LITFILI 2: Initial Conditions

Everything is revealed to us; with no assurance or guarantee. All knowledge is a collection of retrieved information from the external world. Where then do we get our certainty if knowledge is replaced almost everyday? Why do we have so much faith in everything?

We all have faith in something. Some have faith that the sun will rise in the morning and some believe that Penicillin is a treatment of bacterial infections. The same way people used to believe that the world is flat or that the earth is in the center of the Universe.



Technological Determinism. Perhaps it's just my interpretation, but I felt that Arcellana's The Mats was some sort of satire or black comedy that portrayed contemporary society's subservience to consumerism and attachment to unnecessary material goods. It showed that humanity is subjected to trends in technology; something that determines all socio-political situations and dictates social norms. Science and Technology is the guiding force in all social change. How certain are we with what we really know?

There is this part in the story where they suddenly grieved because of three extra mats. For me, this symbolized society's grief over its slavery to uncertain knowledge. It symbolized that they no longer want to be ignorant but have no capability to set themselves free. We are all just like Mr. Angeles and his family: busying ourselves with a fraction and ignoring the greater whole.

Arcellana shows how we are so attached and how we busy ourselves with such petty things. In his second story, Divide by Two, it showed directly how attachment is the cause of all suffering. Familiarity breeds contempt. It is natural for neighbors to breed contempt amongst one another. Humans are generally more social than rational. Human drama is inevitable. There is always something negative we see in other people.

So our lesson for today is: read more and sleep well. We are all just slaves to the initial conditions. Slaves to our very own kind of Mats. So always remember to take a deep breath at all times and don't forget to feed the fish.

peace.

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