Dot…
Dot, dot, dot, ellipsis, dotted, polka dots, dot diagram, multiplication, division, matrix, singularity, timelines, quantum dots, symbol, shape, ?-dimensional, Null, Zero, point, destination, inception, conception, or perhaps even the hottest person in rap since drank, K-dot.
When I said dot, what crossed your mind? Did you think of the punctuation? Did you think of a shape? Did it perhaps remind you of an aunt you fondly called Dot, who enjoys fattening you up?
Lately I’ve been thinking about the dot plenty, thinking about how such a humble symbol carries so much weight. In my head the dot serves a point of interest. Connecting the dots helps us uncover or discover relative information, pertinent to any subject. But these dots, part of our subconscious, live within us, derived from past information, or sparked by curiosity. What if? How? Have you found yourself wondering its point of origin?
It’s a simple concept, or idea, on which we can build upon, a bud waiting to bloom, finally calling on worker bees to help propagate our thoughts & values into the garden of knowledge. The perfect foundation many have built upon to help get us to where we are. A symbol on which our imagination, creativity, and uniqueness can thrive.
This piece may sound preachy but its sole purpose is to inspire (it is also incomplete). To help motivate you to think, create, and with a dash of hope & luck, succeed. Hopefully the next time you see the dot, you’ll think of it and continue to persevere. My wish is for you to see this as inspiration, and persevere. The dot is quite fun if you think about it. Its very existence is so simple, but its essence has such a profound meaning, having an impact in everything that we do.
You may know that it’s more commonly used to separate sentences to make your ideas more coherent, that it’s also used throughout mathematics as a symbol to multiply or determine points of interest, also in music, to denote a time signature, bringing your favourite songs to life.
How about the dot being used in languages, indicating a different sound to the alphabet? Or as a click in a language? Surely you know the dot itself has been used as a language? Braille? Morse Code? The visually impaired can now read and dot (write), expanding not only their knowledge, but also broadening their universe. Communicating across borders became instantaneous, helping doctors attend to patients quicker and has contributed to winning wars. Both were revolutionary inventions in the early 19th century.
Morse code inspired the barcodes we see today, and the game of territory using two coloured dots, Go, inspired the QR codes.
This is only a drop in the ocean of what the humble dot can do.
Anchorage
For aeons mankind depended on certain anchors in their lives, whether village chiefs, parents, life partner, value systems, belief systems, or plenty others, these anchors were to ensure their survival and longevity. Some have stood the test of time, some adapted to modern times, while some have been deemed too barbaric for today’s society. However it is thanks to this, we have built ourselves to where we are today.
Deprived of technology, they embedded their values through storytelling on cave walls, stone tablets, pottery and even stars. Glimmering dots in the night sky were a slice of heaven to them, and eventually over time became a field of study. In fact, astronomy is regarded as the oldest science and has contributed tremendously to every civilization on earth, ancient and current.
In Greek mythology, the constellation Pegasus carried a story of its hero, Bellerophon succumbing to hubris, whereas in Polynesian lore, the same constellation is a story of brotherhood and kindness. The Polynesians refer to Pegasus as “The Kite of Kawelo” and is used as a wayfinder in more than one respect, geographic direction and value system.
These shimmering dots also provided direction to whoever was lost. Look for Polaris and you’ll find North, search for Southern Cross and you’ll find South. We’ve mapped the entire night’s sky assigning points denoting each individual star, and have done so throughout our vast heritage, as evident in the numerous names and variety over dozens of civilizations throughout millenia. Be it Chinese, Indian, Arab, studying the night sky was foundational for science and culture.
These collections of dots now help our spacecraft, ships and planes navigate their way across the globe, and it is thanks to these celestial satellites, we are able to send rockets into space, deploying our very own constellation of satellites, which most of us use for trivial things such as tracking our midnight snack or finding a certain Pokémon.
That being said, satellites are used for a variety of things, such as determining coordinates for megastructures, monitoring ocean and wind currents, observing volcanic and glacial activities and most commonly as a telecommunications broadcaster, connecting people to their televisions, radio, phones and internet. It is thanks to these constellations of satellites, that we are able to distinguish between what our forefathers would think is a world ending hurricane for just bad weather passing by.
Wouldn’t you agree when I say that the humble dot has had its influence in our development, from passing down values, providing direction, mapping the night sky and eventually inspiring global connectivity.
Substantial Timelines and Impacts
Whether evolution or creation, no matter your prerogative, these humble dots are significant to understanding our history, our development, our cultures, and it is from this understanding we can figure out where we went wrong. It is from these very dots that arguments can be made whether objective morality should trump our social paradigm, or is considered outdated. The only flaw within this argument is that in a democracy, our only chance for a thriving society is dependent on majority consensus, potentially influenced and pressured by an ill informed public or a poorly educated one.
