Four Things That Help Me Cope With 2020

“Hey, remember 2020?”

If we have a future, a better one at that, this question would become a buzzword. But until then, we just have to endure.

Problems or issues can start conflicts and what the entire world is experiencing right now can really bring out the ugly side of the people. And there’s not much we can do about it. We can only try our best to survive this whole mess with the hope that things will eventually get better somehow.

As a person we are already equipped with a coping mechanism when things go south. However, how we cope with life’s difficulties might change overtime.

Here’s how I deal with 2020 in the hope that someone, somewhere, would stumble upon this short writing and maybe, it will help them even if it’s just a small chunk of positivity through the day. 

1. Haikyuu!! (anime)

Haikyuu is an anime based on a manga with the same title by Haruichi Furudate. I watch a lot of anime in my childhood years and gradually stopped when I was a sophomore. A while ago I noticed my wife was watching this and she said that it was really good. I was pretty skeptical at first. Sure I’ve started to watch a few animes again since last year. I’ve watched Gintama, Steins Gate, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and yeah they’re very entertaining. But anime about volleyball? I mean I couldn’t even take it seriously back then. But since my wife is a very persuasive person, I ended up watching it anyway. And it was a really great show for us.

_{Source: imdb.com}

I never expected that an anime will coax me into being interested with a sport that I played only because my teacher told me to. Last time I played volleyball was when I was in senior high and I had red arms for a while after that. I was never an athletic person so I thought who the hell would want to torture their hands like this?

However, watching Haikyuu made me feel something. The anime has massive positive vibes. Character development takes up a large part in its story. Additionally, it’s relatable even to people who don’t play volleyball. Surely sports in general must have a positive philosophical value or mental attitude but we heard the phrase “Practice makes perfect” or “All for one and one for all” too many times it’s lost its meaning.

If I read a “How to”  article which only says, for example, exercise regularly to get better physical and mental health, I would have no interest in reading further because I already know that exercise is good for my overall health, I’m just too lazy doing it. On the other hand, if the article throws in a few relatable examples, like a real person or events, and a detailed explanation on the type of exercise that they did in a certain amount of time, things might get a little more interesting for me because there are feelings involved there, and sentimental values tend to stick in our heads much longer than emotionless listicles of how to.

Haikyuu is, at the very least, that emotional article, beautifully visualized both technically as an animation and conceptually in its storytelling causing more emotional reactions to its viewers. It’s very heartwarming looking at a team just giving their all on every game, supporting each other and apologizing immediately after they made a mistake. And I’m not talking about the main character’s team only. Almost every other teams have their own backstory, they have their own struggles and hardships, yet when they stand together at the court, they will always try their best to win no matter what.

The creative minds behind Haikyuu clearly know what they’re doing and they themselves had put so much effort into it. It’s always moving to see someone or a group of people giving an extra mile into what they do. I realized this after I watched a YouTube channel called Elevate Yourself in which Coach Donny, a volleyball coach and a former volleyball player, reacts to Haikyuu anime starting from the first episode and still ongoing every week for each episode to this day. He said in one of his videos that this anime is way too relatable to be fiction. I recommend that you watch his reactions after watching the anime to get a breakdown of the details and how it relates to a volleyball player. Thank you, Coach!

2. NieR: Automata (game)

I wrote an article about this game a couple weeks ago. It’s a 3 year old game but that doesn’t make it irrelevant. However, I suggest to be careful about this one though. For starters, its story is philosophical and quite depressing. From one standpoint, it’s a world without meaning. Existentialism is an issue accompanied by nihilism and chaos. We can look at it in different ways because in my opinion Yoko Taro is somewhat an open interpretation type of storyteller. Despite that, the true ending to this game is very beautiful and conveys a strong message for its players.

For this case though, if you haven’t played Undertale yet I suggest you play that first before proceeding to NieR: Automata. Not that they’re related or anything but I personally think that Undertale is better at sending positive vibes. Please don’t mind the pixelated JRPG style. It has an amazing story and soundtracks, that’s all we need right?

