Robots and Cyborgs | Teen Ink

Robots and Cyborgs

March 22, 2013
By Hamzawaseem GOLD, Lahore, Other
Hamzawaseem GOLD, Lahore, Other
15 articles 1 photo 144 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The important thing is not to stop questioning." ~Einstein


It has already been more than a decade since the dawn of the 21st century; science and technology have brought a dynamic revolution in almost all the facets of life. Through the crests and troughs of my not-so-long life, I have stumbled upon many machines of diverse kinds and stupefying variations. In this so-called cyberpunk era, where it is quite hard to differentiate between fact and fiction, the machine considered to be the most ground-breaking is probably the computer. But this computer has now evolved into a much more sophisticated form, commonly called a robot.

In my country Pakistan, astonishingly there is no deficiency of robots. These robots are fairly different from other robots. The funny thing is that they have 100 percent human DNA. These bio-robots grasp education by attending schools, colleges and above all, academies. The robots I am chattering about are in fact the students. Some of these robots are my class-fellows.

I am not being rude in any way to give them the grand title of “robots” as they deem “memorization” to be the golden key to go through exams, get good marks (I confess some of them do get brilliant marks) and achieve academic degrees. It seems as if this memorization virus has penetrated into the blood of the students of these days, as if a mosquito has really bitten them, attempting to enjoy their sweet blood. All they need is an anti-memorization or “anti-ratta” vaccine, but do we have it? No, not yet!

It is really a pity that these students do not comprehend the “joy of understanding”, which is the essence and keystone of education. As a matter of fact, it is the aftermath of our defective education system. I am not a part of any “Zara Sochiye”-like initiative. Then, one may ask, “Why am I being a mockingbird on this issue?” It is because I have tasted the perks of the true education along with sweet syrup of joy of understanding.

When it comes to me, I do not classify myself as a robot. Rather I fall in the category of cyborgs (half-humans and half-robots). I used to be a normal human some years ago. Just to survive through this traditional system of education, I had to give up my desire of being normal, and ultimately became a cyborg. My cyborg mind comes halfway between humans and robots. It can memorize but not with as much knack as those bio-robotic minds. Unlike those minds of robots, mine can do much creative stuff. And that’s the sheer reason I prefer being a cyborg to being a robot.

There are other cyborgs like me. Some people are lucky enough to retain their human self and get education in my country. But most of the institutions are flooded or rather jam-packed with the aforementioned robots. To become a progressive nation in today’s world, this detrimental situation needs to be alleviated at the first priority. There are volunteers out there working with their utmost efforts to bring a change. My sincere salute goes to all of them and I pray that our next generations may not have to face these problems as there may be a constructive revolution in education very soon.


The author's comments:
Written by a humble cyborg...

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This article has 38 comments.


on Apr. 4 2013 at 12:56 am
AmorMoritur PLATINUM, Monroe, North Carolina
25 articles 38 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are." ~Ernst Haas

wow...its completely true too. the connection is undeniable. i like it :)

ZainabS SILVER said...
on Apr. 2 2013 at 3:45 pm
ZainabS SILVER, Karachi, Other
5 articles 3 photos 14 comments
This is amazing, its a great metophorical article. Keep writing.

oarsis SILVER said...
on Apr. 2 2013 at 1:55 am
oarsis SILVER, Atascadero, California
8 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use -- silence, exile, and cunning.&rdquo;<br /> -James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Super interesting and very well written :)

on Apr. 1 2013 at 11:45 pm
MadelynHope BRONZE, Trophy Club, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.&quot; -Walt Disney

Very, very well written and thought out. The develpment of thought is great, and you didn't get lost in your metaphors like people often do, but used them to in fact further your point instead of just throwing them in there to appear artistic. There was one point between (I can't remember which paragraphs) your wish for a vaccine and the rest that you could have expanded on the idea more so that it didn't seem that you were completely banishing the idea of memorization, as you did admit that it proved to make high marks. You could have expanded the reason of needing a vaccing a bit more. Oh, and make sure to try to avoid the word 'get' in your papers. Several of my teachers have beat me over the head for this. Stock up on thesauruses, my friend. Other than that and a couple nit-picking word choices, very, very well done. 5/5

TessM. GOLD said...
on Apr. 1 2013 at 9:34 pm
TessM. GOLD, Lake Zurich, Illinois
14 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Even if it&#039;s Friday and I&#039;ve been working on not falling apart all week, it is still Friday!&quot;

Loved this! I personally am fascinated with the topic of robotics vs. humanity and this was really what I was looking for! You inspired me, good job!

on Apr. 1 2013 at 3:19 pm
larissaecm SILVER, Victoria, Other
7 articles 0 photos 44 comments
this was very interesting, its felt that there is a hidden message inside this story, right? 5/5

on Apr. 1 2013 at 2:47 pm
SuNshiNe007 ELITE, Magee Ms., Mississippi
120 articles 0 photos 306 comments

Favorite Quote:
Never Give Up, And Know That God Will Always Love You!

