The Chef in the Computer (or, a non-techie guide to techie stuff)

I sometimes help my friends understand computer terms via the use of analogies. The explanation below is generally applicable to Windows computers (95,96,XP,Vista,7,etc.)

Image a nice, modern restaurant kitchen with a work table in the middle where the chef does his work. The size of that table determines how much work the chef can do at any one time. Around the room are lots and lots of shelfs with doors on them. On those shelves are stored supplies for anything the chef may want to make. The chef also sometimes puts things on the shelves temporarily if the work table is too small.

In computer terms, the work table is the RAM. Computers today often have a "work table" about 1GB or 2GB (1000-2000MB) in size. If your computer has 256MB or 512MB of RAM, then the chef in your computer is being forced to work on a small work table. Giving him a bigger table would make the chef's work easier and quicker.  

The shelves around the room represent the memory in your hard drive. The number and size of the shelves doesn't really affect how much work the chef can do, or how fast he can do it. However, if there aren't very many shelves, they may fill up quickly! New computers today (Jan 2009) often come with 100 or 200GB of space. You can even add on extra drives today that have 1000GB of space. If your computer is older, you may have only 40 or 20GB (or less!) of space. If you start copying pictures to your computer from a digital camera, then those shelves may be getting quite full!  

When you turn your computer off, the work table is automatically scrubbed washed clean. When your computers starts again, it has a fresh table to work on! However, the shelves are not affected at all when your computer is off. 

When shutting the computer down, most computers have a "Sleep" option and a "Hibernate" option. What's the difference? 

Well, with "Sleep" mode, the lights in the kitchen are turned off, and the chefs freeze in mid-stride, exactly where they are! As long as the computer has electicity available, it can keep the chefs frozen and the work table full of what they were working on. When you turn the computer "on" again, the light is turned on and the chefs happily carry on, hardly knowing that anything had happened! If the electricity is interupted or the batteries use up their charge, then the "sleep" is gone, and the work table is cleaned off, ready to start again from the beginning. 

With the "Hibernate" mode, before it shuts down, a copy of everything on the work table is made and put on a nearby shelf. It doesn't need any electricity to keep it on the shelf, so it can stay like this for as long as you want. When the computer is turned back on, the contents of that shelf are copied back to the work table, and the chefs can pickup from where they were. This is the more ecologic option, and safer for laptops that have limited battery life!

Those shelves do have potential problems however: how does the chef find things on them? And if there isn't a big enough space available when he needs to store a big file, he may break the file up and put parts of it on different shelves! In itself, this is not a serious problem, but when you want the file again, the chef could be quite busy finding all those parts for you! Windows has a tool that can help fix this problem by "defragmenting" the shelves, rearranging and organizing the contents so that big files can be put back together.

Over the years, the chefs (CPU) in our home computers have been getting faster and faster! In the 1990's, the chef could move at, say, 100 recipes a second. Lately, the newest chefs can move at 3,000 recipes a second. Just a little faster, wouldn't you think!! And it gets even better, because Intel and AMD have figured out how to clone the chef and get 2 or 4 into one computer. So now, the work table is shared by a number of very fast chefs!

These fast chefs sometimes get frustrated when getting things from the shelves, because the doors on the shelves can only be opened and closed so fast. If the shelves are too slow, then even the fastest chef will have to go slow!

In our kitchen, there is a serving window out to the rest of the restaurant. That's the computer screen. The "size" of the window is measured in dots (pixels)... how may dots across and how many dots high. In the 1990's, most screens could show about 1000 dots across and 700 dots high. Today, laptops often show 1400 dots across and 900 dots high. (These dots may be different sizes, so the same number of dots may result in, for example, a 14", 15" or 17" physical size.)

And what can be done with that window has also increased dramatically. If you want to play advanced games, then the screen has to do lots of work! Originally, the chef(s) in the computer had to worry about many of the advanced details, and that kept them quite busy! But today, with hardware fom NVidia, Radeon, ATI, and so on, a couple of very fast chefs who just look after the serving window can be added.  If your computer doesn't have such a special video card, then you may not be able to play some of the most demanding games!

So what can be changed on your older computer?

Enlarging the work table is usually quite effective, easy and not too costly. Buy some more RAM. (But make sure it will fit in your computer! There are lots of different models.)

However, even with a larger work table, a slow chef is still a slow chef. And upgrading the chef (CPU) in your computer is not very simple since the rest of the kitchen may not match his expectations! Usually it is easier to simply buy a newer computer and get a faster chef and utensils he knows how to use...

If you are running out of shelf space, adding more hard drives can reduce the conjestion and give you lots more room.  But be sure the hard drive is a fast one, or the chef will be forever waiting for the doors to be opened and closed.  If needed, the contents of the old shelves can be copied over onto the new shelves.

And if you want to have nice graphics (for games or for Vista's Aero display), then you'll need a video card to supply those chefs that can specialize in making the display work great!