_{Source: undertale.com/about}

In addition to that, I also watched some let’s play channels on YouTube. There’s thousands of let’s players that can make you smile, tons that can make you laugh, but if you want someone who takes video games story seriously, Materwelonz is the one you’re looking for. She’s got interesting insights, thorough gameplay, and attention to details. A very underrated YouTuber I’d say. I mean who plays The Witcher Series because they read the book? We normal non-Polish people do the opposite. And by the way, she speaks three languages, English, Mandarin, and Japanese.

3. Thinking, Fast and Slow (book)

I haven’t really finished reading it actually. But halfway through the book I was already amazed and I expected no less from a Nobel Prize winner.

Dr. Daniel Kahneman is a very accomplished professor at Princeton University. He wrote a book called Thinking, Fast and Slow in 2011. I was referred to this book by an article talking about investments, yet the book itself is not about that. It’s about explaining the way our brain works. There are two main behaviors, or characters as Dr. Kahneman explains it, in our brain. The more agile, spontaneous, involuntary system, and the structured, careful, lazy one. He named them System 1 and System 2 respectfully. Or in my own words :

System 1: jumping to conclusions, setting standards, assessing everyday situation, simple math operations.

System 2: fact checking, double checking, complex math, the thing that we call thinking.

But who knows the other half of the book might be all about investing. Nah, fat chance. Anyway, that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting. It is in fact the opposite. Not to sound blue but investments obviously need money and I don’t have that right now. So I feel that it’s much more educating learning about our mind and that everything we see, including some scientific research data, is mostly an illusion, rather than learning something I can’t do yet.

Speaking of the systems, I find that it helps in understanding, although not fully, why I think the way I think.

System 1 is responsible for assessing our surroundings. Things like, Am I in danger? Is everything normal? What am I expecting for the day? And all that.

I find myself these days having bouts of irrational fear towards something. Could be anxiety, could be not. I mean you’d need a shrink to diagnose that sort of thing right? But reading the book made me realize that whatever it is, it’s simply System 1’s doing. And System 1 can be influenced by System 2, i.e. by forcing a smile, practicing breathing technique, or talking to another person, with the proper distance of course.

Anyway, even though this book is about scientific findings and research about our mind, I feel that Kahneman is really dumbing it down for us. I haven’t found any complicated psychological terms so far. But simplicity is a sign of a genius and by that the book reaches to more people as opposed to psychologists only.

4. Conan O’Brien (show)

_{Source: teamcoco.com}

This one is easy enough to explain. If you simply want to laugh, go visit his channel Team Coco on YouTube. Conan is a brilliant comedian and his show is not limited within the studio only. He traveled the world to spread love and laughs. At a glance, his show looks both hilarious and entertaining to me. But I can also see that the creative team put so much hard work into just a few seconds of a video. I guess that’s what a quality content takes.

5. And there’s a fifth. There’s always a fifth. Even though it’s the last on my list, it is far from being the least important.

What good are those things that I mentioned above without someone to share it with? Probably still pretty good but having someone to share about it makes them even better. Yep, she’s my wife. She is the best thing that have ever happened to me. She introduced Undertale to me, I recommended NieR: Automata to her and we both loved those. We watch animes, YouTube, movies, and shows together. Most of our interests intertwined and it really helps a lot in getting me through these tough times. I could imagine us re-watching movies or replaying some games in our retirement days when our children have already had their own life away from home. Hell I’m even thinking about streaming the games if streaming were still a thing in the future. “A Couple of Old Timers Play Mass Effect Trilogy Remastered”. Yeah that’ll bring some viewers in.

_{Breaking Bad sequel poster looks good}

It’s not always about solving the problem. Some problems are beyond our control. Laughing today doesn’t change the fact that I still have to go to the job I hate tomorrow. Practicing breathing technique to relieve anxiety won’t suddenly stop Covid-19 from spreading. Watching a wholesome anime won’t solve anything, the same way having a meaningful conversation with your spouse won’t always end up with a solution. But you know what? They do help me in getting through the day. They do help me in achieving a certain ease of mind.

A mind clouded with fear, anxiety, or maybe even depression won’t be able to function well to endure this ordeal, let alone solving problems.

