A sense of wonder
There’s only so many times something can happen to you before you finally decide to write about it. Today is that day for me.
On the surface, it’s not that big a deal, but experiences like the one I describe cultivate a sense of wonder (and by extension, other sentiments like gratitude and compassion).
I had my first class today for a data science course. In the overview material, the professor was discussing artificial intelligence (also known as machine learning). One of the points he made was based on the observation that modern technology now incorporates many functionalities that were once considered AI — one example would be voice recognition. He went on to say that say that some AI commentators, after-the-fact, would state that whatever functionality that became incorporated was “not really AI”. This would allow the commentators to claim that humans haven’t made breakthroughs in AI.
This point, while insightful, carried a weighted significance for me. Earlier today, I had decided to pick up a book I purchased a couple of months ago. The book deals with artificial intelligence, and in the 30 or so pages I read, I came across for the first time the exact same idea that I mentioned above. When I heard it in class, I was pretty thrown. Consider that this is a concept that most students have never come across or thought about. What are the odds that on my first day learning about this idea, I hear it a second time — from a completely different source? Why did I decide to pickup this particular book on this particular day?
These happy coincidences happen all the time, and they’ve definitely happened to you. Some examples:
- You were thinking about your friend or family member and they text you.
- One class covers a particular topic, and the topic comes up in an unrelated class the same day.
- You’re thinking about a song (or singing it in your head), turn the radio on, and it’s playing.
There’s many more of these moments, and you recognize them by that feeling — I would call it a sense of wonder — that you get when they happen. Now, I know at the end of the day, they are just coincidences, but I do think they’re worth stopping for and appreciating. I find them to be inspiring and invigorating.
We live lives where so many things are constantly happening, these moments can just pass us by without a second thought. As Ferris Bueller once said:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”