Very interesting and creative I love it I give it a 5 out of 5! Great work keep it up!!

necci SILVER said...
on Mar. 31 2013 at 5:12 pm
necci SILVER, Denver, Colorado
8 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
-Women are many things to humans, but the one thing they are not is dominated by men.<br /> -If a single act of hate can do so much damage, what can a single act of kindness do?

original, it was very interesting

on Mar. 31 2013 at 4:59 pm
iimoeloveii GOLD, Augusta, Georgia
14 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
IF YOU CAN&#039;T HANG THEN THERE&#039;S THE DOOR-SLEEPING WITH SIRENS

Nice job it is really original  

dagnytaggart said...
on Mar. 31 2013 at 4:54 pm
This is so relatable! While I don't live in Pakistan, I am an Indian, and its so sad that the education system comes down to memorization in south asian countries. Anyway, this was a good article with a great message! 

on Mar. 31 2013 at 4:01 pm
Scarlett_the_pegacorn BRONZE, Niceville, Florida
4 articles 24 photos 136 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don&#039;t tell me how to live my life; I do what I want.

awesome job!  

on Mar. 31 2013 at 3:49 pm
nakubara PLATINUM, Belvidere, New Jersey
27 articles 18 photos 84 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everything you do in life is insignificant, but its important you do it anyway ~Ghandi

Nice work as always Hamza!

on Mar. 31 2013 at 3:30 pm
Sparkle1pops PLATINUM, Colorado Springs, Colorado
31 articles 20 photos 342 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.&quot;<br /> - Oscar Wilde

I love the metaphor in this story! you did a truly wonderful job hamza. I always enjoy reading your stuf!

on Mar. 31 2013 at 3:08 pm
Vladimir_Leiko BRONZE, KETTERING, Ohio
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
The pessimism contained in my writing is by no means to be taken as a program for doing nothing, caring for nothing. There is little to lose and everything at stake; as such it is a necessity that the anxiety of living be translated into a fierce weapon against our enemies. The only thing in this world I have come to know as stable, that I can rely on when everything is falling apart, is a shared and electrifying hatred for the conditions that produce such a miserable existence.

There's an exponential increase in technologies like computers, genetics, nanotechnology, robotics and AI units -- today. I think it's leading to a technological singularity, a point where progress is so rapid it outstrips humans' ability to comprehend it, like so here as you demonstrated. 
  I believe you've demonstrated and expressed the implications that this 'singularity' has given off within the world. The process where, nonbiological intelligence predominates the nature of human life radically altering. How humans learn, work, play, and wage war.

Wonderful piece, I felt as if I really was within your own thought process.

on Mar. 31 2013 at 3:06 pm
Fallen_ PLATINUM, Quakertown, Pennsylvania
25 articles 3 photos 433 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot; a shattered world is only an opening into a new beginning with laughs, smiles, and love all around enter the world of the light and away from the broken darkness&quot;

great job :3 loved it

on Mar. 31 2013 at 12:57 pm
Hamzawaseem GOLD, Lahore, Other
15 articles 1 photo 144 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The important thing is not to stop questioning.&quot; ~Einstein

thanks dude

on Mar. 31 2013 at 12:55 pm
UsamaAhmed BRONZE, Lahore, Other
3 articles 1 photo 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
It&#039;s Better To Live A Day Like A Lion Than A Thousand Years Like A Jackal . (Tipu Sultan)

Great Work ..

on Mar. 31 2013 at 12:47 pm
Opticalillusion DIAMOND, Edenton, North Carolina
64 articles 13 photos 59 comments

Favorite Quote:
I am an artist bound only for the poet&#039;s glory....But only achieve half of the success that my dreams aspire to find, And to what do the whispers tell me of this failure...To what end to they haunt my nightmares...my eternal dark dreams...

Two Thumbs up to Hamza for killing it, truely great job I loved the story and i loved the meaning, and its metaphor. Execellent job!