What was once a thriving society may implode in itself into denigration only which a prolific, far sighted person, also, potentially a dictatorship can bring itself out of disarray. A cycle that tends to repeat itself, as history has proved. Question is, how do we break that cycle? Do we become pluralists? Allowing the leaders to do what they think best, controlling power by ensuring poverty/castes persists? Do we become elitist? Only allowing the wealthy or intellectual minority to steer the tides of time with their votes? Do we become anarchists? Taking control of the system from within and implementing new ones? Do we become meritocratic? Do we adopt some sort of social credit system?
Whatever your political and sociological stances are, timelines are linear and are separated by periods, or dots to highlight important moments in history. Let us begin at the very beginning, 13.7 billion years ago, the birth of our universe, fast forward to 4.6 billion years ago, the estimated age/formation of our sun. The pale blue dot, the planet which we call home, came 60 million years later, though life, through a single cell organism only came 800 million years later.
If you’re an evolutionist, life began probably with the earliest homos, the Homo habilis, around 2.8 million years ago. If you’re a creationist, you might think the Homo sapiens started it all at between 6,000 to 12,000 years ago, but not really because homo sapiens are approximately 300 thousand years old. Either way, mankind has come a long way, and with each species, we passed down genes, culture, knowledge and power in order to survive.
By this time, we already had fire, axes, spears, were able to communicate using symbols and spread from Africa to Asia. If you’re familiar with Murphy’s Law, you might enjoy some speculation. What are ideal environments for communities to thrive, what aren’t? Humans require very few things to survive, maybe even thrive, food, water, air, shelter and clothes. Abraham Maslow, expanded these needs to include other intrinsic properties such as psychological (esteem) and self-actualization.
Maslow undoubtedly catered the hierarchy of needs to the modern person (intrinsic & extrinsic values), supplementing basic needs from surviving to thriving. But that begs a question, the modern person is more dependent on external factors in order to thrive. We put processed foods into our body but drive a beemer. We want the prestige of achievement but never helping the poor.
The 21st century is unlike the playground our parents grew up in, yes, there are wars still, yes, there are economic sanctions still, yes ideologies are still being fought over, but why do both your parents have to work multiple jobs now just to make ends meet? Why is everything so expensive? Why do we require much much more in order to be happy? Can inflation be nullified?
At which period, or dot, did we screw up to get this way? Was it the industrial revolution? Do we thank Henry Ford for the despicable premiums on our insurance? For encouraging women to work? Disturbing the traditional family model? Do we thank the Dutch Tulip Mania for the creation of dark pool trading in the stock market? Do we thank the Chinese for introducing paper money, or the US for introducing fiat money which invariably is bound to inflation? Do we thank money for corrupt men? Do we thank men for corrupting money?
Do we thank the internet? Or social media? Do we thank Kim Kardashian for the influx of OnlyFans creators, depriving women of their dignity ? Do we thank Matt Walsh for assisting the impending rise of white supremacy? Do we thank the democrats for the fall and now, rise of Christianity? Obama for the rainbow wave across America?
What exactly caused this descent into madness? The slippery slope into chaos? This mandatory 6 foot plunge into sewage? Everyone’s business has become everybody's. But somehow only the negative aspects tend to promulgate.
When do we determine that certain ideologies need to be improved? Can it be improved? Should it be improved? I mean, even considering trading water, a basic human right, as a commodity should be taboo. The government allows for everything to be privatized without considering the long term impacts on the welfare of its public, its very asset, for profit, should be deemed a failing government, or the very least, excess profits should be defined and redistributed within the organisation and surrounding communities. Ahh right, shareholders…
Hopefully the day they commoditize air won’t come. Extrapolation, especially if probable, is not ignorance. They’ll pollute the earth, and start selling tanks of air. Completely possible, the way things are going.
Today, we have history available in our textbooks, literature and the word of mouth of the common folk. How do we determine what is the absolute truth ? Are we still able to find out the truth behind land ownerships ? What about ancient civilisations ? What about fake religions ? Or even the moon landing ? The list is endless, however it is our duty to question everything we hear. Not penalise a thought merely because of our belief systems.
There’s a reason why certain countries fail, certain empires felt invincible, and banks collapse. Everyone failed to use common sense to deliberate sensibly and operate honestly. Values get thrown out the window for the sake of selfish gain and the general public tends to pay the price. Humanity will suffer a while, for as long as the earth tolerates us, but a lifetime for those under cruel regimes.
