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You live because of your belief in certainties, the fact that you are sure where your life will take you to a certain degree of reality. But what happens if the clarity of realizing your plans wither away ending in utter confusion, let alone some solace for irrelevant accomplishments. After all, you are not living to be irrelevant.
Though uncertainty principles have been explained at length in science and politics we always try to attain certainties in life. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle and marxism dialectic materialism are celebrated in their own rights at various levels. Even then we care less about the influence of such philosophies’ when it comes to our life.
Having said that, it’s the uncertainties that make us who we are today. Our nature of free-will and its adaptation to seek more opportunities makes us the most livable and the so called indestructible species. Perhaps even our extinction depends on our will. As a member of this species I don’t mind boasting to the above extent of megalomania, even though we evolved to this level from many of the past uncertainties.
One of the notions of Indians to make their life more certain has been vying for opportunities abroad. H1B visa is one of the gateways to make that dream come true. However it’s entangled with the recent socio-political changes which are inevitable, if not now it will have to happen at some point in time. Definitely people will adapt but there seems to be many uncertainties in the offering.
Travelling has become cheaper with the advancement in technologies and transportation vehicles. With globalization and relaxation of migration rules has prompted mass movement across nations. However migration has made nations wary of diluting their localization thereby enacting stricter rules to protect their aborigines. The political rhetoric has made the migrated population uncertain about their future.
Terrorism is the worst of the uncertainties, by its nature we want to avoid at any cost. All forms of atrocities are becoming common these days with its occurrence more often. With the means of communication becoming faster has made it more uncertain about the ease in peace.
Even the recent operational crisis of the Indigo flight, making people pay for exorbitant ticket prices which are as bizarre as it can be. Though it was triggered by a govt policy, we saw the limits of human endurance in adapting to such a change. It was a total collapse beyond anything in our retrospective history, after the post 1990 with East West Airlines pioneering the new era in Indian aviation.
War is an inevitable activity perhaps from the first days of our existence. This is going through a fundamental shift. Looking at the recent wars seems uncertain about when it will start or will it end. Normally a war ends in victory, massive destruction of men and materials, over a period of many days. However recent wars defy most of these conventions. We can’t imagine what the next world war will be like with such precision and deadly power. It’s uncertain we may even survive.
Jobs are getting re-defined in the AI era. This is one uncertainty that cannot be avoided at any cost. Every 25 years there is a fundamental shift in the nature of the job we do. New activities or objects or devices that we commonly use may become obsolete, replacing newer methods or its importance may get diminished. All these affect the nature of our job. After all, 25 years is supposed to be the active period for a single generation.
Trade is the one activity that brings prosperity to a region or a nation. All of these are done with different means and methods that are defined by the contemporary socio-political alignments. The recent pause affected the supply chain due to the corona virus epidemic causing a lot of uncertainties. Also the tariff war induced more uncertainties due to political decisions.
Medicine has been a boon to increase life expectancy for over a century. But the same vaccines gave a lot of uncertainty in the effectiveness of its cure during corona. In recent times there were several vaccines taken out of the market due to its side effects.
Uncertainty is due to the fact that we can’t predict the future. In simple terms we are not divine to know the future and that’s never been an expectation. However, with knowledge and experience we should be able to have a fair assessment of the future. The only downside is when the uncertainties pop up suddenly we need some time to cope. This is true for the recent corona outbreak, the indigo fiasco etc.
The uncertainties are keeping us on our toes, making us adapt creatively, that gives impetus to the advancement in our civilization.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.