Not so far in the future, a robot asks his master “Do you mind me asking for your manual, sir?” Amazed owner curiously asks his robot what does it mean by his manual. Robot not understanding the gist, gives the dictionary definition of manual “that document which specifies the set of instructions to be done on Human, so that they achieve the desired objective.” Hearing this the owner laughs and could not control himself from asking what the Robot would be doing with the Human manual, if there is such thing available.
Owner has asked the question without thought that the next words could change his thought process. The Robot says “Sir, I know all the things in this mansion all the things have clear objective and instructions like this sofa is used for people to sit, this blender blends, this chopper chops, etc. But I am not able to understand what is the clear objective of Human Being, I observe them doing lots of things but all abstract, they never make the real meaning to me.” This increases the curiosity of the man listening to his Robot, who unknowingly have talked too spiritually. The intrigued owner wanting to hear some more insight says “What if I say not everything or everyone has a purpose or goal in their life, they live as they deem fit. Why do you think everything needs objective?”
The Robot replies “Sir, in my programming I have been told to differentiate between useful items and the garbage based on their objective. This means a piece of equipment or thing is useful as long as they are achieving their objective and is classified as garbage if it no longer can achieve the objective. So, if I am not knowing the objective of a thing how would I classify it as useful or garbage.” The owner stands dumbstruck little in amazement and rests in embarrassment. He thinks of his objective and could not find one, so he is clear of himself to be resembling more to the garbage rather than anything useful.
Owner thinks of clearing the confusion of the Robot, he says “Human’s objective is just to remain happy and as much possible keep others happy too. Like some enjoy art, others enjoy music, people do whatever makes them happy.” The subjectivity of happiness further confuses the Robot, it asks again “How to understand what is happiness and how can I make someone happy?” Its owner smartly replies “happiness is any action which makes other people smile.” This is sufficient for the man to save his face in front of the Robot, but internally he knows that he is fooling not just his Robot but himself as well. He really thinks would this life be easier if humans have their own manual or any standard operating procedures.
Life Lessons 