What is a MacGuffin?

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Director: James Mangold

It is nostalgia that drew us, who were lucky enough to be blown away by the very first offering of the Indiana Jones franchise, i.e., before it was a trilogy and is now in its fifth instalment. Intriguingly, the same actor appears in all five films over 42 years. 

It is not fun seeing an 80-year-old man swashbuckling and manoeuvring his way through the busy streets, dodging baddies and bullets. As we know the story's outcome, where the crooks will lose, and the truth will prevail, there is nothing more to look forward to.

The idea of a Time Machine dating back to the time of Archimedes is refreshing, though. The backstory behind the 'Dial of Destiny' is more fascinating than how Indy and his side kicks, as always, outwink his nemesis. This time around, part of an ancient find piqued the interest of remnant Nazis, now, in 1969, is in NASA. While the whole of the USA is rejoicing in the return of its first trio of astronauts from the Moon, Indy has to don his signature hat and whip to hunt part of an ancient Greek dial, fabled to have existed since Archimedes. 

The Dial is found to have been found in ship wreckage off the shores of a Mediterranean island named Antikythera in the early 1900s, hence its name, Antikythera Dial. It is said to be the world's first hand-held analogue computer. It is a device to calculate solar position and predict solar eclipses. 

Harping on the mystery surrounding its time of invention, which, by all accounts, was way ahead of its time, the moviemakers decided to bend the facts a bit. Even though most studies date the Dial as being invented around 100-150 BCE, newer research dates it at maybe 200-250 BCE, coinciding with Archimedes (of the Eureka and the nude run from the bathtub fame!). The scriptwriters also tweaked the power of the Dial to enable time travel. The ex-Nazis wanted to go back to WW2 to alter the outcome of the war. Archimedes had allegedly wanted help from the future to fight the Romans. It said Archimedes died during the Roman Siege of Syracuse in 212 BC.

P.S. Another new word learnt -MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is an object, idea, person, or goal that the characters are either in pursuit of or which serves as motivation for their actions. In this film, the Antikythera Dial is the MacGuffin.

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Get out of your comfort zone!

Antifragile - Things that gain from disorder

Author - Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2012)

This is a thick book written by a mathematician, a hedge fund manager, a derivatives trader, a businessman and polyglot, Nassim Nicholas Taleb. He reads ten languages.

People, like things around us, are of three kinds. They are either fragile which crumple or break with pressure, robust which can withstand stresses or the others which actually grow stronger with strains. These are the anti-fragile. The analogy of a fragile situation is like Damocles in the palace of Dionysius standing precariously under the sword held on by a strand of horsehair. A robust person is like the Phoenix who, despite defeats, come from the ashes to fight back. He can fight, but he is as durable as before, not stronger. The perfect example of an anti-fragility is Hydra, the mythical Greek creature who grew two heads every time one of its heads was cut. In other words, it grew with adversity.

The author suggests that Nature, over the years, has a recurring demonstration on antifragility. Whatever does not kill us will make us stronger. Our civilisation turned us into 'fragilitas'. We have been shielded all through our young age, thanks to immunisation, protection from diseases, helicopter parenting by football mums and or education system which paves a smooth path into adulthood. 

Take the example, the story of Agrippina, Roman Emperor Nero's scandalous mother. Knowing a bit or two about poisoning, after allegedly killing her husband earlier, she suspected Nero of trying to poison her. To make herself resilient against possible poisoning, she started consuming minute and incremental doses. This is the basis of homoeopathic medicine, administrating highly diluted substances for the body to heal itself. Pharmacologists coined the word 'hormesis' when a small dose of harmful material is actually beneficial for the organism, acting as medicine.

Just like how carrying weights increases the bulk and endurance of our muscles, intermittent stresses encourages post-traumatic growths (as opposed to PTSD). Randomness in life also strengthens people against Black Swan events in politics and economics.

Humans are emotional creatures. When the going is good, we are lulled to believe that everything will be alright forever. Like a turkey, we will be thankful to the farmer for feeding promptly, not knowing that come Thanksgiving it will be culled. What makes the species stronger is not peace but adversity.

Modern society reduces variations. Taleb brings in the example of Procrustes who cuts the legs of his travellers or stretching them to fit them into the beds. Modernity is the Procrustean bed that tailor-makes its occupants.

