On reading Homo Deus

 

In his masterpiece “Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow” author Yuval Noah Harari states, ‘If you experience something – record it. If you record something – upload it. If you upload something – share it.” It is my absolute pleasure to share what I felt when I finished reading this book.

In 2009 I visited Israel under On the Job training from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, TU. This had embossed a unique facet of the country; its advancement in arms and agriculture and Jerusalem, the common holy city of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

I had long heard a lot about Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow and always craved to read those masterpieces by him. I got hold of Homo Deus which hurled me into a series of thoughts; do I need to read “Sapiens” before I read “Homo Deus”?

I decided. Homo Deus it be. 

This book is a quintessential in terms of thoughts provocation and pushes a reader into a different realm of mind process. The way Harari has weaved the book with different facts, figures, anecdotes, and chronicles; is not just clairvoyant but is also spellbinding which ignites a fire of desire to cling on to it. He has ingeniously set forth a philosophy about the course of future Homo sapiens beholds under the current technological advancement and inundation of data. He has aptly stated, “People just want to be part of the data flow, even if that means giving up their privacy, their autonomy, and their individuality.” He has profoundly articulated the probable evolution of Homo Sapiens into Homo Deus and how Artificial Intelligence can conquer humankind. He adroitly ends his book with three enigmatic questions:

1.     Are organisms really just algorithms, and is life really just data processing?

2.     What’s more valuable – intelligence or consciousness?

3.     What will happen to society, politics and daily life when non-conscious but highly intelligent algorithms know us better than we know ourselves?

(Completed reading: 1 AM November 20, 2020,     My Rating: 5 stars)

King Louis XIV, the Louvre and Bernini

 

(Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Louis XIV used to be one of the most notorious name in the international history during our schooldays. Before he died inside the walls of great Palace of Versailles on September 1, 1715, he had earned enough of not only ferocity and barbarism but also opulence and splendor under his belt during his interminable rule of 72 years making him the only King to rule France of such long epoch. Also popularly known as “The Sun King” or the “Grand Monarch”, it was under his reign France gained unprecedented prosperity and rose to become a dominant power in Europe with expansion to America, Africa and India and also be the kingpin of the arts and science. But during his later years of rule, never ending war backfired on France resulting in defeats, economic apocalypse and dire famine.

On May 14, 1643, when King Louis XIII passed away, his eldest child Louis XIV was ascended to the throne at the juvenile four years and eight months of age. Christened as Louis Dieudonné (gift of God), Louis XIV inflicted himself as “Gift of God” instilling any disobedience to his edicts to be a sin.

It is enthralling to learn that Louisiana State today in USA is named after Louis XIV when Frenchmen René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed interior of North America in 1682. United States purchased The Louisiana Territory in 1803 to make it American property.

The equestrian statue (as seen above) outside "The Louvre" as designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini to depict King Louis XIV. A prominent Italian sculptor, Bernini, born in 1598 was requested by King Louis XIV to come to Paris to design a new wing of Palace and was commissioned to produce a statue of King. This status was sculpted from a single block of Carrara marble. Displeased with this statue, King Louis XIV ordered alternation into a mythological Roman warrior and hero called “Marcus Curtius”; features of face was changed, a Roman helmet was added along with the flames depicting the Hill of Glory finally relegating it to the garden slowly deteriorated until 1980. It took eight long year for the restoration.  Three copies were made, one for the garden, one for the Louvre, and one for Jackson, Mississippi. The original is so weak that it is stored away.

(Photo: The Louvre Museum)

FoodWeeeee

When I was kid, I was very difficult to be pleased with food and at the same time it was as easy as that. I had very few choice with the food I devoured; it’s difficult for parent right? Now if we look at having just a few choices it’s easy too. I was easily lured with the “few” food I fell for.

Cooking was not with me until I hit my teen. I never had to do one at home (privilege being a son huh!). I started with the basics of cutlery and cooking style by helping my sister when we were together during my high school studies. I vividly remember I used to experiment with “few” dishes on my own. Some went right some horrible. With all those rise and fall one thing was being infused in me; I was starting to enjoy to be in kitchen, cook and play with the utensils.