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“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” George Santayana. The awkward part about history now is that it is no longer his-story, it has become their-story, propaganda-story, cover-it-up-story, which makes it more difficult to believe, let alone learn from. Perhaps keeping in mind the saying “history is written by the victor”, our comprehension of ACTUAL history leaves many stones unturned.
(. ?.) Do you have a favourite lesson from history? Which point in history sparks joy or concern for you? Is there a way we can collectively avoid disaster ?
Perspective
How many dimensions does a dot have ? Ask a mathematician or physicist, and you might get a short lecture on topological spaces and how it has no dimensional space and that the dimensionality of a space is relative. Ask your parents and they would imagine how to measure it and say it’s 1 dimensional. Ask your friends and they’d imagine a circle on a surface and respond with 2 dimensions, x and y. But if a line is 1 dimensional, how can a dot be 2 ?
Eyes are the windows into the soul and mind. They are a magical instrument that provide first impressions. The pupil dilates and constricts, controlling the amount of light required to perceive a subject. However, the image the eyes send to our brain is flipped and converted through many digital points in our brain, and in some occasions reconstructed again through different parts within it instantaneously.
Perception is subjective and limited to our understanding of our surroundings and may be misinterpreted or misrepresented. We also fail to realise that there are things we cannot perceive. There are wavelengths that we cannot see or hear and stimuli we cannot smell and taste. Surely if we had heightened senses of sorts, we would be able to understand life better, right? Or perhaps we would have a spidey sense of sorts? Or appreciate the time we have more? Or live in a dimension larger than 4D ?
Let’s bring our timeline waaay down to zero, the very beginning of it all. The Big Bang Theory states our universe exploded out from a blackhole singularity. It’s incomprehensible to most, though highly plausible, many intellectuals have spent countless hours thinking, debating, hypothesizing, calculating, studying and losing their minds over it, only for it to remain a theory after all these years. To top that off, we now also have String Theory, to explain how everything and everyone is connected.
Humans have been around for millions of years, well if you have a superiority complex lets just count the recent 300 thousand years. Wouldn’t it be too arrogant to say something like “We have the best understanding of how the universe works!” and place such a heavy claim due to our technological advancements to the last 100 years or less.
That would be a fair thing to say, but said technological advancements have been hindered if not halted mainly due to capitalism. The answers may lie in space, or maybe it is even here on earth, in its oceans or crust, or even in our brain. We may never know until we truly become one, sharing all resources, eliminating any prejudices we have, removing borders, and coexisting with one another.
Curiosity(Perception)
(Perceive, perception, understanding (talk about differences). We can perceive, but do we understand? Understanding is knowing and weighing all)
I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am.
A point of inquiry often starts with a dot, a hole, if I may. A rabbit hole that takes you on a journey of discovery. You research, review, resonate and maybe rescind ideas before penning your resolution.
Back when we used to write in ink, we’d often leave an ink stain resembling a dot. Our thoughts clouded, our journey stuck in limbo. How do I begin? How do I continue? Where do I start? How should I frame my thoughts? That dot becomes a symbol of indecisiveness. If you drifted away using a fountain pen, a blotch would set you farther away.
We’ve assigned purposeful dots in nature, from Lewis-dot diagrams in Chemistry, calculating dot products in Physics and drawing dots in cells for Biology. We’ve used dots to represent many characteristics to further study. From Niels Bohr and his atomic model to the Big Bang Theory, this simple shape is a representation of our heritage, of turning speculation into theory and theory into fact.
Though there are dots that remain undetermined, such as Big Bang Theory and the point of origin for human consciousness, we have to be aware of these dots in our heads, and how they are derived. There are over 8 billion of us right now, with lets say, quintillions worth of opinions and other complexities every minute. Most unique, some similar, and we’re supposed to forward mankind ? Sounds impossible.
However, underlying everything and anything living is one special dot. It’s what makes us special. Some already know this and have nurtured it from a tender age. Some go on a spiritual journey to discover and develop it. Some have yet to realise that this dot would only carry us further. Some realise but are too constrained or enveloped in their “nature” that they have no choice but to ignore it.
This dot cannot be seen, heard or quantified. I would think it’s unique as there are many variables that make us human, especially in our thoughts. If cultivated well, especially from a young age, it would help develop your values and shape your perspective. This particular dot is our psyche, or spirit. Whether you’d like to admit it or not, we all have one, except the NPCs out there. Have you had an existential breakdown? Have you considered yourself delusional? Crazy? Have you thought of its point of origin?
