Reading Till I Die

Stories fascinate me. They have always fascinated me. Any factual or fictional incident or information that is easy to read qualified. When my mother's stock of stories got depleted, she encouraged me to read. I guess I must have been really hungry for more as I started reading at the age of 6. It began with comics, fairy tales, children books. By 8 I moved to my first classic, Black Beauty. By 11 I started reading history and science facts besides the classics, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Enid Blyton. By 15 I had started with philosophy, mythology, religion, astrology, numerology, poetry, psychology. Non-medical made me read physics, chemistry, maths. In graduation, besides the engineering, I read about arts, architecture, form, semantics, cognition, nanotechnology, computers. A few years back I started reading about economics, finance, analytics, distributed computing, artificial life. I am 27 now.

Now I don't read as much as I used to. Till 15-16 years I was a genuine book worm. Still, a good book can be irresistible. The problem is that if I really like a book, I want to read it whole in one shot. I cannot leave it. The pain begins if the book is too long to be read in one day. Then it is almost as if the book starts reading me! I forget about everything(except my office work, papi pet ka sawaal hai..).

As I lay on my bed, hungry and sleep deprived, I read. My eyes ache and water. I still read. In this delirious stage I almost see all the characters jumping out of the book and saying and doing what I read: and I feel high. Don't even ask me how and why. I cannot see anything else, hear anything else, think anything else. And then, one day, the book finishes. Just like that. I can read only (at most) about 500 pages a normal weekday.

Although I know it had to be that way, it really feels hollow. You feel it should continue... And reading big books can be really painful the way I read it. Although I have learned to "cut it off" as I grow, it does happen sometimes. So these days I prefer movies, documentaries, Discovery and news channels. At least they wind up in time! It is almost like putting a drug-addict on alternative medicine. I am not going to read. Never again!

Well, that is after I finish the book I am reading.

And you?

Science or Art?

"Is the true value of civilization is reflected in its artistic creations rather than its scientific accomplishments?"

Science : the symbol of our intellectual muscle. Science : the magnificent, blatant, brutal display of human prowess. Our unmistakable stamp on the face of this planet can be summarized in this one word. Yet the statement claims that the true value of civilization is reflected in its artistic creations. What is so special about art?

If science is the strong skeleton of humanity, art is its beautiful body. Science is the criterion to judge a civilization's material prowess whilst art is the criterion to judge the spiritual prowess. A civilization with a strong technology is considered powerful and intelligent. One with strong artistic creations is considered creative and sensitive. Whilst science ensures survival, art makes that survival enjoyable. Both evoke respect and awe. So where should one look to find a civilization's true value?

One needs to carefully examine both of them to determine the truth. I think science has a definite advantage over arts. What use is any artistic endeavor if the belly is not full? Is any meaningful artistic pursuit possible without the comforts that the sciences bring?

A society with an excellent technology and poor artistic exploits is as poor with the one with vice versa, some claim. I beg to differ. A civilization devoid of strong scientific accomplishments is weak and impractical. Absence of artistic achievements indicates brutes, I may agree. But generally when science is strong, arts flourish. Rarely is it seen that a scientifically advanced civilization comes up which has no artistic achievements to its credit. Science makes life easier, gives you time to put into art. It has always influenced art though the other way round has not always been true. The medium has changed from clay tablets and stone to papyrus and skins, paper and canvas to computer screens. Science has enriched art over time.

To be fair, I may add this: although art does not always enrich science directly, it does enrich and “soothe” the human mind. This has long lasting effects on the ideas that control the forces of science. Yet it is science which will cure you when you are sick, defend you when you are attacked or make your work easier when it is tough. All in all, I don’t think arts reflect the “value” of a civilization. It was always science. And it will always be.