Lani's Blog

Humans vs Robots

I grew up reading robot stories. I enjoyed Asimov who was the best with his three laws. I also read lots of old pulp science fiction. I read Star Trek and Star Wars. Yes, I was a nerd before we became geeks and before we became cool. I always wanted to be a robot or a least Mr. Spock. How cool would that be not to have emotions to deal with all the time? Emotions are messy and painful. They will get you in all sorts of trouble. Why not block them out or get rid of them?





The thing that always impressed me about the stories or TV shows was that robots always always wanted human emotion. The thing that made us the most fragile, the most vulnerable, they wanted. It made me proud to be human and irritated at the same time. Commander Data of Star Trek Next Generation fame was continually investigating and puzzled (is that an emotion?) by emotions. He was limited in his understanding and continually made mistakes with his co-workers. In one of the Star Trek movies, the Commander finally got an emotion chip, but during a key scene he was paralyzed by indecision. Captain Picard told him to turn off his chip and instantly he was able to function. Talk about envy. I wanted that chip.





I grew up in an abusive home. There was rage in the home. Everyone felt like they were walking on eggshells all the time. But the culture around me exploded as well.  When I was growing up in the '70's everyone seemed angry. The women libbers, the black panthers, the gays, the pro abortionist, the pro lifers, the college students, the police and Nixon were angry all the time. Three big networks were happy to show us in new living color (yes there was TV before cable). Who wouldn't want to be a robot and not feel the hate coming at you from all directions?





Still being a robot cuts you off from the best part of being human: human contact. As I tried to bury my feelings and become Mr Spock or Commander Data. (not a conscious choice, by the way), I found that people didn't respond to me as they did to robots in the stories. I was not cute or fascinating. I was cold and heartless. I was a nerd without emotions. Not an easy thing to achieve for a woman.





No emotions cuts off joy, love, compassion, empathy and all that is good and beautiful. All that is human. Emotions help us realize our need of God. Even angels envy lowly humans. Speaking of salvation, the Apostle Peter says"Even angels long to look at these things."1Peter1:12 . It's hard. It's messy. Sometimes it's not very much fun to be human, but on the balance I'd rather be real. I'd rather love and be loved. I 'd rather be the envy of angels than an angel. Human vs Robots. No contest. Humans rock!