One thing that fascinates me in modern civilized world is the use of commode toilets. They are radically different from the means people used for toilet in olden days. What happens when a person wants to use a commode toilet? He has a need and sits on the toilet seat, does the thing and presses a button (or pushes a handle)...and the stuff are gone...they disappear into another reality after which he is NOT RESPONSIBLE about it. Nobody can point at something and say that "Hey, look, this is your stuff". However, the case with earlier practices would be so different. If we take, for example, the practice of going into jungle, "it" is there in the same reality after he does it. He sees it, smells it, and may even step on it the next time he walks into the jungle.
When observing the changes happening in the current days' world with respect to politics, education, technology and human relationships I have been smelling a paradigm shift. Lot of things are changing their shape radically. The change in technology is more prominent. If you ask an analyst he will load you with a lot of facts on the new trends and how you should be dealing with them. However, these are mere facts only. A logical man needs something more than facts. He needs a concrete philosophy through which the new changes can be understood, described and predicted. I have been searching for this philosophy for quite a time, and finally, I discovered it...not in books...not even in the web...but in the toilet. I call this new philosophy, "The Toilet Model of Life".
The tiny toy software
Let's take few examples from modern technology first. In the olden days software came as big packages. The installation was heavy and the users were supposed to go through a significant learning curve before start using them. In order to make a certain window appear, a user had to go to Options menu, select "Advanced" screen and navigate to the "Advanced" tab in it (which some people call the super-duper advanced screen) and check a configuration. New versions came in 2-3 years and had a whole bunch of new features added. Users of these software were specialists in them who knew through years of experience, the recipe needed to get something useful done from them. They were very much dependent on the few software they working with and were emotionally attached to them. Software had to be used with great RESPONSIBILITY and discipline. A long uninstallation procedure had to be followed when the user no longer needed the software. Even after the uninstallation, software usually left lot of traces behind in the system. Briefly said, the software was in the center and the users were in the periphery. However, what we see today are software with very short release cycles (as short as half an hour) that shape the product gradually according to fast changing market needs. Since the world wide web has opened up a super fast channel for software delivery, the users no longer need to wait for months or years for a particular software to show up. There are hundreds of software available to serve a certain need. Therefore the user has acquired the center and the software are pushed into periphery. A typical user consumes at least a few dozen software in a daily basis. Software vendors, therefore, cannot assume an expert user. Their product can be just the 'costume-of-the-day' for the user. In order to tackle these new conditions, the features need to be provided at the finger tips. Any configuration setting should be displayed only at the appropriate instance and the behavior of the software should adapt according to the user. Installation and uninstallation should be quick, light and clean.
Smart phone software are typical examples for this new domain of software. They are light in size and are easily installed. They come up with only a handful of features that are readily available through simple gestures. Removing them is just a matter of few taps. Even better is that they do not leave any trace behind. Any person having a smart phone can download an app, use it for a while and flush it from the device. No responsibility is left; just like in the commode toilet.
Things get more aligned with the toilet mechanism when it comes to cloud. What the cloud means is that the users no longer need to keep their heavy data in their devices. They are simply irresponsible on how and where they are kept, backed up and so on. They are readily available for them to CONSUME, DISPOSE AND FORGET. The same toilet theory applies when you are the software vendor who delivers cloud based products. Not only that you do not need to get the trouble of being responsible in managing the data, but also you do not have to hold the weight of a subscription to a data hosting service. You pay only when you consume it. CONSUME-DISPOSE-FORGET is in action even in the software vendors' domain.
No more experts
In the past, not only the software users were experts, but also the software producers. They were specialists in certain technologies. A C++ guy, a Java guy and so on. They were emotionally attached to their technology and were ready to go for wars for the protection of them. However, with the current rate of technology mutations, one can hardly become an expert in a technology. By the time somebody acquires expertise in a technology, it becomes obsolete. Therefore the viable model for software producers is to be open minded and be flexible to move between technologies rapidly. Quick learning ability, adaptability and flexibility are becoming the defining qualities of successful professionals. The cadres in this new workforce will not be emotionally attached to any piece of technology like their predecessors. The new model for the producer is LOAD-PRODUCE-UNLOAD-FORGET.
Frienditutes
To show the toilet model in action in the field of modern human relationships is a trivial task. I will take a simple example. Guys usually like to have a lot of good looking female friends. And there are times that a guy really needs to show this to others. However, similar to any other valuable thing in the world, this too doesn't come for free. To have good looking female friends a guy has to pay a certain price because females expect a lot from their male friends. He has to buy them expensive gifts, be a driver at times, keep on spending hours jabbering girly crap with them, etc. Dilbert creator Scott Adams suggested a modern solution for this which is based on the fact that most friend stuff are now happening in Facebook. The concept is named "frienditute" who is either a good looking female in Facebook or anyone who is smart enough to appear like a good looking female in Facebook. If you are a guy, all you need to do is hiring a frienditute for a period when you need to show that you have gorgeous girl friends. They will comment on your messages, write on your FB wall, say nice things about your pictures and so on. They will pretend to be good friends of you during the hired period. No long term costs in keeping relationships with beautiful girls...a simple analogy for CONSUMABLE-DISPOSABLE-FORGETTABLE human relationships which is becoming a norm in the modern world.
China - the rising sun
If there is a paradigm shift happening in the world affecting every facet of human life, shouldn't it be triggered and backed by a political body? It should and, of course it does. In order to identify this we only need to answer an easy question. What is the political regime that will dominate the world both politically and economically after few decades? Undoubtedly, it's the Chinese regime...and the Chinese politics is based on their most popular philosophy: Taoism. What does Taoism say? It asks us to 'live in this moment'; not the moment before, not the moment later. Taoism asks you to do whatever you are doing right now in your fullest potential...and then forget it...do not get emotionally attached to it...do not be responsible because by that time what you are currently engaged will be the past which is insignificant. This is exactly what the Chinese are doing all around the world and that is why they are so much successful. Take a Chinese product and you will see this philosophy in it. It comes for a very low price with almost all the features known for that kind of products. However, it is not attached to a big trade name and you should not talk about the durability of the product. Simple enough, isn't it? Now compare this with the Western world based on Christianity which says "the god is watching everything you do and you are responsible for what you do". This western dominance is now becoming the history with the speed of light. China is the rising sun.
Let's summarize. When you are the consumer CONSUME-DISPOSE-FORGET. When you are the producer LOAD-PRODUCE-UNLOAD-FORGET. As a final remark I ask my reader to be ready for this new world, both emotionally and intellectually. Do not get surprised if the friend who warmly shares your feelings today will behave like a complete stranger tomorrow.
