Albert Schweitzer once said that the greatest tragedy in life was wasted talent. We do fade out before fully exploiting our brain power.
I have tried not to fall into this trap hence tragedy; but so far kept failing. The brain itself consumes a lot of energy, and we all have to burn energy to first survive as homo Erectus (bi-pedalist) before pumping the excess energy “upstairs”, to be creative, to crack a certain code.
Increasingly, our world is using bio-metrics (finger prints for one) to I.D. someone. The bio and AI worlds are working doubly hard to someday become one (The Age of Living Machines).
With brain scan, perhaps we can find out how much is unused, and what portion of our brain can be uberized and monetized. Before that, it would be nice if we are not brain-dead or sick in the head first.
Dr Schweitzer would be amazed to see the outcome of latest studies on gene sequencing and genomics. He would be equally amazed to see advanced studies in emotional intelligence and artificial intelligence.
We interact and integrate with machine – the ATMs always say Thank You instead of You’re Welcome – we are the ones who get the service from them, without thanking them.
Someday, we are left with one comforting feature: empathy. We shall wipe away tears from the children’s eyes, ache for the sick and dying, and overjoy seeing people getting married.
Those human moments will keep us sharp and sensitive. We will at some point, besting our best. Those wasted talent and brain power are just payload, for us to exist and to afford those human moments: of sharing and being selfish, of giving and receiving. In that perspective, those are not wasted energy but parts and parcels, payload and price for greater greatness.
Greatness awaits each one of us, but it doesn’t force its way into our lives. We must want and will it, lay down our past heights to achieve greater measures. Or else, we default to joining the rest of humanity, getting by and leaving behind footprints of our sad and superfluous existence.
Thang Nguyen 555 