Zero and One

When I was taught about computers I was told of how computer understands everything in the form of Zero and one (0 and 1). At that time I just mugged it up as Computer understands binary language. This binary language came back to me while I was doing my graduation in IT, there during some of our classes we were explained in detail what that exactly means. During the course of last few days I have encountered situations and things where I noticed the binary language creeping in the surroundings and in my life and made me think of some thoughts (obiviously) that I thought i’d put in my not-so-widely-read blog .

The shouting man at the Vodafone stores these days is no rare sight infact in all of my visits to them I have seen people shout or heard my own voice raise as I speak to the so called ‘Happy to help’ customer executives. So the man shouting that day kept saying ‘that I have lost my wallet and so all my identity proof including my driving license, PAN card are lost. It takes 15 days to get a replaced one and in the mean while i lost my phone and want a new SIM card of the same number as my clients are going mad trying to contact me” for which the not-so-happy to help customer executive kept telling him that if you have no identity proof how do i believe that you are the real owner of the card”. Now I got thinking if it was some 10 years ago this man could call some of his influential friend who would have told the lady that the man was telling the truth and he would possibly get the SIM card immediately. But because of the computer system which stood between the Vodafone lady and the customer she had to abide by the binary rule: 1 means he has the documents and he gets the SIM card and 0 means he doesn’t have the documents so tell him to stop impersonating.

Our country is known for Jugaad but this computer fella in the middle makes it extremely difficult to do any of it. Like in the passport office it is no longer enough that you are an MLA’s son you have to produce all the documents to get your passport. You might have it easy when you have to break the line for the passport but when the computer sits between the passport office man & the MLA’s son binary language again kicks in (kappaw!!).

Of the profound knowledge that I have gathered watching some really cool movies I gather that the world is not all black & white there is a grey area that we all live in. For the lesser movie buffs it means that not everything can be judged right or wrong as there is always an area where this perceived right or wrong has a reason that could make even the smartest man ponder if the situation is wrong or right. Let me give you an example, so that I feel like I have passed on my knowledge properly, imagine if you got barely passing percentage in your 12th grade board exams and the reason for it was that your father had a heart attack a day before your exam started. Now tell me are you bad that you failed or are you good that you tended to your father and he is now getting back to his feet. I hope you got it.

Anyways, human brain has a room for compassion and empathy but the binary language in front of him makes him behave in a uni dimensional way. So as our world is taking up the ways of a computer in their functioning I see that we would be very heavily dependent 0 and 1 and with project like UID in India one pick pocket by a thief may cause you to be ‘anamika’ the no-named & non-existent. To be very frank I am all for this binary-isation of my being but for the less initiated hope you get your act together.

And by the way you favourite college just turned down you application into the degree college. Tough luck!