Why Robot?

When I was young, I wanted to be a robot and almost succeeded. I didn't become a robot to just hide my emotions, I became a robot to hide the other human frailty--making mistakes. In an uninformed mimicry of Mr. Data from Star Trek, I threw the baby out with the bathwater as I rejected emotions and tried to hide my irrationality. Emotions are not inherently bad, and neither are mistakes. The mistakes and their corollary negative emotions are but signals to the mind that encourage a course adjustment. Denying their existence is like unplugging the warning lights on a vehicle, stupid and dangerous.

In a more appropriate balance of emotion and intellect, these facets of my mind become tools to an end directed by conscience and good will. They are not to be disregarded or destroyed simply because they are unpleasant.

I wrote a related article a while back on pain as a messenger: Don't Kill the Messenger.