Whoever you are, if you’re feeling trapped right now either physically or mentally, or both, please hang in there. I might be able to relate to what you’re struggling with, I might not. You might like the four things that I mentioned above or you might not. It’s different for each and every person. And I’m not saying I have successfully conquered myself. How I cope through this year, honestly (and obviously), is not limited within those five things. I’ve been forcing myself to do stuff. I read, watch, write, play video games, talk, and laugh, even when sometimes doing all those things seem unbearable and tiring. And sometimes I just can’t force myself anymore. I can only try. So let’s hang in there together just for a little more. Keep trying our best and let’s pray everything wil turn out well in the end.

November 7, 2020November 7, 2020 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: UncategorizedTags: cope, coronavirus Leave a comment

Resensi Buku: The $100 Startup

Sadar atau tidak, hadirnya internet dalam keseharian kita telah memberikan dampak yang signifikan. Serta tak perlu lah kita jelaskan lagi bahwa yang namanya dampak itu bisa positif ataupun negatif.

Berbeda dengan saat ini, istilah startup atau lebih spesifiknya startup tech di tahun 90-an mungkin masih terdengar asing bagi banyak orang. Kemajuan teknologi informasi menjadi pondasi perubahan pola pikir dan cara pandang manusia terhadap hidup itu sendiri. Apa yang tidak dikenal 30 tahun silam, sekarang ini bisa menjadi viral. Sesuatu yang tadinya sulit dilakukan karena keterbatasan penerimaan dan penyampaian informasi, saat ini ada dalam genggaman tangan dan kuota provider.

Sudah sebagaimana mestinya ketika laju ketersampaian informasi meningkat pesat maka berbagai peluang akan tumbuh subur, seperti periklanan, perdagangan, penyampaian opini pribadi, pembentukan komunitas, dan lain sebagainya. Banyak orang sudah memanfaatkan peluang ini dalam hal perdagangan, namun demikian sebagian besar dari kita belum tahu mengenai sepak terjang mereka. Maka dari itu Chris Guillebeau melakukan wawancara terhadap ratusan orang wirausahawan dan meramu informasi tersebut ke dalam sebuah buku karyanya berjudul The $100 Startup pada tahun 2012.

Dari ratusan pengusaha yang ia wawancarai, Chris memutuskan untuk mengangkat kisah-kisah wirausahawan dengan modal awal di bawah $100. Kenapa? Karena $100 terdengar sangat mungkin dilakukan bahkan untuk ukuran orang Indonesia, maka harusnya jumlah orang yang terdampak buku ini akan semakin banyak.

Bagi saya membaca kisah wirausahawan selalu menarik, tapi buku ini bukan hanya tentang itu, malah kisah-kisah tersebut hanya berlaku sebagai data dukung saja. The $100 Startup pada dasarnya menjelaskan tentang langkah-langkah apa saja yang bisa dilakukan dalam membangun sebuah microbusiness, begitu sebutan Chris untuk startup dengan modal di bawah $100. Mungkin dapat diterjemahkan secara harfiah menjadi usaha mikro ya kalau di sini.

Buku ini terbagi ke dalam tiga bab besar, bab pertama berisi arahan untuk memulai, bab selanjutnya membimbing kita dalam merencanakan dan melaksanakan, dan bab terakhir bertujuan untuk menentukan langkah selanjutnya setelah usaha mikro kita berjalan.

Gaya bahasa yang diutarakan penulis tergolong sederhana. Banyak terminologi yang akan sering kita temukan dalam buku ini, seperti value, passion, passionate, product, service, dan masih banyak lagi. Bagi Anda yang barangkali sudah bosan mendengar istilah-istilah ini mohon bersabar saja karena meski demikian banyak saran teknis yang dituangkan oleh Chris yang bisa kita ambil sebagai pelajaran.

Buku ini juga didukung oleh sebuah laman web khusus bertajuk 100startup.com. Di sana kita bisa mengunduh format-format yang ada di dalam buku untuk diisi, serta konten sampingan pendukung seperti market testing dan langkah launching.

Terlepas dari itu, saya merasa bahwa sebagian besar usaha mikro dengan modal kurang dari $100 yang dikisahkan, bergerak di bidang jasa. Sering kita dengar ungkapan “Kalau mau untung besar ya modalnya harus besar juga.”, menurut saya ada benarnya terutama di industri barang atau produk. Tetapi untuk industri jasa tidak demikian. Bisa saja modal kita sebatas koneksi internet dan laptop atau ponsel, tapi dapat dibayangkan perjuangannya seperti apa untuk mencapai taraf hidup cukup. Maka dari itu, menurut Chris keberadaan passion yang memberikan nilai tambah kepada orang lain adalah elemen penting agar kita bisa tetap bertahan.

