“The Robot Man Has No Future”, Part I Science
I. Nobody’s Perfect, a Long Preamble
This will make him sound like the caricature of a physicist, but a colleague at Heriot-Watt University once told me that human beings are essentially “categorisation machines,” by which he meant that our understanding of the world relies on our ability to recognise patterns and use them elsewhere.
It may seem like a cold and strange thing to say but he’s right.
Pattern recognition is fundamental to how our brains work, the electrical activity of our neurons encodes the patterns that we see in space and time1.
And recognising patterns is only half of it, we also create our own.
Wherever you are, look around you.
You’ll see them there.
A green traffic light, an outstretched hand, an electricity bill.
Each is a part of its own unique pattern for us to follow.
We establish patterns, we establish structure, we establish order.
But inwardly our bodies do not meet the same standards…
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Jerusalem Lost I Culture Piece
I. Preamble
I’d driven to a nearby village with my friend Jake, who had come to visit. We passed a churchyard. There, above the low stone walls, stood a granite obelisk and fixed upon its surface was a large metal plaque adorned with the names of the war dead. These monuments are so ubiquitous that it feels absurd explaining what they are. They stand like stone antennae broadcasting a quiet signal that we’re all picking up.
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Nourished Culture Piece
I. Preamble
One day, Takeshi receives a letter informing him that he needs to return to hospital because of some worrying test results. He’s 60 years old and terrified of dying. His wife assures him that it’s nothing; he’s probably fine. Takeshi isn’t convinced. He hunkers over himself in the hospital waiting room. He doesn’t want to die.
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