New Essay/The Search for Food

Well, I have another essay for everyone to look over (if they feel so inclined). I actually think I like this one better than the other one. It seemed easier to write and I think it is still funny while not being quite as over-the-top (although not too far off). Feel free to criticize and please tell me which one you like better.

Picture this: a scientific experiment gone wrong. Having defeated earth, aliens control everything. Mankind struggles to survive, but only a few are strong enough to mount any resistance. One man rises above the other resistance fighters to distinguish himself as the one to whom mankind must trust its survival – a physicist. He was there when the portal to the alien dimension was opened. He was there when the aliens tried to call reinforcements from their home world. He was there at every pivotal moment when mankind's fate hung in the balance, and at every one of these moments, it can be seen that he was the turning point on which the human race's existence hinged. What most people do not see is that throughout each of his heroic exploits there was always someone else there, supporting him. Whether it be hacking into the alien security systems or simply short-circuiting some alien technology, she was helping him.

Another scenario: the sun is dying out. Humans do not have much longer to call the earth their own unless something can be done about the cooling sun. Fortunately, there is one device, developed by a physicist, which may be able to give the sun the energy it needs to burn as brightly as it used to. An atomic bomb roughly the size of Manhattan. As one would expect, there are many complications with flying a bomb into the sun. Extensive shielding, complicated life support systems, and immensely powerful engines are all necessary. Eventually, against all odds, the physicist, with the help of the crew, is able to complete the mission and “restart” the sun – at the expense of his own life as well as the rest of the crews'. What most people did not think about when reflecting on this physicist's heroism was that there was always someone there supporting him – she guided the ship, controlled the life support systems, and did a great deal to keep him alive until he reached his mission's destination.

If either of these scenarios sound familiar, it is because they are both from popular media. The first is the plot to a very popular computer game franchise that goes by the name of Half-life. The second is the story of a movie released in 2007 called Sunshine. If there is anything that we can learn from these stories, it is this: a physicist, one day, will save the world. It is inevitable. Some day the world will be threatened by some sort of abnormal disaster – such as an asteroid, a dying sun, or aliens – and it will be left up to one, heroic physicist to save the day (probably via an atomic bomb).

When this physicist saves the world, he (or she) will no doubt get all the glory, but recall that there was an entity supporting each of the physicists in the scenarios. In Half-life her name is Alyx Vance; she is what I would call a hacker. Whenever Gordon Freeman (the protagonist of Half-life) needs to get through some security system or simply needs to get control of a nuclear reactor, he turns to Alyx. She has impressive computer skills and there is no way that Gordon would accomplish half of the feats he does without her.

In Sunshine, the supporting entity goes by Icarus. She is not a hacker, but very closely related. She is a computer program herself. As was mentioned in the scenario, she has complete control of the ship and is the main reason that the sun-bombing mission is successful. Of course, since she is a computer program, someone had to develop her. Behind her artificial intelligence there was some programmer, sitting at his desk, plugging away at her source code.

So we see, there is another lesson to be learned from these two scenarios: no matter how much glory and praise the physicist who saves the world gets, there will be a programmer who was just as responsible for man-kind's existence. I will be that programmer, if it would have me. In order to pursue such a path, I will need an education. In order to pursue my education, I will need money. In order to get money, I will need scholarships. I deserve the “mental_floss Tuition Giveaway” money more than anyone else in the world because without me, there will be no world.

Now, back to real life: for those of you who do not already know, I have been cooking for myself this week. It's been going pretty well (lots of oats and noodles), and last night I went to Hosur to get some more food items (the Division Office has free transportation to Hosur every Thursday night). What I really wanted to get were some vegetables and potatoes. At the first place the people from the office directed me to, I could only find spices and some flower, so I went to where they said I could get some fruit. At the second roadside stand I came to, I was elated to see that he had potatoes - I got 1 kg for Rs.45. Then I went on some other adventures to see what else I could find and ended up acquiring some onions, apples, and oranges (never did find any vegetables besides the onions).

After shopping, on the way back to the office, some of the people in the bus were asking how much I paid for the stuff I got. When I told them I paid Rs.45 for 1 kg of potatoes, they shook their heads and said that it was waay to much for potatoes. I shrugged and figured I had just learned a lesson and that next time I would know that potatoes should be cheaper.

This morning, I decided I would try my hand at frying some potatoes. I picked a couple out of the bag and thought, "Hmmm, these seem awfully squishy." Then, as I began to attack them with my knife, to my surprise, it popped open and a large black seed popped out. "This isn't a potato at all, I thought to myself." Turns out they were chikoos. Fortunately, they taste really good, but I didn't get to try frying anything. Ah, well, maybe next time.