A Leap of Faith

  © Shambhavi Pant

 "With roots secured in the mud  

A stem that grows through water   

And a flower that lies pristinely above." 

We've all heard and read that life ain't a bed of roses, yet deep inside our hearts, many of us aspire to a life that lacks hurdles. Life isn't meant to be a singular uphill journey but is one with crests and troughs. Numerous researches indicate that as human beings, we are innately wired to seek pleasure.  And why should we be surprised when apes are traced to be our anthropological ancestors. Though I majored in Sociology, cognition and brain functioning have always been of interest to me. Under modern civilisation, we seek to fulfil higher order needs much beyond food, sex and shelter as the Psychologist Abraham Maslow contends. Therefore, we tend to chase "highs" through our work, activities and relationships. Those who do innovate, create or work upon things or ideas fight against the natural tendency to relax or just be. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs paradigm, their physiological, safety, love & belonging and ego/esteem needs stand fulfilled and they are somewhere near the apex of the pyramid in the quest to self-actualization.

Falling In Love With The Machine: Is This What The Future Looks Like?

Released in 2014, the Academy Award-winning film by Spike Jonze, “Her”, starring Joaquin Phoenix.

“Her” is an atypical love story which brings to screen a technology driven futuristic take on human life and personal relationships. Released in 2014, the movie is definitely worth a watch and it is no wonder that it has won numerous accolades and has been widely screened at film festivals. The protagonist Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is a professional who pens customized love letters for an online service. These letters are not in the usual computer font, but a distinct beautiful “handwriting” created digitally. On the personal front, he appears to be a lonely man after a recent separation from his wife and has somewhat of a monotonous life where he does his 9-5 office stint and gets back home.

 At one plane, it reflects the increasing utility of tech artifacts, wherein Theodore is checking e-mails on the go and responding to them via his digital assistant on his Bluetooth earpiece. This and much more became possible when he purchased and installed an intuitive AI software on his computer after filling out essential details. Though the digital assistant does not have a form, the OS who names itself as “Samantha” (the voice of Scarlett Johansson), after Theodore opted for a female voice, fills the void in his life in the beginning. He begins to interact with Samantha quite a lot, initially for work related stuff like attending or cancelling phone calls, responding to e-mails and text messages.