I swear I rarely do the good stuff. I wish I could, at least monthly. The average-good stuff is a yearly affair. And I love it. Truly. There’s a reason why I am saving my baptism for sometime special, where it will be more meaningful, preferably when I’m “found”. I want to experience the good stuff that spiritual tribes practice, experience the other range that “spirituality” has to offer. It is also something that I will never recommend anyone doing without strict supervision.
Despite that, there is a different dot I nurtured, unwillingly. I mean I was in control, but thanks to my physical and digital environments, I did not have a choice. I was depressed, lied to about how to overcome it, had shattered confidence and many more. I always wanted to blame my surroundings and even myself, but decided that the only way to overcome it is to keep moving forward — thank you Meet the Robinsons.
I understood that just like in yin and yang, balance is needed, and I was tipping the scale in the wrong direction. What a lousy Libra, right? I learnt that there are menacing dots and started asking questions like, what’s behind my dot? When I communicate, write or create, do I choose to nurture? solve? question? entertain? or do I want it to invoke emotions? spread hate? confuse? or greed? or fame?
Balance in required in life. We’ve heard far left, far right plenty recently, from all around the world. But if we don’t choose sides we’re indifferent, fence sitters, and plenty have condemned us to hell. Being centered has thought me there’s always a third option. That third option is bridging the gap, pulling both sides to one another, slowly but surely with patience and love, we will eventually unite. A singularity of consciousness.
When a musician creates, he translates his imagination into paper, forming either harmony or melody first. The marriage of harmony and melody is capable of invoking any emotion we can perceive. Could this balance be comparable to the yin and yang ? The dot is a representation that even within darkness there is light, or whilst being masculine there could be feminine energy.
Balance is important, and in the Indian-Hindu culture the red dot on the forehead is exactly that. Symbolizing the third eye, it is a reminder of our subconscious selves, the seat of “concealed wisdom”. I’m a wannabe Christian, but we should be amazed at how much wisdom the worlds oldest religion holds. It is quite unfortunate that Hinduism’s history is so vast and convoluted that you’d require plenty of time and care to understand its essence. Especially also cause there are many versions to a story.
Most of the West calls them cow worshippers and many other derogatory names and they might even beget them. I get it, it’s sad, but reflect on the fact that these people had theories and answers to cosmology, astronomy, astrology and focused on spiritual and intellectual growth.
We live in a digital age and we’re drowning in information. They say history is written by the victors, but the internet is forever, perspective is important and knowing what’s behind a dot is necessary. If only there is a page similar to Wikipedia, where users can add on, discuss, defend and promote their truth on any particular moment in history, all sides of a story to paint a more complicated, but beautiful picture. But that would be difficult to manage.
On a blank page a dot symbolizes a beginning, any letter or number or even object starts of as a dot. The delay in constructing it’s subsequent shape constitutes effort and thought. Anything meaningful begins with a dot.
Summation/Conclusion: Wouldn’t you agree that it would be simpler to quantify (should that be possible) events that are on a linear scale rather than one with different direction and magnitude. If we were to substantiate all of human history and extrapolate it, would we be able to predict the future ? Socially especially, shouldnt we be able to somehow quantify that the position we are currently in is far worse than during the peak of World War 2 for instance ? The biggest quandary, potentially immoral, will be assigning values to whatever variables we have to quantify. But vectors are a quantity involving both magnitude and direction, either involving velocity, force or displacement. Neither are involving social implications right? Wrong! Is what I would like to say. The dot is indeed the antithesis of all creation. A spark of creation. Existing even before the Word. The perfect singularity that has brought and will continue to bring everything we continue to seek.
Mankind has already started fighting over artificial satellites in space for dominance. What have we become?
Curiosity that meets complexity overcoming commonality for the sake of harmony is probably the only sign of intelligence.
Talk about how living as a duality is not meant for everyone. Controlled bipolarism? Lying to oneself. How we’re expected to live according to social standards of deceiving, manipulating, extorting others for our own survival. But finding your clan is difficult otherwise because being truly righteous will get you nowhere, possibly into an asylum. People will only respect you when you have influence, power which comes through duality, or riches which comes from extortion and more.
You know the eureka! moment we all have? Our mind connecting the dots, helping us achieve an answer, or bring us closer to it. Perhaps it’s time we follow suit and connect all the dots we’ve accumulated to find a solution to this hell we call life.
This is part of a series under “Project Kuchiku”, a project designed to help Fix the Future through Platform Building.
Please help this imperfect soul try to perfect this project by contributing $1/month here and share this idea of a better future with potential futurists. Arigato =)
