The invention that saved a million ships

The Lighthouse (2019)

When we were young, we were fascinated with the lighthouse. Any sketch of nature would include seas, boats, seagulls, clouds and flashing beacons. As Penang, our hometown is a port city, we had the pleasure of seeing many in our lifetimes. 

Many stories have been written on the heroic deeds of many a keeper or 'wickies' as they were referred to put their lives at stake to provide a continuous beacon of light to the safety of travelling vessels. The job is an unrewarding one with boredom being the most significant and dangerous occupational hazard to beat. Being located far from civilisation and at precarious locations, access to these places may be easily compromised by inclement weather. Hence, the keepers may sometimes be stranded for months altogether. Solitude was thought to be the single most typical reason for the prevalence of madness in the profession. Another possible aetiology of insanity could be mercury poisoning. In the older models of Fresnel Lens that were used in lighthouses, the lens and light were floated on mercury. The job of regularly cleaning the mercury of impurities exposed the 'wickies' to mercury poisoning. One of the symptoms of mercury poisoning can be the onset of mental derangement. 

Fresnel Lens - the invention
that saved a million ships.

Neurological symptoms used to be seen in hat makers. The felt used in their work contained mercury. Thus, came the saying, 'mad as a hatter'.

In this day and age, with the advancements in GPS and navigational technologies, are lighthouses still relevant? These days, they are automated and are there just as a backup just in case all the modern tools crash, fail or run out of power supply.

Edgar Allan Poe's last book that he had hardly started before his death in 1849 was unofficially named 'The Light House'. It was a collection of log entries of a newly appointed lighthouse keeper, and the theme was loneliness. 

©FG
Busan, South Korea.

This 2019 film was written with that idea in mind. A rookie is employed to be in a lighthouse under the supervision of a grumpy elderly keeper. The dynamics of their relationship, their unrelenting efforts to keep the beacon of light alive while maintaining their sanity in that cold, damp and hostile environment forms the basis of this psychological drama. Like 1963 'Birds', viewers will never look at a seagull in the same way again. Those scary birds can peck your eyeballs out!

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

Solitude, my lonely friend!

One of the most significant drawbacks in the manning of a human-crewed mission to Mars is the mental strength (or rather lack of) of astronauts in being able to stay sane over extremely protracted times in solitary confinements. After all, can one stay for 4 years in the company of the same boring company?

They say that Man is a social animal and he needs friends and company to live. Deprive him of the ability to interact with his fellow kind and be sure that he would hit the loony bin. They fight, they laugh, they cry together, they loathe each other, but they need each other to survive! So say the scientists. A man needs to compete with each other or emulate each other to come out with a newer protocol for the next generation to improve so that they can continue surviving as the most dominant species on the planet. Perhaps,  they would remain as the only species as they annihilate other 'less' intelligent ones. Once they have done that, they would step into an intra-special attack of their own kind and ride majestically into Armageddon!

On the other hand, look at the lives of some of the greatest men who had imparted some of the highest wisdom to mankind. Jesus Christ and Abraham allegedly ventured out in the wilderness to be in isolation to come out with a recipe for people to live. Buddha embarked on a journey of self-discovery just to discover so many secrets of the world, including advanced Molecular Physics! Sigmund Freud valued his daily long walks to think out his theories of the mind. Nietzsche stayed in the wild to explore many unanswered questions about life. Heidegger also advocated solitude by spending time in the countryside or even the graveyards to appreciate life!

Through the art of introspection, the key to the secrets of our being had been explored. With the pleasure of the company of the fellow kind, what do we get? Merrymaking, drunkenness and the after effects of temporary insanity, the post stupor morose over spilt milk, the hangover of the morning-after, desire to get even, war, chaos and utmost misery. Is it a plot to keep our minds numbed and docile whilst the master planner sharpen their steely knives to put forth their secret agendas?

What is life?

So this is life? After 52 years of wedded bliss, what do I have to show to myself? What am I left with? A big house which used to be a home with hive of activities that never tend to stop, the Christmas parties that never ended, the stream of friends that we never knew we had. Now I only have loneliness as my constant companion. Solitude is my trusted friend who lassos remote almost forgotten visions of my one and only. The bond that we shared were beyond physical worldly pleasures. Beyond the age of physical allure, our magnet attracted each other like no magnetized ferrous chunks could. 

Prove of our union love is the five lovely offspring that we cared for so much. A little squeal from one used to sound like a wail to you. And the ups and the downs that through together. And the sickness and the health! You are the only that I knew. 

I know I cannot be sniffling like a teenage girl over your demise. I had more than my share of happiness in the lifetime.

Oh God! I am so lonely. My shelf life is approaching its expiry. I do not wish to be a burden to our bearer of our traits. They have their commitments just like we had ours when we were in the prime of our lives.

After all the time doing all the things together, I cannot fathom the idea that I cannot touch you, feel you, question you. They say you are no more around. They say that you are in a good place and I will join you one day to continue the conversations at where we were rudely interrupted by the dreaded crab. But why is it that you appear in front of me ever so often? Why are you so silent with that cheeky smile that stole my eons ago? Why do I feel the aura of your presence? Why do I smell that brand of deodorant and after shave that you were loyal to all your life? Are you here as my guardian angel? Are you lonely there? Are you waiting for me?

You remember all the places that we had worked and gone for holidays together? You made it a point to bring a momento from each of your destination? Now, each and every part of these items have a bitter sweet story to tell. Every touch of an item opens the flood gates to an avalanche of memory with you, I, the kids and our dog Boo.

So, what is life? We sprout sheepishly, spring coyly, spread majestically, stand defiantly, bow progressively and slowly wither away with no trace, leaving only specks of memories to hold on to.