post #382
I've been meaning to write about this topic since I watched the last episode of Heroes season 3 and also Dollhouse season 1. You might be wondering, what is the relation between the title of this entry (vessel) with those two TV serials.
I remember vessel was used in Heroes, but the idea is the same with Dollhouse. In the beginning of Heroes episode, as usual there's a narration, some lines that sometimes I found interesting to ponder.
Here they are:
There are nearly seven billion people on this planet. Each one unique. Different. What are the chances of that? And why? Is it simply biology, physiology that determines this diversity? A collections of thoughts, memories, experiences that carve out our own special place? Or is it something more than this? Perhaps there's a master plan that drives the randomness of creation. Something unknowable that dwells in the soul, and presents each one of us with a unique set of challenges that will help us discover who we really are.
I won't talk much about the last episode. *spoiler alert* In short, during a fierce fight, Nathan was killed by Sylar. But his mother just couldn't accept this. So she asked forced Matt Parkman to use his ability to order Sylar to make himself believe that he's Nathan. Being shape shifter and the fact he'd already had Nathan's memory, it just took a little push from Matt to 'convert' him to Nathan. Voilà, Nathan was good and alive again.
Dollhouse also offered similar idea. In the serial, there's a technology that enables us to store all of our memory into a harddrive. Not just that, it's also able to program our brain to have certain characteristics and/or abilities. It's like that the whole brain is mapped out, which neuron controls which part of the body and so on and so forth. Using this technology, the 'dolls' are made based on customer's request. Even at some point, it kinda enable human to live forever, going from one body to another one.
Watching these two serials reminded me of Ross Geller's line in FRIENDS. He said something like this: "In the future the tech will be so advanced that we can store all of our memories into a computer." Well I guess Dollhouse went a step further to illustrate it.
In one sentence, I think basically the moral message of these two serials is about what define a person wholly.
What are we consist of?
Is our body interchangeable? Is it only a vessel, a container which whatever material or substance can be put into?
Would I still be me if all of my memories and consciousness are transferred/put into Brad Pitt's body?
I know there are some movies which topic is about switching bodies (Boy and Girl Thing, Freaky Friday, Hot Chick are some of the examples).
But still...the grand question that we need to ask ourselves is: Who Am I? (just like Jackie Chan's movie :D)
I believe that human in whole is consisted of three elements, body, mind and soul. These three are integrated and the absence or lacking of one will make a person impaired. The most obvious thing of course if the body/physical part. There are people who have disadvantage on this one. Then mind/mental is a bit harder than the physical aspect because it's not directly noticed with our eyes. There are also some who are mentally ill and therefore need to have special treatment (hence the mental institution). The latest is the one that the is the hardest to notice if there's something goes wrong.
So...answering my own question above...I don't think I'd still be me if my mind+soul were transferred to Brad's Pitt body. Well, I dunno this for sure since I never experience it :D
I think all of us is individually unique. In physical aspect...I have my own blueprint, my DNA which I inherited from my parents all the way back to my ancestor with infinite possibilities of combination
In mind aspect....I have my values, my principles....how I perceive this world, this life...which is forged by my socio-cultural environment, education, interaction with others, and so on. In soul aspect....hmmmm...not really sure on this one...I guess it's my belief...
I think these what define me as a person. The absence or change in one of these three will invalid me from being me.
I also believe that these three affect and complement one another. I'm sure we're all familiar with the saying 'Mens sana in corpore sano'. It's true...the condition of each aspect influences the others. That's why I think its important to keep each of this aspect in a healthy condition. Work out, diet are some examples to keep the body in a good condition. Exploring hobbies, listening music, taking that cooking lesson you've been wanting to take for so long, etc are some ways to keep the mind in a good condition. But is it enough? I don't think so.
Have you, at times, feel like there's something missing? Like there's this hole or gap within you which no matter how much food, gadgets, shoes, bags, clothes, money, etc etc just can't fill....perhaps that's a sign that your soul is hungry. Or maybe on the other hand some other times you feel very fresh...very high spirited...like you can take on anything the world throws at you....
Well...I guess we just have to figure out these three things that make us truly, genuinely, uniquely us.
In Heroes, when Sylar is convinced that he's Nathan using Matt's ability, did he become Nathan? Did Sylar die?
I leave you a question to ponder along with these closing line from Heroes season finale...
Who am I?
We are all connected. Joined together by an invisible thread, infinite in its potential and fragile in its design. Yet while connected, we are also merely individuals. Empty vessels to be filled with infinite possibilities. An assortment of thoughts, beliefs. A collection of disjointed memories and experiences. Can I be me without this? Can you be you? And if this invisible thread that holds us together were to sever, to cease, what then? What would become of billions of lone, disconnected souls? Therein lies the great quest of our lives. To find. To connect. To hold on. For when our hearts are pure, and our thoughts in line, we are all truly one. Capable of repairing our fragile world, and creating a universe of infinite possibilities.