Kembali ke paragraf awal, bahwasannya kita telah terpengaruh suatu paradigma baru dengan kehadiran internet. Budaya konsumerisme yang tadinya mungkin lebih banyak di bidang produk, sekarang mulai bergeser ke bidang jasa, karena nampaknya informasi semakin mahal justru ketika ketersampaiannya berada di titik tertinggi. Kita ambil contoh kreator konten. Kesuksesannya dapat diukur (walaupun tidak selalu) dari jumlah views atau kunjungan yang ia dapatkan. Dari situ industri periklanan mulai bergerak memutar uangnya, dan yang terjadi selanjutnya adalah pergeseran uang dari industri barang ke industri jasa. Pergeseran ini sungguh besar namun tidak begitu terasa oleh kita sebagai konsumen. Karena konsumen hanya bisa memandang dari perspektif dirinya sendiri, bahwa konten pada masa kini jauh lebih mudah didapat, praktis, serta harganya terjangkau. Tanpa sadar, konsumerisme yang tadinya terbatas, sekarang menjadi berkali lipat, meskipun jika dilihat dari segi uang, pengeluaran kita bisa saja malah berkurang.

Adakah satu hari penuh dimana kita tidak membuka YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, atau platform lainnya?

Membaca buku ini membuat saya menelurkan pertanyaan tersebut, karena Chris memberikan jawabannya terlebih dahulu kepada pembacanya. Jangan hanya menjadi konsumen, karena peluang untuk berkarya saat ini jauh lebih besar dibanding dulu. Dan jika kita sudah mulai menjadi pengembang karya, maka sebarkanlah nilai itu kepada orang lain. Begitu pesan penulis yang saya tangkap.

Semasa kecil kita sering ditanya, “Mau jadi apa nanti kalau udah gede?”. Jawaban yang muncul tentunya sudah ada di benak kita lebih dulu saking seringnya pertanyaan itu dilontarkan, entah itu insinyur, pilot, dokter, ataupun astronot. Namun pendapat saya pribadi, sudah seharusnya kita mengganti pertanyaan tersebut menjadi “Mau bikin apa kamu kalau udah gede nanti?”. Pertanyaan pertama, jawabannya adalah pekerjaan, sedangkan pertanyaan ke dua, jawabannya adalah karya.

Bagi Anda yang saat ini bisa bekerja sekaligus berkarya maka bersyukurlah. Bagi kami yang belum, mungkin masih harus banyak belajar, dan selalu ada ruang untuk belajar.

Kembali ke buku Chris, menurut saya ada perbedaan kontras antara tema yang dibawanya dengan tema buku The 4-Hour Work Week-nya Tim Ferris meskipun keduanya bergerak di bidang pengembangan usaha. Bahwa Chris lebih memandang karya ketimbang waktu. Adapun bagi Tim, waktu harus dibeli dengan uang. Implikasinya dapat terlihat dari kiat-kiat dan langkah yang diberikan oleh masing-masing penulis. Chris tidak melulu mengharuskan adanya pelimpahan pekerjaan pada orang lain atau menyerahkan segalanya pada sistem komputer otomatis. Karena menurutnya, usaha mikro, terutama di bidang jasa, bisa berjalan baik karena si empunya hadir di situ. Di lain pihak, Tim sangat menganjurkan automation atau otomatisasi(?) dimana sebisa mungkin jam kerja kita ditekan tapi uang tetap masuk ke dalam rekening, meskipun nominalnya tidak selalu melimpah.

Kedua pandangan ini tidak dapat disalahkan atau dibenarkan, kembali kepada pribadi masing-masing. Toh, tak ada salahnya melihat sudut pandang dari berbagai sisi.