There's a New World Coming, but How?

All the religions agree that it will be nice, but how will this "new world" actually get implemented?

Will it be forced on us?

There are many Christians who understand that people are free to choose or reject God now, but in the new world to come, they will not have that choice. After Christ returns, "every knee will bow" (Isaiah 45:23, Philippians 2:10, Romans 14:11) -- and the assumption is that not all of those knees will be bowed willingly.

After Christ starts to reign, the "rules" will change, and refusing to submit to God will not be a viable option.

Different groups take this assumption to the extreme and work out in great detail what the reigning Christ will have to do to rule the world. One such vision is maintained by the "Church of God" and its various offshoots. See, for example, "Tomorrow's Wonderful World".

And of course, Christians are not the only ones expecting the rules to change when the Messiah comes - many Jews and Muslims also expect the new world to be one where everyone else is forced to become like them.

What about the Baha'is?

Many people see the Baha'i Writings talk about the future, with a world government, a single language, and other wonderful things... and get scared!

Why?

Maybe it is because they are assuming that Baha'is plan to force it on everyone!

Baha'is say that the Messiah has come, and the Baha'i Faith is His instrument to establish the new world, the Kingdom of God. So, given the centuries of expecting God to force His will on an unwilling world, they must be assuming that Baha'is plan to do that!

But that fear couldn't be further from the truth!

Baha'u'llah maintains that God does not change His ways:

Know for a certainty, however, that whatever your hands or the hands of the infidels have wrought will never, as they never did of old, change the Cause of God or alter His ways. Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 224

That, and other quotes, mean that there will NOT be a time in the future where everyone will be forced to worship God! Even after the Second Coming, even in the Millennium, even when the Messiah comes and is reigning.

God Does Not Change!

This is not new. It is not a new message. He keeps saying it, and people keep missing the point! They keep expecting Him to change the rules in the future!

So, how will "every knee bow" in the new world? Especially if God won't force them?

Will He send out missionaries to trick everyone into worshipping Him? No. Will every baby born grow up loving God in spite of their parents and training? No. Will everyone be so scared of the miraculous displays of God's power that they give in and worship Him? No. Will everyone watch the evening TV news and see the Messiah/Christ/Mahdi sitting in Jerusalem and realize that Judaism/Christianity/Islam was right all along and they might as well worship him too? No.

God has never used these methods to spread His religion. And He never will. (Remember, God's ways don't change!)

So how did He do it, and how will He do it?

Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life... (Jesus, John 5:24)

That's how.

When you hear His Word, you choose to believe in God and His Messenger... or not.

The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Source of Divine inspiration. (Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 1)

All the "People of the Book" (Baha'is included) know that reading God's Word is the key to belief. The choice whether you believe what you read is up to you.

The task of Baha'is (and Christians and Muslims) is simply to get people to read and study God's Word. The hope of Baha'is is that you will choose to believe what you've studied, and act on it.

There is no compulsion in the Baha'i Faith. There is nothing forced on you. Nobody tells you what or how to believe. No one will make you do anything you don't choose to.

Here's a great example: one of the laws of the Baha'i Faith is called "The Right of God" and declares that 19% of your net wealth must be paid to the head of the Faith. But one of the most interesting and integral aspects of this "law" is that it must not be enforced by anyone! No one is allowed to know if you paid it, and you shouldn't pay it if you don't want to!

Central to the attitudes of those who follow the Baha'i Faith is that we don't force or trick anyone to believe. It is entirely up to you.

So why do people believe?

I don't know. I think it is a little different for each person. For me, when I took the time to read what Baha'u'llah wrote, and was willing to let it be true, I came to realize that it was. It made sense, a lot of sense. And He explained and made sense of so many things like the nature of God and His Manifestations, society, prophecy, belief, history, religions, life after death, prayer, the soul, and so on and so on. I "recognized Him". And once I did, it became my life-long desire to learn what He wants me to do, and do it!

In a sense, I've entered the "new world" that is coming. It is here, we just don't see much of it yet! I've taken my place at the Banquet Table of the King!

Blessed the insatiate soul who casteth away his selfish desires for love of Me and taketh his place at the banquet table which I have sent down from the heaven of divine bounty for My chosen ones. (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah)

Fortunately, there is room for everyone at that table!

That's the Baha'i message. The King has come, and the table is spread.

The road ahead may be a little rough, and it may take longer than we wish for the new world to become obvious to everyone, but God is in control and is patiently working out His plan for humanity.

From a distance, the world of tomorrow described by the "Church of God" looks remarkably similar to what Baha'is are expecting. But when you look closer, the means to get there are totally different. Their vision of forced changes is the one that scares me!

So how is the new world coming?

It is already here, and growing each day, one heart at a time. Already it is firmly established in every "people and nation" on this planet.

There is nothing to be scared about in the Baha'i message. God is at work, but He has not changed. He will not force you to believe.

