The Composite Human

If I approached you and asked, “Who are you?” you might tell me your name and your job. You might list some hobbies you enjoy, or the kind of clothes you like to wear. In all likelihood, you’d answer this question as if there were a fixed answer—and that would lead me to my real question: “Why are you, you, and who will you be next?”

The strongest guiding force in all our lives is also the most elementary: cause and effect. Initial conditions, tweaked even the tiniest bit, can drastically change the outcome of an object.

A raindrop on a windowpane will scroll downward and leave a unique, zigzag trail. But a second raindrop that lands in the same spot will make a different pattern. Why is this? A myriad of causes on the atomic level are acting on the second raindrop, causes different than the first raindrop. The speed the second raindrop hits the window, the shape of the raindrop, the weight of it, the number of atoms in it and how those atoms interact with the atoms of the window—these and many more are factors that shape the journey of the second raindrop.

The window, too, is a culprit: its thinness or thickness, its roughness or smoothness, its temperature (hot, cold, etc.), its sturdiness against the rain (is it rattling against the wall, causing raindrops to shake and wiggle as they slick downward?).

Then there’s windspeed and… you could go on forever. So imagine all the minute things that added up to form your interests. Fashion styles you were exposed to depending on where you were born, the music your parents chose to play around you, whether you were happy or moody the first time you watched a new movie. And the “causes” continue even as we’re in motion. We slick through life and have a favorite food, but depending on our emotional state, we may try something new in a restaurant, and after eating that new thing a couple times, it may become our new favorite. Even the most stubborn person is not immune to the many forces acting on and around us. The change they’re undergoing is just minute and unknown to us outsiders, and possibly even themself.

I was inspired to write this after reading a piece from psychologist and neuroscientist Stephen M. Kosslyn titled The Continually New You. It’s in an anthology titled Know This, a collection of mini-essays written by scientists about what they see as the biggest marvels in the 21st century. I highly recommend it; there’s tons to see and it’s easily digestible.

Until next time, stay curious. Stay human.