Patut diakui menurut saya ada kekurangan dari buku ini, yakni kesan yang didapat adalah terlalu “mengiklankan” wirausaha. Dalam arti, kesuksesan yang diceritakan porsinya terasa lebih banyak dibanding kesulitan-kesulitan yang dihadapi ketika para wirausahawan membangun usahanya itu. Karena saya yakin untuk mendapatkan hidup yang sesuai keinginan kita itu perlu usaha dan biaya yang sangat besar, dan biayanya tidak selalu uang. Tidak sepenuhnya salah mengiklankan, namun alangkah baiknya realita pun digambarkan apa adanya saja sehingga kisah-kisah mereka dapat terasa lebih dekat dengan pembaca.

ISBN :

978-0-451-49664-5

Tahun Terbit :

2012

Penerbit : 

Crown Business

Penulis :

Chris Guillebeau

Genre :

Nonfiksi, bisnis, pengembangan diri

Tebal :

285 halaman (paperback)

Estimasi waktu membaca :

7 jam

Rating :

7.5/10

October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: ResensiTags: $100Startup, Resensi, Startup Leave a comment

Sharing The Weight of The World. On NieR: Automata (spoilers alert)

_{Source: https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/7280}

Sitting at my desk for hours doing work was exhausting so I thought why not put some music into it? I started with some chillhop mix on YouTube and after a while got bored because it wasn’t very stimulating, and then I came across a NieR: Automata OST playlist and oh my god doing spreadsheets had never been so epic!

Naturally I was curious what kind of game has these incredible soundtracks and why is everybody in the comments section a philosopher? I scrolled through the comments section to learn that NieR: Automata is a PS4 game which was already ported to PC.

So I started looking for the game and was finally able to play it in early this year on PC. Apparently it was a hype in 2017 that I didn’t know of. I know it’s really outdated talking about this right now but since we’re anticipating NieR: Reincarnation and NieR: Replicant ver.1.22474487139… why the hell not?

If you haven’t played the game yet I very much encourage you to play it until the true ending is achieved which is a very beautiful one and please stop reading this immediately. Because this is not just a good game, but an important one as well. Few examples of important games for me:

1. Mass Effect Trilogy, because introduction to sci-fi AI concepts.
2. Undertale, because that’s how a subversion is done.
3. Nier: Automata, because I just said so, now stop reading and go play.

For those who have completed the game, this writing is my own interpretations of the game based on my experience playing it and from reading lores, comments sections, and forums. Critics are welcomed and will be much appreciated.

Route A & B

My initial impression of the game was not much really. Battle mechanics is quite solid, kind of reminded me of Devil May Cry 3, atmosphere is okay I guess for a post-apocalyptic environment, dialogue is a bit bland and vague. Honestly at first I thought the voice actors were just not that good, but apparently I was dead wrong on that account. Anyway, not much information I could gain early in the game, and by early I mean the prologue. Only that androids and machine lifeforms have been fighting each other for a very long time. The former was made by humans while the latter made by aliens.

Our main protagonists, 2B and 9S, are androids under the instructions of the remaining Human Council up on the moon to retake earth from the aliens.

Long story short, I got through the first route (Route A). I did get to know each character better throughout the gameplay but not really that attached to them yet so still nothing when I saw 2B strangling 9S to death. It was sad of course but I saw too many zombie apocalypse movies where a guy had to kill their closest people. There are other interesting side quests as well but I was still wondering what made the game so good.

Soon after, I started Route B.

Here, we gain a new perspective by playing as 9S, a few additional cut scenes, the bosses’ names are now showing up, and tedious hacking mini-games, over and over again.

“All right this is starting to get boring, is this game really was a hype?” I asked myself throughout the game, not because it was really boring but rather because I didn’t know a thing yet about the entire plot. However, I finished Route B anyway along with their additional side quests. Since I kept telling myself that there must be something else aside from 2B’s booty.

Route C, D, & E

Oh what’s this then? A preview? A sequel? I thought that that was it for Route C, a sequel, and it just went past me unnoticed that this was actually the real beginning of the game and that I was playing a 20+ hour long prologue. Figured that one out later on after some internet surfing. While true endings for games are arguably common, this was my first time bumping into a true beginning.

Anyway, I started going through Route C and realized that Yoko Taro is fucking with my emotions as soon as 2B got hacked because let’s face it, she’s done for as the Bunker is now space trash. When 2B died, I can’t help but think shit just got real because Pod declared her black box signal is lost and death confirmed. Still hoped she could survive somehow but that seem to fade little by little as I keep going. I mean accidentally found 2B’s flight unit that contained her last message, then mourning her death at Kaine’s shack, yeah she’s definitely not coming back.

