Beep! Beep! That was the sound of a text message delivery on the mobile. It was a message from … God! (Just kidding!) It was a message from one of my “siau” friends, which reads, “Dilbert’s blog … download God’s Debris.” (OK. Close enough to God. :P) What a strange message and since I was entertaining another friend that I have not met in months, I ignored the message.
Fast forward to 1+ pm on the same day. Ring! Ring! Ring! My mobile went off. I checked the number and guess what?! It was the same friend that sent me the earlier cryptic message on Dilbert.
“Did you read my message on Dilbert?” said he.
“Yeah. Didn’t understand it.” said I.
“The ebook on Dilbert. You downloaded yet?”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s this ebook on Dilbert’s blog. Go download and read that. We will discuss this when we meet later today. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Huh?” I sounded blur because I was blur. I looked apologetically at my friend and tried to end the conversation as soon as possible. I thought humouring the friend at the other end of the mobile would be the best way to do so.
“Uh … ok. I will check that out later. Talk to you soon. Bye!”
Later, at 3+ pm after my friend left, I remembered the cryptic text message and the strange conversation that I had. I logged on to Dilbert’s blog and the following passage jumped out at me …
“Frankly, this is the hardest book in the world to market. When it first came out in hardcover, booksellers couldn’t decide if it was fiction or nonfiction. Was it philosophy or religion? It’s a religion/science book written by a cartoonist, using hypnosis techniques in the writing. It’s a thought experiment. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever read. How do you sell something that can’t be explained?”
My interest was piqued … Strangely enough; God’s Debris is a serious piece of work from Scott Adams, the cartoonist and writer for the funny Dilbert books and comic strip. Hmm … clearly we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, huh. : )
The book questions our current beliefs and strives to convince the reader of a simpler (?) but more radical (as in paradigm shift) explanation for those beliefs. As I continued reading it, the book brings to mind another interesting book, Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, that I read six years ago when I was on a soul searching mission. It challenges the current beliefs on God and free will, ESP and UFO, reality and imaginary, etc. etc. The ideas are not exactly new but some examples Scott Adams used to challenge conventional beliefs are pretty interesting and have a very believable logic. For a book of 144 pages with large fonts, every sentence actually builds up to an idea of some significance.
At 4+ pm, the doorbell rang. The whole “siau” gang was here. We were supposed to join Uncle Loke for a trek but since it was raining cats and dogs, everyone decided to adjourn at my place to wait out the rain.
“Have you finished reading the book?” those were the first words out of this friend's mouth. I was at like page 90 but I didn’t want to read while my friends were there. That’s like so rude. In any case, this particular friend was so excited (still is) and so desperate for someone to discuss the contents of the book. Amidst his constant nagging to finish the book, I decided being a good hostess was more important. However, we did cut him some slack and started a cerebral discussion about … well, the meaning of life … all sparked by the enthusiasm of this young man over Scott Adams’ ebook. Thus a healthy and long discussion ensued and varied viewpoints were postulated. At one point, I was shocked to realise that everyone was actually holding a book. What a change from adrenaline and food junkies to cerebral junkies! All too soon, it was time for them to leave me for the Harry Porter movie. Sob! Sob! Cast aside … for Harry Porter! : (
I finished the book later that evening after everyone has left. The last few chapters were interesting. The author spoke of “awareness” and there being five level of “awareness”. That is new to me. I have always believed that there are only two levels; either you are “aware” or you are “unaware”. Truly, this is not an easy book to read and forget. Just like Sophie’s World, this book raises a lot of questions that challenges our current beliefs and status quo.
Socrates (Greek philosopher in Athens ~ 469 BC - 399 BC), one of the greatest minds in history, quotes:
“The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.”
“I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.”
Fast forward to 1+ pm on the same day. Ring! Ring! Ring! My mobile went off. I checked the number and guess what?! It was the same friend that sent me the earlier cryptic message on Dilbert.
“Did you read my message on Dilbert?” said he.
“Yeah. Didn’t understand it.” said I.
“The ebook on Dilbert. You downloaded yet?”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s this ebook on Dilbert’s blog. Go download and read that. We will discuss this when we meet later today. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Huh?” I sounded blur because I was blur. I looked apologetically at my friend and tried to end the conversation as soon as possible. I thought humouring the friend at the other end of the mobile would be the best way to do so.
“Uh … ok. I will check that out later. Talk to you soon. Bye!”
Later, at 3+ pm after my friend left, I remembered the cryptic text message and the strange conversation that I had. I logged on to Dilbert’s blog and the following passage jumped out at me …
“Frankly, this is the hardest book in the world to market. When it first came out in hardcover, booksellers couldn’t decide if it was fiction or nonfiction. Was it philosophy or religion? It’s a religion/science book written by a cartoonist, using hypnosis techniques in the writing. It’s a thought experiment. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever read. How do you sell something that can’t be explained?”
My interest was piqued … Strangely enough; God’s Debris is a serious piece of work from Scott Adams, the cartoonist and writer for the funny Dilbert books and comic strip. Hmm … clearly we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, huh. : )
The book questions our current beliefs and strives to convince the reader of a simpler (?) but more radical (as in paradigm shift) explanation for those beliefs. As I continued reading it, the book brings to mind another interesting book, Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, that I read six years ago when I was on a soul searching mission. It challenges the current beliefs on God and free will, ESP and UFO, reality and imaginary, etc. etc. The ideas are not exactly new but some examples Scott Adams used to challenge conventional beliefs are pretty interesting and have a very believable logic. For a book of 144 pages with large fonts, every sentence actually builds up to an idea of some significance.
At 4+ pm, the doorbell rang. The whole “siau” gang was here. We were supposed to join Uncle Loke for a trek but since it was raining cats and dogs, everyone decided to adjourn at my place to wait out the rain.
“Have you finished reading the book?” those were the first words out of this friend's mouth. I was at like page 90 but I didn’t want to read while my friends were there. That’s like so rude. In any case, this particular friend was so excited (still is) and so desperate for someone to discuss the contents of the book. Amidst his constant nagging to finish the book, I decided being a good hostess was more important. However, we did cut him some slack and started a cerebral discussion about … well, the meaning of life … all sparked by the enthusiasm of this young man over Scott Adams’ ebook. Thus a healthy and long discussion ensued and varied viewpoints were postulated. At one point, I was shocked to realise that everyone was actually holding a book. What a change from adrenaline and food junkies to cerebral junkies! All too soon, it was time for them to leave me for the Harry Porter movie. Sob! Sob! Cast aside … for Harry Porter! : (
I finished the book later that evening after everyone has left. The last few chapters were interesting. The author spoke of “awareness” and there being five level of “awareness”. That is new to me. I have always believed that there are only two levels; either you are “aware” or you are “unaware”. Truly, this is not an easy book to read and forget. Just like Sophie’s World, this book raises a lot of questions that challenges our current beliefs and status quo.
Socrates (Greek philosopher in Athens ~ 469 BC - 399 BC), one of the greatest minds in history, quotes:
“The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.”
“I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.”
Yet, isn't ignorance bliss?
Long ago, I came to the conclusion that being “aware” actually complicates life more. We think too much and question too much. Yet the things we question will most likely not be proved nor disproved in our lifetime. Would we not be happier living by our current set of beliefs and perceptions? This is a great book to stimulate our thought processes and allow the cerebral side some activity. But should that not be as far as we take it? After all, if we are living happily within the confines of our own perception and the general perception of society, why rock the boat? Why challenge that paradigm?
Ultimately, I believe that life is a lot simpler than we think or than it is made out to be. And once we accept that, life is perhaps a lot happier and more interesting.
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