Our ancestors probably were right with their age-old practices which were handed down to them from people before them. After looking at the ups-and-downs of the environment around us, they must have thought, of our grandmothers' remedies and advice that should logically stand the test of time. And we do not need double-blind controlled studies for everything. Especially when it comes from the pharmaceutical companies or physicians who have vested or economic interests in its outcome and usage.

The book goes on to discuss in length into many subjects related to antifragility, making oneself secure in facing adversities. Procrastination may not be all bad. Many creative thinkings materialised when thoughts were pushed aside, let to simmer in the hidden crypts of the brain. Even Darwin's last book took 38 years to be published. Creative juices sometimes flow after long procrastination. Perhaps, it is not wise to practise this during an emergency situation.

Lernean Hydra

Degrees are not the sure way to solves every of world's problems. Many getting their hands dirty in the field would realise that people who work their way up from scratch are more adapt to handling work-related uncertainties. It is like riding a bicycle. No amount of theoretical knowledge of physics can keep a rider balanced on two wheels. We cannot lecture birds on how to fly.

Sometimes people who are passionate about a subject bring more knowledge to a topic than those who are paid to do it.

On a related note, modernity has made us creatures who have to be fed continuously. Our overindulgence in food has strained our internal systems which had caused many metabolic diseases. To reduce overconsumption, intermittent fasting and food deprivation are suggested ways for our body to economically burn fat efficiently.

Everything is gained from volatility, time is a test of unpredictability and innovations come from uncertainties. Intermittent jolts in life will help us faithful to our intended path in life.

"Perhaps being deprived of poison makes us fragile, and the road to robustification starts with a modicum of harm." – Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Think, brain think!

Genius of the Ancient World (BBC Four)
#2. Socrates.

My mother, with her limited academic qualifications due to lack of opportunities, still try to enrich her mind. Her daily dose of wisdom used to come from the Tamil calendar. Besides having the daily almanac, it came with famous sayings and quotations. From them, she knew about JFK's 'ask what your country has done for you but what you have done for your country', Gandhian philosophy and Socrates' famous teachings to question everything in life.

At a time when every occurrence happened by the auspices of the pantheon of Gods, Socrates stimulated the minds of the young to ask life's difficult questions. Is wealth a good thing? Does democracy create a just society? What makes Man truly happy?

Probably after being a soldier and seeing the effects of war, he must have been disillusioned by humankind. Having the luxury of comfort in Athens at that time, with plenty of time in the Agora and an average of one to two maids per household, he encouraged people to harness the power of the mind to explain things happening around them. He questioned the roles of Gods and teased the spirit of inquiry.

Democracy was at an infant stage. Athens was ruled by Pericles and was at perpetual war with their nemesis, the Spartans, the lesser beings, the non-democratics. It was during one of this war that Athenians had an acute shortage of food and had to resort to cannibalism, stimulating the philosophical search for answers of this entity called life.

Socrates never believed in putting his thoughts on paper. It was done mostly by his pupil, Plato. Cicero, a later philosophy, refers to Socrates as one who brought philosophy to people's homes. The Pre-Socratic thinkers mainly tried to explain things around us, Socrates tried to impart knowledge through dialogue, not through the traditional teaching method. He brought the students to dizzying heights, to nurture, to help them to think, to break down the problem and to make them realise.

The sophist of that era had the uncanny ability to convince his listeners of something quite frivolous through the art of persuasion. They did for an exorbitant fee whereas Socrates did that with the common people.

He leaves with a plethora of quotations and thoughts. The beauty of the mind is more valuable that the beauty of the body (discussion with Alcibiades). Seek the truth of the human god. He preached against dogma and fanaticism. I do not pretend to know what I do not know.

Socrates was such an important figure in his lifetime, even with his simpleton unkempt, unshaven, bared feet appearance. At the Oracle of Delphi, a priestess, apparently talking on behalf of the  Gods, proclaimed that there was no greater man than Socrates. Aristophanes, in one of his plays in the theatre, ridiculed Socrates. All these must have got Pericles and the powers that be very hot under their collars. The deflection of his student, Alcibiades, must have been the best excuse to incarcerate him. Socrates was accused of impiety for ridiculing the Gods and corrupting the young minds. He chose hemlock to end his life, as a cure of the soul from the body uttering, "Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt." Asclepius was the God of healing and it was customary to offer a rooster to heal the sick.

