#LifeHack: Religion is a Framework of Life - S1E2
My Perspective on Religion as a Software Engineer
A few months ago, I decided to take a day off from my primary job and become a Software Engineering Tutor for employee training at one of the largest banks in Indonesia. It had been a long time since I practiced public speaking, especially teaching. Fortunately, I had very awesome students whose positive energy recharged me in an inexplicable way.
I was quite serious about preparing all my materials to ensure that I could give my students as much wisdom and knowledge as needed in a very limited time. So, I decided to delve deeply into the conceptual and abstract levels of every material I taught my students. It turned out that they loved it and learned much more than if they had spent their entire day focusing on the implementation level of the materials. Nowadays, they can learn implementation level from a single YouTube video, but deeper conceptual understanding requires interactive dialogue between the tutor and the students.
Some of them don't have engineering backgrounds, and in their day-to-day work, they may not be assigned to coding-level tasks. Therefore, it was more valuable for them to learn about the high-level aspects of the materials I taught.
Software Engineering Framework and Religion
On the day I was teaching about the Angular framework, I spent the day before the session thinking about an analogy that could easily relate to everyone to explain what a “framework” is. Finally, I found it: Religion.
Software Engineering Framework
Software engineers use a lot of frameworks to build and solve problems in the real world. Frameworks help them work faster without needing to know what happens behind the scenes. They also provide a common language that helps many engineers collaborate and build something together. Frameworks are usually constructed by adhering to certain architectural or design patterns, making it easy for engineers with basic knowledge of software engineering to quickly onboard and start contributing to a project.
There are many frameworks available that promise better performance, better architecture, easier maintenance, multi-platform support, etc. There is no single "best framework" that everyone should use; it depends on many factors. Some software engineers even choose a specific framework based on opinionated arguments or personal preference.
Religion
As the research above shows, the number of people associated with specific religions is still growing until 2050, while the number not affiliated with any religion remains relatively small in comparison.
Why do people choose to or should believe in Religion?
Yesterday, on my way home, I had a conversation with a driver. He asked my opinion about online gambling, mentioning that many of his friends were trapped in huge debt because of it. I explained that online gambling is a scam. Unlike physical gambling, which relies on dice or cards and follows the laws of probability, online gambling can be easily manipulated by the game master to control win rates and lure people into spending more money.
However, explaining this "truth" to his friends would likely make them laugh, as it might be too complicated for them to understand. Telling them about financial literacy or basic probability math would only make things worse. Instead, a strong religious figure telling them that online gambling is prohibited by their faith and that they will be punished in hell for it might be more effective. This "truth" is simpler and more acceptable to those affiliated with religion.
Occam’s razor is the principle that, all else being equal, simpler explanations should be preferred over more complex ones. This principle is thought to play a role in human perception and decision-making, but the nature of our presumed preference for simplicity is not understood.
“Weak-minded” People
No offense, but I’m not saying that all people affiliated with a specific religion are weak-minded. In fact, some of the most important discoveries in math were made during the golden age of one religion. What I mean is that one practical function of religion is to protect "weak-minded" people from traps that could make their lives miserable.
For example, most religions prohibit drinking alcohol because it can make people unconscious and lead to undesirable actions, like hurting others or getting into accidents. For some people, drinking is just a way to relax and celebrate achievements with friends. They know their limits and it’s fine. But "weak-minded" people can’t control themselves and might not consider the consequences of drinking too much. So, it’s better for them to follow their religion’s guidance.
The Pursuit of Happiness
Science has long focused on observing objective reality, but it doesn’t provide answers about "happiness." There is still ongoing debate about "consciousness," with no elegant explanation yet. Religion, on the other hand, offers many concepts to explain these mysterious aspects of life in a simple and elegant way (e.g., soul, spirit, divine power).
Religion is the Framework of Life
I started my spiritual journey a few years ago and now embrace the wisdom of all the religions I’ve studied. I’ve experienced different states, from being very religious to becoming an atheist, agnostic, and now in my current undefined state (the middle way). One turning point was finding some weird concepts while learning and understanding math on conceptual level.
Imaginary Number
Imaginary number is strange.
They don’t really "exist,"1 which is why we call them "imaginary." (maybe) Yet, we use this concept extensively. I deal with this weird concept daily while learning quantum computing, and it’s very convenient in practice.
Zero
Zero is another weird concept in math. You can divide any number by another number except zero.
Even sometimes we could be so confused and conclude that this number doesn’t really exist.
We’ve been using these weird concepts in math to model many things in reality, and it works.
The Enlightenment
Accepting these weird concepts in math helped me embrace the wisdom, paradoxes, and strange explanations provided by religion. Practically, when I feel lonely, I can use imaginary things to cope with my loneliness. When I’m unsure about what to do in life, I find solace in helping others. It’s abstract and absurd, but now I can embrace it easily.
So, I believe that religion is the Framework of Life, similar to the software engineering frameworks I use. I can’t fanatically use a single framework to solve different problems in different contexts. Sometimes, I need to build my own framework, create higher-level frameworks on top of existing ones, or combine concepts from multiple frameworks to build more advanced solutions.
I have studied almost all mainstream religions, and now I’m learning Buddhism, which some people prefer to call a way of life rather than a religion. By using this approach, I can embrace the wisdom and values of all religions while crafting my own "Framework of Life" to live in this very beautiful but absurd world.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both software engineering frameworks and religion offer structured approaches to navigating complex systems, whether they be technical or philosophical. Just as frameworks help developers build and solve problems efficiently, religions provide guiding principles that help individuals find meaning and navigate life's challenges. By understanding and integrating various frameworks and religious philosophies, we can create a more comprehensive and adaptable approach to both our professional and personal lives.
Thank you for reading. If you found this post insightful, be sure to subscribe to my blog to stay updated on my next post, where I will explore the concept of "Imagined Order" and its connection to the ideas discussed here.
Imaginary numbers are indeed a fascinating and somewhat abstract concept in mathematics. They are not "imaginary" in the sense that they don't exist, but rather they extend our number system to include solutions to equations like x2+1=0x^2 + 1 = 0x2+1=0.