Mirror, mirror, on the wall….

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils; 

(William Wordsworth) 

Wordsworth glorified the daffodils in his poem 'I wandered lonely as a cloud'. It reveals how the recollection of the sight de-stresses him in tranquility. Ironically, the flower which is symbolic of rebirth, new beginnings and hope has contributed its name to a psychological disorder.   

Daffodil, or narcissus flower has a bowed shape that represent Narcissus bending over the water to admire his reflection.  

 

The dangerous self-obsession, Narcissistic personality disorder gets its name from the Greek mythology of Narcissus. Lack of concern for others is a core trait of this personality, who does not mind harming others who they consider as obstacles. They sugar coat their malicious intentions making it right the saying ‘The sweetest tongue has the sharpest teeth’.

To quote II Timothy 3:1-5 "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive... swollen with conceit, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God". It instructs believers to avoid such individuals. The word of the Lord always keeps the faithful from all harm.

In the present world, social media can be compared to water where users adore their reflections (pun intended). Like a kite which requires the string to keep it in control and grounded, the fear of the Lord is required for us to stay in our limits.

Floccinaucinihilipilification

AI is the talk of the town at present as the future ‘depends’ on it. The fear of it dominating humanity is in the air. It is appropriate to say that AI will not dominate, instead we surrender willingly to it. To elucidate, I will dwell into a few facts.

Early humans had highly capable cognitive abilities which debilitated with inventions. While commuting to distant places, they reach their destinations by detecting the directions based on the location of celestial bodies and natural landmarks. This is now taken over by GPS, which does the thinking for us, and we depend on it even to reach a nearby location. This has made dormant a part of our cognition, but it is never lost as the forest dwellers are still capable of ‘self-steering’.

The fact that AI can produce any literary piece in no time has people questioning the authenticity of genuine literary works of modern times. The current generation finds it incredible that someone can produce amazing art or written work. They need to be guided and motivated to believe in their creative abilities. Constant pen and paper activities will facilitate them, instilling confidence in themselves. It is said that DC comics will not depend on generative AI for art work or story telling.

Technological development is always looked at with apprehension. The naturalists try to maintain a healthy balance between nature and technology, the Luddites resist it and the rest try to keep pace with it. Human beings are made to evolve and adapt.

The Parable of Talents (Matthew 25:14–30) finds significance here. Our talents should be utilized to benefit the world around us. Many ground-breaking inventions made so far, were met with fear initially, but were gradually accepted and became part of our daily lives. A level-headed approach to innovations and inventions will never make AI floccinaucinihilipilification of humans.

Blowing Hot, Blowing Cold

Zephyr, spring's harbinger, caressed the trees,
Susurration, the wind's whisper, filled the air,
Clouds rained pebble drops,
Wrapping all in chrysalism,
Cooling the earth scorched by the summer sun,
Healing the land chapped by the blistering heat
This is the course of Nature
Blowing hot, blowing cold and so it goes.

We saw the Power

Faraway in the mountains, sheared a mammoth ice chunk
Earth tremored, river swelled, water coiled in funk,
The weir breached, the darting deluge swallowed the obstacle,
Making the crown of creation watching in despair the spectacle,
Boulders rolled like marbles, buildings tumbled like deck of cards,
A splash of dirt here, a lash of water there, trespassing your yards,
The torrent wreaked havoc, with its course errant, nature enraged
We saw the power, we saw the powerless and we gauged
When the mighty is messed up, invincible is the force!
(Dedicated to the tragedy of Nepal 26th August, 2026)

(The poster made for the poem.)

Flashback-II

Once upon a time, in Kerala, people used a vehicle called villuvandi. My great, great grandfather owned one, the scraps of which were seen in our ancestral house when we were kids. It was a decorated bullock cart pulled by bullocks and manned by a handler. Though we have never seen it, we have heard of certain travel stories of my ancestors in that vehicle. (More to come in next post)