Socrates' prophecy is proving to be true. We are fixated with our looks, material god, spin and fame.

Never thought running could spur philosophy!

Running on the treadmill can be a daunting task, but it had to be done. Unpredictable working hours and inclement weather make it imperative for one to rely on this monotonous method of training. To ease the task of repetition risking premature retirement, many have devised their own means to beat boredom. I depend on the cable TV. That too sometimes lets me down. Thanks to the tropical weather and highly negatively charged weather clouds, transmission ceases more frequently than it should.

I devised my own method to cut my runs into halves and a further half it. Say, I plan to 7kms (~4.2miles) that day. First, I aim to reach half the distance (~2.1miles). Then, I aim for half that distance, another ~1.05miles, then another ~0.5, then ~0.25, then ~0.125 and so on. Before I know it, I am drenched in perspiration and joy for reaching my target.

Never in my wildest dream did I think that what I was essentially doing was what Zeno of Elia was trying to tell people around him. In his philosophical treatise which was finally termed Zeno's paradox, he advocated that by halving the distance your destination, you will never reach your intended endpoint as there will always be a void between you and the target.

Just like a moving arrow is actually static at every moment of time but in relation to space and time is seen to move from point A to B.

If Achilles set his target to reach the point where the tortoise is, he will never be able 

to overtake the animal as the tortoise would always one step ahead no matter what!

In search of Eudaemonia...

After attaining such a stature in life, there is nothing that excites him anymore. He is now looking for that elusive eudaemonia. He is following the footsteps of Plato to reach the state of eternal bliss, but the path to Nirvana seem to be paved with uneven pebbles.

After visiting Greece, he is fascinated with the Greeks and their forward thinking philosophers, particularly Plato. He has started thinking more, asking the meaning of it all, of life and the baggage that comes with it. He is trying to self-explore himself, with the hope that he can identify his strong and weak points. He yearns to engage in Socratic discussions with his ever cynical colleague who think that he is blasphemous by questioning the orders of the Universe. They tell him that he is too feeble to ask, let alone to understand, the purpose of it all.

He heard that Plato has advised to one seeking fulfilment to reach out to find a lover who can change him and ease him in goal. Unfortunately, that is not a viable option. At this mid-life of his life span, a crisis involving the fairer sex is going to send him the opposite pole of eudaemonia! He appreciates beauty, yes, and the beauty of art, drama and aesthetics. Philosophers also give importance to the appreciation of tragedy to understand life. It makes you stronger, they say. Hence, it was melodramatic tragedy shows for him.

But then, his friend reminded him that he does not have to seek for tragedy. Hardship and misery are part of life. It comes in waves. He narrated his recent experience with a band of brothers who could never see eye to eye with each other. They breathe fire at each other’s sight. All it took was a tragic fatal robbery of a family member to unite them. The sight of blood and wailing quivered the skin to chuck aside their differences to come to each other’s support!

There was a time...

Saw two snippets this week about the greatness of ancestors of two lands of which, in the present world need to show a lot to prove themselves. One giant had just awoken from a long slumber after yoke of colonialism and another which was prophesying philosophy to the world at a time when the world was inhabited by savages.

Firstly, I found out about the engineering marvels of India in 1500 BCE when they could build a 35km bridge, Ram Sethu, between the southernmost peak of India and tip of Ceylon. In that age and time, they built a bridge with trees and flat stones that stood the test of time. The rise in sea-levels and priorities in other things in life made it a relic of the past. Now all that marvel is lost in the annals of time and its subjects live at the mercy of the international world for survival. Of course, there are tonnes of know-how too unevenly distributed around the country for comfort.

Epicurus

Next, turn to Greece. Now they seem the pariah who seems to be depending on hand-outs and write-offs from its neighbouring countries who are simply fed up with their lack of austerity. It seems to be to be a far cry from the times they used to be. At a time when their neighbours were in the wilderness trying to make sense of living and survival, the Greeks already had a cradle of civilisation so advanced that they were discussing metaphysical aspects of life. Epicureanism and Stoicism were concerned about the divine attitude towards human and philosophy of life. This advanced civilisation reached their pinnacle and now they are at the mercy of others, who were at one time, just plain savages! So what happened?

Time and tide waits for no man. Nothing lasts forever. It is the circle of life. There is a time for the dog and a time for the elephant. Big indestructible powers and gone. It is just the flavour of times....

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