Yet another Frankenstein

The monster of Frankenstein is one of the most familiar characters of Literature. After Shelley, recently Sadaawi stitched together a similar figure that was left unchecked to roam around in the society, despite his hideous outlook. This creation scared the creator and was hence left unbridled to cause havoc on the surrounding characters. Frankenstein’s monster is looked upon as a scientific disaster while Sadaawi’s creation is seen as a religious and social catastrophe. However, we have managed to create another Frankenstein in the world of today, which is created from one of the most impregnable material i.e. ideas. As mentioned in the movie V for Vendetta, “ideas… are bullet proof, they don’t die.” It is from this amorphous Frankenstein that the world faces the greatest threat.

The Frankenstein of ideas, like a virus, depends on the host that it infects in order to reproduce. It differs from a resilient idea in a way that it is not composed of a uniform ideology but instead comprises of half-baked and half-grown ideologies that are stitched together with the thread of biasness and prejudice, benefitting the maker in acquiring worldly gains. This Frankenstein refuses to take any material form but is strong enough to be felt through manifestations. Imagine a simulation being run on a certain algorithm. One may destroy the simulation but the algorithm has the potential to reproduce the same in a different form. As such, this Frankenstein is far worse. It feeds on the fiendish ploys of political and religious leaders. Through their logical fallacies and rhetorical biases, they have succeeded in infecting the minds of people.

This Frankenstein of ideas first presents itself in an abstract form before actualising into physical reality in the form of our actions. For example, the unprecedented ecological crisis of climate change has given rise to novel ideas and differing opinions, from techno-determinism to green growth, while its consequences blatantly exhibit themselves posing a threat to humanity.

The concept of “risk society” developed by sociologist Ulrich Beck comes to mind when one contemplates the possibilities for the future. It refers to a society that is constantly in pressure of a risk that they have created themselves. The modern world is a perfect example of such a society, where the manifestations of Frankenstein’s ideological monsters are manmade. Yet ironically, due to its hideous and repulsive nature, humans have bluntly disowned the maundering monster creating havoc.

On the contrary, the same idea also has the potential to be used for the wellbeing of people if done in the right way. Like at the University of North Carolina (UNC), researchers have taken inspiration from natural evolutionary mechanisms to develop a technique called Structure Extension with Native-substructure Graphs (SEWING). SEWING is a computational protocol that describes how to stitch together new proteins from connected or disconnected pieces of existing structures. “We can now begin to think about engineering proteins to do things that nothing else is capable of doing,” said UNC’s professor Brian Kuhlman.

Haven’t we, humankind, after losing our identity in the contemporary world, become a product of multiple pieces stitched together like Frankenstein’s monster? Aren’t we mindlessly directing our actions with the craze of creating a masterpiece?

The need of the hour is to stitch together ideas that complement each other in order to create a fabric of harmony and peace that can provide some warmth to the ice-cold nature of this world. A monster, once created, can instead act as a protector, an anchor, against the cruelty of this world.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2023.

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