MAN AND MACHINE Complementation or contradiction

Since the dawn of human race on the planet, the man has ever strived to unravel the mysteries of Nature and his own surroundings. In the pursuit to satisfy his eagerness and quench his thirst, he has to confront and struggle with numerous mortal challenges through ages. Many of them staked their life in the raging waves, scorching and blazing sun, frowning and ferocious tornados, disastrous and deadly draughts, catastrophic and callous flood and heart tearing extreme chilliness.

Despite all these hostile and demoniac sides, the Nature tutored them lessons how to cope up with these havocs. In such a wild and beastly race, the men became instrumental and mechanical. Out of such terrible ventures, they unveiled and initiated the era of discoveries and inventions.

To satisfy the fire of stomach they shifted from raw flesh and fruits to sophisticated and synthetic foods hugely available at dhabas and hotels, from natural rivers and ponds’ water to filtered and mineral water, from skin of plants and animals to synthetic fabricated cotton terricots, wool, silk etc, from the tree branches and caves to sky crappers, from barefoot roaming to aero planes, satellite launchers and mammoth titanic ships, from rounded and pointed stone weapons to nuclear bombs and missiles.

It’s no exaggeration to quote that, “What we imagine today lies somewhere in the womb of future, as imagination itself has its limitation than the probabilities in the universe." The primitive men would never have thought of flying in the sky @ the speed of thousands kilometer per hour to the height of 11000 kilometers, the bullet trains @ speed of 500 kilometers per hour, more than 120 storey magnificent sky crappers, marvelous and mammoth mars and moon missions, intelligent computers and magnum mobile smart phones. But all these were existing and possible. Once the battles were fought on horses, elephants and camels with armors, swords, spears, bows and maces, would they have thought of tanks, fighter planes and jets with rifles, bombs, machine guns, revolver and missiles. But they all existed somewhere. The men who roamed through shrubs, pebbles, rivers and hills would have never thought of wonderful, broad and glittering roads, train tracks and airways where the vehicles are roaring and running furiously at great speed.

The things we observe around us is merely the smallest quantum of possibilities of the universe that we have achieved till now. We even can’t imagine what lies in the depth of future possibilities. The human and his mind is itself the minutest part of the mega, immeasurable and vast cosmos. More than our mundane imaginations are still waiting to be explored. The present scenes, scenarios and situations will vanish away. These will be wrapped, read and studied into the pages of history only to know the stairs, steps and stages of human advancement. These all will be very soon replaced by many other new concepts, life styles and objects. Our choices, likes and dislikes and living standard too will be greatly transformed.  This process is natural, instinctive and unstoppable, may it even lead to self destruction.

All these were the byproducts of natural instincts of human race of surpassing all the barricades in the way of his dominance over other creatures and to quench unfathomable desires of his own as well to sustain his life to more comfortable level. This is the untiring endeavor of humanity which has proved his supremacy and worth. Such tendency lies in the very nature of man. To quest, query, and commit leads towards such a combats with nature and fellow beings. The man reached to a civilized stage with his magnificent attainments by his superior, special and superb design of brain and body.

Moreover in life’s fast horse race and prolonged activities from home to office none has fraction of time to spare.  This has resulted in invention of mobile phones, bikes, cars, computers and internet. Someone has rightly said that" Once it took millions of years to change the life’s scenario while today it changes every second ".

Today we are in the close grip of machines. Even the tiniest of our activities are being governed by machines. We depend more over machine. We bathe, brush teeth, put on cloth, live in beautiful flats, comb hairs which are machinery byproducts. Wherever we are, either at home, on the road, in the market, in the office, in the schools, movie theatres or playgrounds, our daily life is gruesomely grabbed and clamped by machines. At home, we have washing machines, coolers, fans, air conditioners, refrigerators, watches, television, mixer, stove and oven. We have bicycles, motor cycles, iron press and cars. Outside home, we have buses, trains, aero planes, rickshaws and auto rickshaws. At offices and in factories, we have machines and machines all around. We are hugely surrounded by such omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient machines. To say that we have become parasites to machines is no exaggeration. From our very birth to the last breath, our life is under the rule of machines. At our birth, may it be home or hospital, different machines and mechanic procedures are used. We grow amid machines like toys and technologies, and are carried, buried or cremated again with different machines and mechanical procedures.

Our dependency over machines has mounted to a pitiable level. Life itself seems unimaginable without machines. We are too habituated and used to of it. They have become such a constant companion; they live with our breaths and beats. From the dawn to twilight, they live with us. We wake up and find the machines around, and sleep with them in the surroundings. As the breath values for living so has become these machines. Years before, our life was limited only to bread, cloth and house. One's life seems withholding if he has missed or forgotten the cell phone at home. One seems stifling if his car got punctured on the way. One wanders whole of the city for cylinder gas shortage. 

The life seems dull without them. The machines are the modes of information, recreation and entertainments. The toys, televisions, mobiles, computers and theatres squeeze away dullness and monotony from our life. They don’t let us feel alone, bored and dead. They are ever ready to shake our dozy slumbering spirit into hilarity and ecstasy.  They cheer us up to live with our benevolent brethrens. They lighten up our dormancy, sloth and laziness. They brighten up our morose surrounding with joy and laughter. They instill life in lifeless moods and mindsets. Moreover they tighten the bonds between our kiths and kin by enjoying the movies, matches and shows sitting together. 

