Random thoughts - 30 Nov

Food: looks vs taste: Totally different facets of experience

Today while I was eating my favorite, I closely observed how the food looked and then took a morsel in my mouth and felt its taste. On paying close attention, I discovered something strange. The visual part of food and the taste part of it are like 2 different worlds. There are some relationships, like something black indicates its burnt etc. but taste and visual appearance are so different in qualia. As a metaphor, I thought about how some people looked average but yet they can make you feel so good.

Wonderment food: Ancient man from villages or visits today's city

I was just imagining...what if I was a man from ancient times, say 3000BC, living in a simple village and I visit my current city for the first time.

What are the things I would wonder about?

• I would be surprised by all the mega organizations like food outlets, the standard look of buildings, infrastructural complexity, the common language of rules which people followed, superstructures that enabled coordination - in small villages, everyone may know each other and speak the same language with very basic infrastructure
• automobiles for transport - it was only horses or bullock-carts in the villages
• the kind of music in eating joints - the whole speaker technology would strike wonderment, its ability to re-create a vast array of sounds from just a small magic box and induce great pleasure....the village may just have live instruments
• Foods like ice-creams and the sheer variety and complexity of food available should strike wonderment - villages may have staple food made from only a few ingredients
• Artificial lighting with its reliability, brightness, consistency and longevity would astound - villages may just use daylight, fire and candles.
• The paving of the ground for roads, sidewalks with decorative tiles would be something to marvel at
• Planes in the sky would look like giant birds
• The variety in people's clothes, its quality and workmanship would induce wonder - villages may just have clothes covering basic parts. In cold regions, they may use coats from animal skins with workmanship just to fit the requirement
• I would feel so alien - since there are huge number of people following the invisible rules and fiercely moving about with purpose but I do not know anybody
• Typing on a computer keyboard would feel so unnatural and the screen technology would amaze. It can create representations of the real world, virtual imagined worlds. In fact it would take some time to get used to the flickering LCD screen and perceive the depth and 3-D perspective movement from the images on the flat screen
• Sitting in front of the computer for 10+ hours a day would look like a very strange and uncomfortable thing to do

There is so much to admire and wonder about even in today's world. We fail to see these perspectives. If this world can induce so much wonderment if you are coming from the past, imagine what the future would be like? Wouldn't it be as astounding for a present day man?

Deconditioned and inspired action: Taoism philosophy

I wish I could give up all my obligations, liabilities and responsibilities and stop this compulsive action from external force. I want to be totally at rest and all my actions should be out of inspiration  and not because I am forced by external stuff.