Old house, old car, old body

Objects vs humans…

Erik: In some ways, we humans are just objects, like houses or cars.

Olga: It’s a bit extreme.

Erik: Well houses get old, develop problems. Electrical appliances conk put, leaks appear, floors rot. After a series of these it becomes too expensive to fix them.

Olga: Yes, like cars. The electricals go, the suspension goes, the transmission. Scrap it.

Erik: So our bodies follow a similar pattern. The digestion slows and needs intervention, organs fail, cancer appears. 

Erik: Individuals sometimes call time themselves.

Olga: So you're saying scrap someone with too many health issues?

_________

Voice-over

A doctor might gently say to a patient, “Well, we aren’t getting any younger, are we.” Maybe soon an AI app will make the judgement on whether it’s worth intervening. But then, when multiple health issues co-occur, maybe we should remember someone like Henry Kissinger, who at 100 years old, who has difficulty walking, can still deliver sense on how China and the US need to responsibly deal with each other. A life of worth.

The cleverness of things and the abilities of humans

Objects which do one thing well…

Malcolm: I’m surrounded by things which do a better job than I can. The stove, the bicycle, the computer.

Muriel: True. Even the teapot. I can’t hold hot water or hardly any water.

Malcolm: But I’m the boss. Not much good at anything but as a human being, as the conductor, I coordinate them.

__________

Voice-over

No contention here. Malcolm and Muriel agree. Objects execute specific tasks well. Humans orchestrate.