Hello there, fellow travelers,
I am a software engineer, who, through years of experience struggling with, and conversing with computers, have reached a level of enlightenment that has become a matter of conversation amongst the world’s elite fungi.
I have worked with computers over many many years. I have worked with them from the prehistoric days of the Apple IIs, till today where we have the inadequate and slow i9s, Ryzens and Ms (not to mention, the infamous CUDAs). I have performed coding in assembly, Basic, Pascal, Fortran, Lisp, C++, VC++, VB, .net, Java, JavaScript (yuck!), Dart and many more.
I have evolved as the software engineering world evolved from waterfall models to agile and AI. Now, my relationship with waterfalls and agile is limited to my wish to bathe under a waterfall. But, my evolution has ensured that I no longer am as agile as I need to be, to reach the bottom of a waterfall (unless I fall from the top). Those difficult interactions, evolution and struggles with those inanimate, yet intelligent, computers gave birth to my need to find purpose in my profession, and secondarily, to find the meaning of – ‘try-catch’.
How I got Here
My path to enlightenment began early in life. I was shy as a child, and ultimately grew up to be a world class introvert, perhaps even with an undiagnosed case of social anxiety disorder. Thus, I have spent more time observing life than living it. Through the ages of observations, I have come to realize many things about life, people and society as a whole.
I was near the age that is considered the age of retirement in many countries when, like the legendary Buddha, I received enlightenment. I realized that I have something of value that I can share with the few on this little piece of dirt we like to call – Earth.
Hence, due to my undiagnosed case of pathological megalomania and magnanimity, I have decided to pen (type?) down my understanding of life, afterlife, society and more.
My Biography
I was born in India to Indian parents and currently am a naturalized citizen of the United States. I completed my primary schooling in India, and middle and high school in Bahrain. I received my Bachelors Degree in Engineering (Electronics and Communications) from India and left for the US, to complete my Masters in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. I was offered a chance to complete my PhD at the same institution. However, my circumstances at that time coerced me into abandoning the world of academia.
After my life as a student, I have worked as a software engineer in the semiconductors and finance industries. My last project was a wealth management tool. My job involved architecting and implementing parts of the full stack, highly secure, muti-tenant web application.
I have a wife and two young boys. Both of our children are in the Autism spectrum. I have now quit my job in the United States, moved to India, and am currently focusing on helping with the development of our kids while also attempting to establish an enterprise so that we may have a reliable source of income when we inevitably return to the United States.
My name is Dilip.
The Purpose of this Website
Through this website, I hope to share a perspective on life that I feel is slightly different from most perspectives I have read, or heard about in my life. I am no student of philosophy. I have not read many books on philosophy. Most of what I write here are conclusions that I have reached through my own observations and understandings. Much of it will be speculation. But, it is speculation that my mind tells me, is logical.
Please do not take what I write as gospel. My aim is only to provide a different perspective. Use your own judgment and understanding and reach your own conclusions. I just wish to enhance your mental perspective.
While most of my blogs will be philosophical, I expect at least some to be random thoughts, with some bits of metaphysics and conjecture, based on my understanding of our physical reality.
My Current Beliefs
At this stage in my life, I believe that our bodies are just preprogrammed machines, and we are passengers in that machine. I believe that our task is to move from being mere passengers to drivers of that machine. I also believe that we, our consciousnesses, are merely traveling through a selected sequence of events, elected by the choices we consciously and unconsciously make. I believe all possible pasts and futures exist simultaneously, and that our consciousness in its current state is only capable of experiencing one set of those possibilities. I believe we are like ice cubes floating on water. As long as we are ice cubes, we can only experience a singular flow on the surface of the water (time). But once we melt, we become the water.
I expect my beliefs to change as I observe and learn more. I hope to continue sharing my understandings as I myself accumulate more experience, understanding and gray hairs.
Why 410Fishing?
410 is an HTTP code that stands for “Gone” — implying that the requested resource no longer exists. Since gonefishing.com was not available, I felt that this was an adequate compromise.
Now, if you ask me why I needed to use “Gone Fishing” for a site on Philosophy, I felt that we tend to contemplate on life and many other things while we sit on a boat or a lakeside with a fishing rod; the hook in the water, waiting for a fish to bite. So, it just seemed appropriate — Relax, go fishing and contemplate on the meaning of life while we wait for the fish to bite.
You may be forgiven for thinking that I am an avid fisherman — I am not. I may have gone fishing about 5 times in my life. But, my life is chock full of happenings that I have only experienced in my mind.