I've been meaning to write about this topic since I watched the last episode of Heroes season 3 and also Dollhouse season 1. You might be wondering, what is the relation between the title of this entry (vessel) with those two TV serials.
I remember vessel was used in Heroes, but the idea is the same with Dollhouse. In the beginning of Heroes episode, as usual there's a narration, some lines that sometimes I found interesting to ponder.
Here they are:
There are nearly seven billion people on this planet. Each one unique. Different. What are the chances of that? And why? Is it simply biology, physiology that determines this diversity? A collections of thoughts, memories, experiences that carve out our own special place? Or is it something more than this? Perhaps there's a master plan that drives the randomness of creation. Something unknowable that dwells in the soul, and presents each one of us with a unique set of challenges that will help us discover who we really are.
I won't talk much about the last episode. *spoiler alert* In short, during a fierce fight, Nathan was killed by Sylar. But his mother just couldn't accept this. So she asked forced Matt Parkman to use his ability to order Sylar to make himself believe that he's Nathan. Being shape shifter and the fact he'd already had Nathan's memory, it just took a little push from Matt to 'convert' him to Nathan. Voilà, Nathan was good and alive again.
Dollhouse also offered similar idea. In the serial, there's a technology that enables us to store all of our memory into a harddrive. Not just that, it's also able to program our brain to have certain characteristics and/or abilities. It's like that the whole brain is mapped out, which neuron controls which part of the body and so on and so forth. Using this technology, the 'dolls' are made based on customer's request. Even at some point, it kinda enable human to live forever, going from one body to another one.
Watching these two serials reminded me of Ross Geller's line in FRIENDS. He said something like this: "In the future the tech will be so advanced that we can store all of our memories into a computer." Well I guess Dollhouse went a step further to illustrate it.
In one sentence, I think basically the moral message of these two serials is about what define a person wholly.
What are we consist of?
Is our body interchangeable? Is it only a vessel, a container which whatever material or substance can be put into?
Would I still be me if all of my memories and consciousness are transferred/put into Brad Pitt's body?
I know there are some movies which topic is about switching bodies (Boy and Girl Thing, Freaky Friday, Hot Chick are some of the examples).
But still...the grand question that we need to ask ourselves is: Who Am I? (just like Jackie Chan's movie :D)
I believe that human in whole is consisted of three elements, body, mind and soul. These three are integrated and the absence or lacking of one will make a person impaired. The most obvious thing of course if the body/physical part. There are people who have disadvantage on this one. Then mind/mental is a bit harder than the physical aspect because it's not directly noticed with our eyes. There are also some who are mentally ill and therefore need to have special treatment (hence the mental institution). The latest is the one that the is the hardest to notice if there's something goes wrong.
So...answering my own question above...I don't think I'd still be me if my mind+soul were transferred to Brad's Pitt body. Well, I dunno this for sure since I never experience it :D
I think all of us is individually unique. In physical aspect...I have my own blueprint, my DNA which I inherited from my parents all the way back to my ancestor with infinite possibilities of combination
In mind aspect....I have my values, my principles....how I perceive this world, this life...which is forged by my socio-cultural environment, education, interaction with others, and so on. In soul aspect....hmmmm...not really sure on this one...I guess it's my belief...
I think these what define me as a person. The absence or change in one of these three will invalid me from being me.
I also believe that these three affect and complement one another. I'm sure we're all familiar with the saying 'Mens sana in corpore sano'. It's true...the condition of each aspect influences the others. That's why I think its important to keep each of this aspect in a healthy condition. Work out, diet are some examples to keep the body in a good condition. Exploring hobbies, listening music, taking that cooking lesson you've been wanting to take for so long, etc are some ways to keep the mind in a good condition. But is it enough? I don't think so.
Have you, at times, feel like there's something missing? Like there's this hole or gap within you which no matter how much food, gadgets, shoes, bags, clothes, money, etc etc just can't fill....perhaps that's a sign that your soul is hungry. Or maybe on the other hand some other times you feel very fresh...very high spirited...like you can take on anything the world throws at you....
Well...I guess we just have to figure out these three things that make us truly, genuinely, uniquely us.
In Heroes, when Sylar is convinced that he's Nathan using Matt's ability, did he become Nathan? Did Sylar die?
I leave you a question to ponder along with these closing line from Heroes season finale...
Who am I?
We are all connected. Joined together by an invisible thread, infinite in its potential and fragile in its design. Yet while connected, we are also merely individuals. Empty vessels to be filled with infinite possibilities. An assortment of thoughts, beliefs. A collection of disjointed memories and experiences. Can I be me without this? Can you be you? And if this invisible thread that holds us together were to sever, to cease, what then? What would become of billions of lone, disconnected souls? Therein lies the great quest of our lives. To find. To connect. To hold on. For when our hearts are pure, and our thoughts in line, we are all truly one. Capable of repairing our fragile world, and creating a universe of infinite possibilities.
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