Read His Words. Ask God to guide you. Be willing to reconsider what you have always known. And see for yourself what the new world is like.

Whensoever he hath fulfilled the conditions implied in the verse: "Whoso maketh efforts for Us," he shall enjoy the blessing conferred by the words: "In Our ways shall We assuredly guide him." (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, with quotes from the Qur'an)

The "mechanism of world inter-communication"

Pages about the Baha'i Faith have been on the Internet since almost the beginning.

In November 1994, I started the site called "A Baha'i Faith Page" to be a listing and index of Baha'i sites. It started with links to just a few dozen sites.

Over the following months, I worked regularly to add links to new sites as they came online. Within a couple of years, it got to the point that many additions were needed every day. (The snapshot here is of the oldest version that the http://web.archive.org/ site has, from June 1997.)

Today, I don't think it is even possible to have a comprehensive listing of web sites and blogs developed by Baha'is!

(You can see the current version of this site at: http://www.bcca.org/bahaivision/. It was enhanced by Cary Enoch Reinstein is now operated by Larry Curtis.)

Many groups of people became interested in the Internet and the "world wide web" when it began to emerge from its early beginnings in the "technology sector" and began to prove useful and interesting to society in general.

I think Baha'is in particular realized something big was happening, even if no one quite knew what to do with it. And that's because when Shoghi Effendi described in a letter, from Haifa on March 11, 1936, his vision of what the future of the human race would be like, he mentioned this:

A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity. (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 203)

So Baha'is were "expecting" the Internet. (However, it will only be in distant hind-sight that we'll know for sure if it is our current Internet that Shoghi Effendi envisioned, or whether something better is still to come.)

As wonderful as it may seem, this "mechanism of world inter-communication" is only one small part of the world expected by Baha'is. In that same letter, Shoghi Effendi detailed many other parts of the future he was envisioning. Some seem to be coming soon, others we might wonder how they could ever happen.

And Shoghi Effendi did not originate the Baha'i enthusiasm for the future. It is a core part of the religion that was introduced to humankind by Baha'u'llah Himself.

Baha'u'llah wrote much about that future, describing how and why the world was changing. He explained the root cause for all the changes that we have seen since the 1800's and are still seeing:

The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System -- the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 181)

The Internet. I think it is just the tip of the iceberg - a glimpse of the changes that are coming, as our "ordered life" is being revolutionized!

The world as we will know it

I'm actively watching the Internet grow.

I remember my excitement the first time I saw a web site address in any sort of advertising. I'd been watching and waiting for the Internet to break into common awareness. And now, web sites seem to be mandatory on every napkin and TV commercial.

We used BITNET to instant message with a contact on the other side of the world, and my friends were all amazed that it could be done. Today, we expect to chat for free and share pictures and videos as much as we want.

Science fiction has always looked to the future, and still does. But the future we are moving into has rarely been imagined quite the way we find it. Everyone using the Internet is living a life that a dozen years ago was only being hinted at in SF, and of course, many features were never predicted.

So where are we going from here?

There are many visionaries busy trying to plan and predict humanity's future. I'm not one of them. But I do think that there are a couple of basic assumptions that many of them are missing.

One of them has to do with religion. Many visionaries don't consider the visions that are presented by religions. However, that is not too hard to understand, since the vision of most religions is now history, or ancient history. And most were vague and don't seem to apply to today.

I'm sure that many recent religions and groups talk about the future, but the one I know best is the Baha'i Faith. Everything in that Faith has happened or been written in the last 160 or so years. So the vision of the future that is presented by the Baha'i scriptures is fresher and more relevant for us now.

I'm actively watching the Baha'i Faith grow.

Like the Internet in 2007, the story of the Baha'i Faith is not done yet. It's been amazing up to now, but the future will be even better!

As for humanity's future, from my perspective, the Baha'i Faith does not give a lot of detailed predictions that we need to wait for, but does set out the general direction where we are heading. Concepts - like "unity", "world commonwealth", "personal freedom and initiative", "refinement of the human brain" - hint at a "nice" future.

The other assumption is that human nature can get better and that a "nicer" future is possible. Books like "1984" and "Brave New World" assume that there will always be insurmountable problems in society. But we are social creatures, and our moral standard is held in relation to society around us. An individual's moral outlook cannot be forced onto them, but they can change it. And, like some changes, the more people making the change, the more who want to make the same change. Yes, people are still people, but our standards can improve.

So what will the world be like during the rest of our lifetime?

Better!

Technology will continue to make life better. We can't even imagine yet what it will really be like. Will it all be good? Probably not, but I have no doubt that most of it will be!

And society will become better too. Today, it depends on where you look and focus your attention - is it getting better or worse? There is evidence for both. The Baha'i Faith acknowledges and examines that concept, and promises that it will get better.

So, am I excited about the future? Yes. Will it all be rosey? No. Why am I excited? A combination of the promises of technology and religion!