De-Bugging (Q.A.)

I have an irksome nature within me. There is a tendency to look at my ‘self’, when I notice any phenomenon that could snowball into a concept on the ‘outside’ (the life situation around me). It would have been quite alright if it stopped there. But when I find somebody who is likely to be inclined to look at it in an ‘afresh’ manner, I find myself now ‘engaged’ in sharing this pattern! A great Master’s words gave me that much needed consolation, when he said (in some other context) that “there is a prototype of the whole Universe right within us!

Exactly this “pattern sharing” was what happened when I got initiated into the world of computers way back in 1991. Most of our colleagues were shying away, feeling that they are now too old to adapt to this new concept of information technology. I somehow landed at a nearby University, where, 3 PhD level professors had enough ‘quality’ spare time to garner a modest additional income resource to that infant University. The computer department was yet to become really busy. My ‘wiser’ colleagues looked at us (the handful of ‘over enthusiasts’) as even innocent and willing scapegoats! Very soon, these professors decided to make a thorough job of it, and went a little deeper than perhaps needed, into fundamentals. ‘GW Basics’ was of course there. But the lecture took us to the very junk-looking characters of low-level-language (may be the machine-language), the embedded circuit below the keypad etc. The binary form popped up too often, even during those data-transmission classes, with the concept of data packets, check-sum/symbols, parity bit, or whatever! Most of the participants found these classes to be an excellent source of invoking a quick nap after that hectic, stressful day at our work place! I was a front-bencher, an odd-man-enthusiast and sole source of inspiration for the professors! Even I was not spared, when my classmates used their ‘whip’ (they were my bosses at work place!), to warn me “not to ask any question during the last quarter hour”, that warrants an ‘extended’ session! I sneaked in this problem to professors who readily understood and volunteered for a one-to-one ‘after-class-session’ to satisfy my thirst! One professor was in for a surprise. He almost confessed that he was never prepared for that surprising revelation, when I suggested looking at….. how man happens to ‘replicate’ the ‘pattern’ of one’s own mind, when he devices a gadget like memory machine called computer! The data-supplements I offered in support of this theory, the examples in particular, happened to impress him and interested him very much. Even the ‘de-bugging’ concept was, an ‘embedded software’ in that ‘time-capsule’ when I happened to study this aspect of the famous ‘Soundarya Lahari’ by Adi Shankara. There was the data-compression technique, where alphabets were assigned numeric values(to incorporate scientific formulae), while refusing to dilute the poetic appeal, but also ensuring the concept of quantum mechanics phenomenon, the sound of chanting it effecting a miniature virtual ‘bombardment’ on the grey matter in the medulla oblongata (or whatever we call for brain, intellect, memory etc!). It is around 1971 that I came to know of ‘self-corrective-factors’ being embedded in the ‘prescribed number times of chanting’ of these verses! Very close to artificial intelligence, perhaps! So, obviously, when I gave hints at such credible instances, these PhD professors were understandably impressed.

The de-bugging concept dawned on me only when we were asked to ‘test’ our own primitive simple programs, by deliberately giving junk/wrong/incorrect inputs while running the program! I was reminded of “to err is human”….. ‘only’ too? If another machine or even an animal is going to provide inputs, too much of de-bugging would not be needed in a program! I suddenly liked to look at our being ‘prone-to-commit-mistakes’ as an invaluable asset! It affords scope for improvisations, innovations beyond imagination! We have those fool-proof, tamper-proof, child-proof gadgets! Hacker-proof is something that might be ever elusive! The marketing technology department imposes an ever increasing demand on its R & D wing for reducing the Do’s and Don’ts on latest models of gadgets! Nothing but de-bugging! I love to watch the materialistic world struggling with ‘debugging’ while the ancient spiritual giants had resolved this conclusively, when they had already perfected a technique long ago to evolve into a bug-proof-human being!

Psn (10th October, 2009)