To INFINITY…and beyond!

Venkat Singhal

12 years ago

Hello Rodinhooders! This is my first post here. Something I thought about ‘Infinity’.

You will agree that by the age of 3, most of us will have learned to count. And once we know how, it seems as if there would be nothing to stop us counting forever. But, while infinity might seem like a perfectly innocent idea, keep counting and you’ll find that you’ve entered a paradoxical world where nothing is as it seems! Mathematicians have discovered there are infinitely many infinities, each one infinitely bigger than the last. And if the universe goes on forever, the consequences are even more bizarre. In an infinite universe, there are infinitely many copies of the Earth and infinitely many copies of you! Older than time, bigger than the universe and stranger than fiction, ‘infinity’ is something that probably won’t be fully understood in a finite period of time.

This thought led me to another. Some of us must have heard of Toy Story.

To infinity…and beyond!

This is a well-known catch phrase of Buzz Lightyear, a fictional character from the Toy Story franchise. His name was inspired by the Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. When I saw him first, I was inspired by his bravery, courage and belief. Buzz believes that following rules is the way people should live their life. He’s trained in several forms of martial arts and is a highly skilled warrior, an example to many. He wears a high-tech space suit. His suit has a flight system activated by a large red button on the left hand side, enabling him to fly, thus expanding his reach. The buttons on the right hand side have numerous functions such as contacting the Star Command, shooting grappling hooks, and activating full throttle. The suit also protects him from the vacuum and cold of space. It can also translate all he says into any language, even an outer space alien dialect! A retractable helmet, when activated, covers Buzz’s head and allows him to breathe in space and on planets with no or little oxygen. There is a panel on the left arm, which contains all his mission details. The right arm contains weapons like a laser and a cannon for self-defense and attack. To go with all that, his belt is multi-functional as well, containing anti-gravity servos, magnets for climbing and grappling hooks!

Phew…now that’s one heck of a suit (not to forget the guy inside it), isn’t it? Why am I writing so much about a Toy figure, popular only with kids? Why I’ve detailed so much is for the simple reason that there’s so much one can seek and learn from Buzz Lightyear! Each and every characteristic of Buzz and his suit signifies a must-have quality!! High-tech, modern, wide outreach, communication skills (with aliens, in Buzz’s case!), multi-tasking, sustainability in all conditions, goal-centrism, ability to protect, bravery, confidence, etc etc are some of the many qualities one can derive from him and imbibe in oneself.

We all have something to learn from this Toy Story guy, Buzz Lightyear. Life holds INFINITE opportunities and possibilities for all of us!

All the best, everyone!!