The Four Layer Stack

With the Matrix Reloaded doing successfully at the box-office, I guess the world has come to accept IT geekspeak as part of our everyday lives. The next time someone mentions about vampires or ghosts, we can assume that they are talking about particular types of rogue "programs" that have outlived their usefulness. We could also ponder whether a particularly charismatic religious leader is actually an "anomaly" of the system.

I am going to add to this pseudo-religious geek view of the universe by proposing that a human being is a "Four-Layer Stack". IT geeks are familiar with the term "stack" as used to refer to the TCPIP protocol stack or the seven-layer OSI stack. It is normally used to describe the architecture of a system in terms of vertical layers where each layer is an independent sub-system with well-defined interfaces between the layers above and below it.

The physical body of a human being is like the physical layer of the TCPIP stack or the hardware layer of a computer system. It is the lowest layer. It is something we can touch, feel and see. Our physical bodies define the first and lowest layer of the Four-Layer Stack.

What differentiates human beings from lower life forms is our ability to feel, think and aspire for greater things. We are more than molecular automatons whose only purpose in life is to hunt for food and to procreate. We are also emotional. Music moves us. We seek emotional contact with other people. We cry, laugh, love and hate. Emotions is something that sits on top of the physical dimension of our existence. It is the second layer of our Stack.

But is that all that is to being human? No. We are creatures of the intellect too. We are eternally curious about our environment and strives to learn new things. We read and write books. We analyze facts and figures and invent new products. We want intellectual conversations with someone of our equal. We want to be "stimulated" intellectually. Intelligence is something "higher" than emotions. Someone who thinks rationally and not react emotionally is looked upon highly. Hence it is no surprise that intelligence is the third layer on top of emotions in my Four-Layer Stack model of a human being.

What is the fourth layer then? It is something that is not so obvious: well-developed in certain individuals but vaguely defined in others. It is the Spiritual Layer. The most intelligent man in the universe will still find certain questions that perturbs him: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? What is the purpose of life? True, philosophy seeks to answer some of these questions but these are but intellectual attempts to answer questions that belong to the spiritual realm. If the mind is the home of intelligence, then the soul is the seat of spirituality. Of course, the soul is not something physical that can be pinpointed in space and time; It is something of the spiritual dimension. Even the best scientists in the world are driven by something more than intellectual curiosity. They long to comprehend the universe and seek to fathom God's mind. There is a spiritual dimension to all our human endeavours: peace, self-sacrifice and compassion are but glimpses of that yearning. The human species strives for something higher beyond our scientific, economic and social accomplishments. The highest layer of human existence is the spiritual one. And there are many ways for human beings to seek a connection with that layer. This is the domain of religion.

To bring things down-to-earth again, let's ask: Of what practical use is my Four-Layer Stack model? Well, for one you could use it to measure compatibility with your spouse or partner. Are you "connecting" on all four layers? Two computers communicate when all peer layers of a TCPIP protocol stack talk to one another. Is there physical attraction in first place? (Layer 1). Are there emotional feelings for each other? (Layer 2). Do you share certain intellectual pursuits together: Books? Movies? Hobbies? (Layer 3). And finally, do you share the same spiritual values: What is important in life? What makes life meaningful? (Layer 4). If you connect on all four layers, then the both of you are soulmates, destined to evolve together through space and time.

Some people connect well in certain layers but not others. Certain people are better developed in some layers and are completely clueless in the rest. A healthy human being is one who strives to develop in all layers. Do a complete stack-check of yourself. Don't blame me if one day your partner tells you that it is all over because you are "not connecting at all on layers 2 and above".