With the guidance of Babita Di during my early cooking life, motivating company of Sheela Di I was loving cooking more each day. Not to mention the stories of Vivek Da in his cooking styles and finger licking delicacies of Mandira Maiju, they are the corner stones.

I cooked for living along with my fellow friend Laxman and other Thai pals when I was in Israel for almost 10 months. That epoch of cooking was different, cooking for LIFE, cooking to get going! I explicitly remember cooking ripe pumpkin for the first time there. I never liked eating ripe pumpkin as vegetable and I still don't. 

I loved cooking for my sisters and family get-togethers. I would always be in front line in every social events and cooking department used to be my couch where I would find myself easy. I remember many events like Nwaraan, Annaprasan, Bratabandha, Engagement and Wedding Ceremonies where I would keep myself busy helping others and rejoicing the aroma of spices, the rattle of utensils, the popping of the cork, clinking of knives and the forks, the heat of the stoves and the hustle among the members in the kitchen.  

Since the introduction of KAnchAn in life in 2016, we have been involved in trying different dishes together. LEVEL UP we call it. She loves cooking different cuisines and has been complementing me in my all the cooking experiments. We have a perfect blend of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sense. I would call we are the Yin and Yang that complete each other. She hails from Far-Western part of Nepal with abundance of different vegetarian recipes who has added a lot of spice and color in our life. And now comes Aarvik aka #EhhKayJr who is just 2 years and 5 months yet has taste bud of a matured man. He loves food and not just food he loves just “good food”. Now he is our motivation to cook and a sweet reason to sweat.

Good Food Good Life..

PS: Few glimpse of some recent and one past cooking experiment!!! 

Egg Curry, Matar Mushroom, Aalu jeera, Chhole,
Roti and Rice And Fruit Salad as Desert (2020)! 

Puri-tarkari with greenies (2016)

Indian Chicken Curry (2020)

Cooking Aalu Samosa

American Breakfast (Avocado Toast)

Chhole-bhature

Bagel with Omelette sunshine on top

Aalu jeera

Experiment in action!
(Cooked Sel-Roti for the first time)

Flowers and Spring

February 21

The airplane tyre screeches. It is almost late afternoon when the plane hits the run way. I land at Portland with a flood of emotions; excitement to see my better half and my lovely kiddo who just hit 2 last November. I grab my belongings and there I see my ‘moons’ (I have two, earth has one!). The little one sprints towards me. I am already feeling numb, a sense of ecstasy had inundated me. It is a sense of euphoria and I am feeling high.

March 20

The trees are still trying to recover what “Fall” has done to them. Its whole body is full of lichens which were all happy during the “wet” winter. Rain still seem to be reluctant to leave yet the spring has already set its foot in. the early ones are full of flowers and have already started enjoying their own spring, some are happy to have new buds and some yet seem to in the queue. The ambiance is adorned with beautiful flowers; red, pink, white, blue, orange, blend of different in one. Nature is in full display of different colors one can only name. I have never seen this many flowers in this many colors in my whole life. Infact I had “NO” springs in my life. The place I hail from has winter and suddenly next morning its hot summer!

I am so much delighted to see Rhododendron (laliguras in Nepali where lali means red) all over in this place. This flower which is also a national flower of my native country is a nexus which bridges me with my home country. This place has laliguras of all the colors one can think of and in as many numbers as one would like. Now you can imagine how grandeur this city looks under the adornment of irresistible flowers. The lawn is verdant while the vast sky looks azure. I am never tired of capturing this place with my lens (Many times lens does no justice to its serenity). The gentle breeze detaches the flowers, makes it feel free as it glides in the sky with the current of the wind. The whole nature seems to be celebrating with the showers of flowers, aroma infused and sprinkles of water.

April 19

The rain is stubborn this time. It keeps on squeezing itself between warm days. What a combination nature has to offer. Most of the tree and flowers are under full bloom now. Trees look shiny green with the new lustrous leaves dancing with the zephyr. Some still have their flowers to show while some are happy with the new life!

What a season to enjoy with the kiddo and my wife!!!