becomes complex when there are so many interactions between its constituents, that its impossible to predict the systems behavior at any point of time. It's just Random....Chaos. If you do not understand the system, then you cannot improve or change the system holistically. The human body is a complex system. The physical environment is a complex system. The financial markets are a complex system. There is so much interdependence that changing one variable causes unintended consequences on some other areas. That's why there is a belief that experts, cannot solve the problems of the world because their mastery is only limited to one field. They understand only that field well, but they have little understanding of the other field.

I remember the case of introducing wolves into the Yellowstone with an intended outcome. But over the years the way it changed the flora and fauna in that place was totally unimaginable. It was only understood at a later point of view. In this case the consequence is viewed as negative, but on a longer horizon of time will it be negative. Sometimes there are positive consequences and sometimes there are negative consequences.

Long time ago when I registered for a sustainable rural development course I was told that any social intervention could have unintended consequences outside of the desired outcomes. So we need to be careful when introducing any social intervention. I guess this was the reason for the introduction of field-experiments. You introduce the change in a narrow area/small section of the society and measure some metrics for a period of time that

This could be because a lot of natural things (humans/plants/geographical processes) are non-deterministic. Their output changes wrt to inputs and they adapt accordingly. In the laboratory you have a controlled environment, but out there it's not the case.

When a new technology comes in, I try to do an evaluation of what its impact is outside of how it is marketed. But often I end up in a dead-end and I finally have to admit that I am not in a position to evaluate it as a positive or a negative. I accept that I need to do a cost-benefit analysis of adopting that technology only within the purview of my small sphere around me. Generalizing it as a good or a bad for entire humankind is not correct and you can argue to the end of your life, but there will be both positives and negatives. I recollect the story of the knife: that which can be used to cut vegetables and that which can also be used to stab a person. The case of the nuclear bomb : To destroy the world and also to generate energy. The case of plastic : using it as a substitute for paper and also many cheap goods and at the same time the enormous waste in the landfills. Internet, the source of information and also mis-information. Social networks : Source of human connections and exchanges at the same time Bottom-less pit of time-sinks and envy. Technology/Tool is neither good nor bad. It depends on its usage.

A tool/technology/invention intended for one application, helps later in a different area. Microwave oven is one such example. I am unable to recall but there were some medical procedures which used ideas/inventions from other areas. 

In software we are now using experiments (A/B) to find if some feature/change that we roll out to users will be effective or not, because we do not know upfront if it will fetch the gains. For that we have some metrics to monitor on how they are behaving. I think we cannot understand the effect of the change because the public (customers) are diverse and each have their own preference and the way they use the application. As a company with very limited resources and time we cannot predict the outcome. But the metrics in the business are mostly ultimately tied to the bottom-line aka monetary gains for the company. When it comes to human societies it is complex. What can be done to increase the Per Capita Income of a country is a much simpler problem (but much debated on what mechanism to use capitalist/socialist etc.) ? But the changes that you do to move the needle up on the metric of per capita income can have impact on the other areas of life. For e.g the amount of damage we have done to the environment in terms of material progress (Industrialization/Capitalist systems/Consumerism) is vast. I am not condemning those mechanism, but I feel there's a disconnect, there's a lack of whole-earth understanding, and without that it will always be a cycle of problem-solution-problem. But I don't know the solution. It's impossible to gain any understanding of the complex systems of the earth and without that how will we truly understand the root of a problem and provide a solution (with overall positive impact) and also implement it for the benefit of all.  

Another perspective on Death

I believe there are only a few handful folks in the world who are not afraid of death. The crazy thrill-seekers, the mountain climbers come to my mind. But the vast majority of people living on this planet are afraid of death. Dying all of a sudden is not a problem at all as there is no time to even ponder about it, but not everyone is that fortunate. The people who are in the final stages of cancer who are notified that they have only a short period of life on earth. If I put myself in their shoes I would be so worried/scared on the limited time I would have. Because I am afraid that I will lose everything that I have built in this life, the material wealth, the human connections and finally the loss of myself (the identity that I call "I"). Tomorrow (after my death) the world will go on as usual, except for the near and dear ones who will miss my absence. 

But as per Hinduism, the death is only for the body, there is no death for the soul. The soul will find a new body (of any living creature). If for a moment you accept this idea (irrespective of its validity), there is a sense of liberation. If you (THE REAL YOU) is not really dying, it's just changing forms, then why even be worried or afraid. You are going to be there in a different form. 

Another related idea comes to my mind in the context of death. The idea of detachment. I somewhere read that detachment is not the idea of not owning anything, but rather not be worried/concerned at the loss of something that you used to own. If you apply that idea to death. You were born into a body, you owned that body for the period you were alive and then its time to leave it. Be detached from it. And you will be peaceful.