It is not merely the symbol of strata in society but fundamental requirement of human beings. Once having such machines was considered to be the status symbol. That showed the sign of richness, glamour and greatness. On their advent, they were inaccessible, unaffordable and unknown for the common people. They were taken as the matters of wonder, magic and miracles for people. The invention of cycles created huge sensation amid people. The one who has a cycle was most revered, discussed and venerated fellow. The people flocked together to have a rare glimpse of it. To get a chance to touch was emblem of pride. If one got any opportunity to have a ride, he was considered the most fortunate and luckiest person of the earth. He heaved deep to show his utter delight and dignity. Such was the craze towards machines on their arrivals. Initially the people got haunted with wonder and surprise of meticulous machines, later they got virtually accustomed after they became simplified and sustainable. They became inseparable requirements than merely being the object of standard and supercilious life.

Today, every sphere of human activity like education, culture, administration, agriculture, science and technology, politics, medicine and research has been mechanized. The vast and vicissitude machines have dominated subserviently all human acts and activities. The mechanized diagnose, treatment, surgery and operations have revolutionized the medical field. All pills, syringe, tablets, syrups, drops, bondages, artificial organs and all other medical accessories are produced in mechanized factories. The whole hospital and its peripheral and infrastructures too are the outcome of mechanized factories. The robots can do surgery more accurately, timely, cheaply and intelligently than men. The tractors, thrashers and levelers have enhanced the farmers’ capacities hundred times more than what they actually have. The climate prognostication and forecast has also enabled them to avoid damages and take benefits of favorable times and seasons. High breed seeds, fertilizers and pesticides too have helped in agricultural advancements. These were possible only by mechanization of factories and industries. The traditional pattern of agriculture to burn the forests for temporary agricultural purposes to use the fertility, and then abandon after it became unfertile, have changed. From such devastation of green world forests, the more durable and static agriculture started with the advent of meticulous machines.    

Though machines started being the part of human life, right from his appearance on earth, yet it has been ever the matter of concern and discussion that how much the man owes to such devil machines. Once there were few handful machines with them, but with passage of time, there are numberless of them. The dominance of these lifeless machines in human life is increasing rapidly.  The man’s life is becoming lifeless at many ways. Will the man be covered, crushed and controlled by such machines?  Such exuberance, suffusion and deliverance of machines may be havoc and hazardous upon human life. The humanitarian people and organizations have raised high slogans against over emphasis and over use of machines. They criticize machines of extracting job, prompting poverty, increasing the gulf of rich and poor and above all infusing inhuman values in the society. They also proclaim that human behavior is fiercely being mechanized beyond all human emotions, love and fraternity.

Although we can’t deny the machine’s role over human beings, yet one thing is still unanimously accepted that the human brain behind it is decisive and dominant factor. Firstly machine is manufactured by the man himself and secondly machine requires to be operated by man, which justifies that the man has still its place and worth over machine. Our general and universal acceptance of the perception is that whatever the progress in the field of machines and mechanization we make, they will ever be instructed, guided and controlled by the men. The natural genius and innate capacity of man to think, analyze, decide and act will ever be dominant over the artificial functioning of machines. The machines need command, directions and prompts that will be executed by superb man.

To think of their mastery and control over each other will rather be superfluous and vain. Why to juxtapose them in contradictory position? Both the man and machines have incarnated together to co-exist, co-operate and co-stand. The Nature has made man. The man has made machines. All of them are integral and inseparable part of each other. Both of them are not contradictory but complementary to each other. Man makes and operates machine whereas latter makes the task easier and faster. It saves both energy and time. Both have journeyed long way together and longer they have still to journey. Man is the master.  Man is the father. Does any father speak, think or act ill of his own son? The son may sometimes not act as per the instructions plans and programs devised by the father that does not mean absolute worthlessness, disobedience and spuriousness of the son. That does not scandalize the lovelier knot between them. The man and machines are not two poles but the resident of same time zones.

This idea has generated the horror in today s mind of "What will be the culmination of this uninterrupted advancement?" Whatever the reality is but it’s undeniable fact that unforeseen growths of machines have been observed of late. New to newer machines are assuming grounds in human life. More intelligent, calibrated, automated, predictive and capable machines are becoming the inevitable part and parcel of human life. Manual labor and tiresome works are vibrantly replaced by dynamic machines. The factories have more machines than men. Even the houses and offices have the story where their spaces are covered and consumed more by modern machines and the least by men. In such a situation, it’s very natural to be amazed on its futuristic prospects and possibilities. What will be the future of man and machine?

It’s again the nature of man to adapt and adjust. With the changing time and its needs, he transforms himself. This is the one big factor of his survival, supremacy and dominance whereas millions of species became extinct. In recent years much hues and cries have been heard about threat of losing human innate temperament. The speedy and salubrious loss of humanness and all his natural instincts have been in the pivot of discussion and debate. We have started showing our concern and anxiousness towards impending catastrophes. This is the good sign and a virtue to survive in the brutal struggle of survival. The academic institutions, renowned universities and their scholars have started to design syllabus and curriculum to mould and moderate the human thinking, behavior and emotional aspects. Till the human species reside on earth, no other power can surpass him. The human race is born and destined to rule this planet in all odds and evens.

The machines will remain machines only. The master will be the man. If man devises a machine, makes it super powerful, he can also destroy it, if he smells any wrong in it. To get entangled in the futile discussion of foe and friend, is of no practical use. This is only to pain and pinch our minds fruitlessly. This may be good time pass stuff but finally it is going to give nothing at all.

The man is absolute master of everything. He will master everything and never will he be mastered by anything.