New Conclusions: December 2021
Bi-monthly Publication / Re: Life
Morning! Before I start, I wanted to point out that you’re looking at the new (and hopefully, improved) version of Re: Life, if you didn’t notice it already. Now, for credit where credit is due, this move was heavily inspired by James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter, which covers 3 short ideas, 2 quotes from others, and 1 parting thought in each edition. Check it out here.
Again, this is your newsletter as much as it is mine! Remember that you can totally influence what it is and how it evolves.
I thought I might as well use this issue as a barometer for what everyone thinks. If you have anything at all to say about the new format, just comment it or DM me @AaryanHarshith on Twitter and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
30-Second Recap
Since the last edition of Re: Life, I started (and finished) writing my first academic paper, called “The Mechanisms and Impact of Adhesion and Matrix Modifications
In Cancer Surgery”. It reviews existing literature to explore how cancer visually and palpably camouflages itself to go undetected, and how that could affect treatments like surgery.
Normally, I’d show a big development like this to you, but it seems like I won’t be able to share this paper until it gets published, which is still in the process of happening.
I’ve also been preparing reports and contacting labs for my medical device’s latest PROXIMA study on breast cancer cells.
P.S. If you’re associated with a lab that works with cancer cells, message me on Twitter. We’ll be publishing all our findings in a reputable biotechnology journal and I’ll actually pay you for your collaboration!
In the meantime, I’ve been studying biochemistry with the classic book Molecular Biology of the Cell and the biology of cancer with a book called…The Biology of Cancer. Over the past few months, I was able to learn about protein folding, cancer etiology (AKA why cancer happens), and the extracellular matrix.
But First - Some Fun!
Every once in a while, I try doing something that makes me or the people around me smile a bit. Mostly, I’ve been too embarrassed to put those moments on a newsletter, but I thought I’d do it this time. Enjoy!
Thought #1: What Matters, Is Matter
Here’s an idea that became clear to me when I was working on the hardware that made up LightIR: everything is made of matter.
Everything.
Every difference that separates bad things and good things, iPhones and Androids, are minute, almost insignificant changes in how the atoms that make them up are arranged. In fact, everything that makes Apple in itself a great company has to do with matter.
“After all, Apple™ is a set of buildings, the ink on a few patents, and a certain configuration of electrons that rush through your computer every time it runs their latest commercial - all of which convinces you their brand is worth something.”
Given the amount of matter we have and all the ways that matter could intermingle in the known universe, the full list of potential combinations would approach infinity.
Maybe an argument like this is too reductive, but companies like Apple are what they are because they took these infinite possibilities and condensed them into a singular, focused arrangement of buildings, ink on patents, and electrons that run through your computer whenever the next iPhone ad plays.
More importantly, they put effort into keeping it that way.
Value is what is created when we bring an unbelievably specific and desirable order out of the chaotic mess that is the universe. Forget about Apple. Everything we love has that in common.
Thought #2: The Life Dilemma
What makes humans human?
In my time trying to answer that question, I’ve heard some claim that we were divinely gifted and others claim that we were “irrelevant action figures with a particularly strong sense of ego”.
But there’s one thing I haven’t noticed anyone talking about: when was the last time you saw a goldfish having an existential crisis?
Think about that. Goldfish don’t need to be philosophically sophisticated to reproduce. Their existence lies entirely in the realm of making sure they aren’t in immediate danger and have their physical needs met, and everything else is irrelevant.
Clearly, humans (homo sapiens) evolved out of that survival rut. And as soon as we could afford to think about our communities and greater purpose, our ability to understand and communicate those issues (e.g. with complex speech and writing) developed with it.
“Maybe that’s the unifier of all complex life - its capacity to overcome less comlex struggles and replace them with new, more nuanced problems.”
Now, we think that the very top of the pyramid of needs is self-actualization and enlightenment, but we’re only humans. I wonder if we live our lives as goldfish, oblivious to the existence of someone (or something) far more complex than we can even comprehend.
One Quote:
One of my favourites from the late author and personality Earl Nightingale:
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
What in your life are you letting go of for time? Would you rather be five or ten years older having accomplished your dream or five or ten years older without it? That’s the real choice you’ll have to make.
Until next time,
Aaryan