This kind of feeling was similar to when 9S was gone a while in Route A after the Flooded City boss fight. But I thought “Nah he’s probably fine”. But despite all that, I felt that I lost something because now I’m looking at 2B running around alone with only her pod. Little that I know that this exact feeling in Route A is going to be amplified in Route C.

With 9S’s descent into madness, I trod along the Resource Recovery Unit feeling the same anger towards the machine lifeforms but mine was also added by the fact that I have to hack many, many more enemies and boxes ha.

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“Okay what the hell? What kind of world is this!? Why am I getting so emotional over fictional machines? What kind of person made a game like this?”

This is Route C in a nutshell for me. So many things started to unravel at this point and they just went downhill from there.

At the end of the route, I picked A2 at first because, well 9S obviously won’t have a good closure being crazy like that. A2’s ending is fine, the ultimate boss is defeated, YoRHa is annihilated except for its pods, and Pascal..oh Pascal. Quite fitting with the build up the game initiated since the beginning of the route. I wouldn’t expect a happy ending after everything fell apart like that. But I looked it up anyway on how many endings this game really has and how to achieve them. Eventually ending D and E happened.

So congratulations, you just read a 5 minute prologue.

Thoughts on The Game

Personally, I think why I felt genuine sadness and despair is not because how machine lifeforms are so naive or because how androids are deceptive yet mature, but rather because deep down I believe that this kind of world, this madness and despair, is not entirely impossible to happen in the future. Or even worse, it’s already happening right now. But let’s talk about the future first.

AI have undergone massive improvements in the past 50 years. Assuming mankind still exists 2.000 years from now, building a sentient AI capable of emotions is really not that far fetched, though there’s a pretty good chance they are not going to come in a maid’s dress carrying swords.

Through NieR: Automata, Yoko Taro is telling us that mankind is as despicable as it is fascinating. Even though Project YoRHa was invented by Command, I’m inclined to think that they are humanity’s mirror image, or I suppose a mature aged person’s image. Take a look at how the side quests from androids unravel later on compared to the machine’s. Especially from YoRHa members/deserters. They manipulate, lied to your face, they suppressed everything from you so that they are not what they seem. Whereas machine lifeforms quests are otherwise simple and honest, or as mentioned above, naive as a child. Even if YoRHa android cores are made of machine cores as well but still, their programming is the same to that of standard androids, to serve mankind. And I could imagine how they were indoctrinated for that through propaganda either by programming or council broadcasts, in which it would probably say that serving their creator is their sole purpose, human is the best, etc. Hence it’s only reasonable for them being intrigued by this enigma called humanity, at least to learn more about it if not to become one.

How androids tried to uplift their morale really reminds me of SOMA that when mankind is faced with certain doom, they will do whatever they can to ensure their survival even if it’s just their data, or in Nier: Automata’s case, their lies. As much as I hate it I can’t deny that it is indeed the very nature of human for being manipulative, and this behavior passed down to their legacy.

Even now amidst the Corona-virus pandemic, many countries have already taken drastic measures to prevent further spreading of the virus. Keep in mind that the death rate of White Chlorination Syndrome is 50%. Significantly higher than that of COVID-19. Even if you survive the WCS you will only become a minion, not a normal human being so that just makes it 100% death rate. Imagine if there’s a pandemic with that kind of severity . Money and resources will immediately start pouring to medicine and technology research, including AI.

Well maybe that’s too theatrical and not happening anytime soon. So let’s take another, more realistic approach. Let’s just say that 3000–4000 years from now mankind’s time is almost up by whatever apocalyptic scenario possible. Assuming there is practically zero percent chance that anyone will survive, humans have already built sentient AIs and they will at least try to survive whether we like it or not.

After humans are completely wiped out, the AIs are left alone, thinking about existence like their creators did since I suppose people will try to build them as close as possible to a human being. This means intelligence, emotions, desires, will to survive and all that. The difference between humans and said AIs however, is that we have never met our creator, while some of the AIs have met and interact with theirs. Some AI will probably say, “I wanna be like god.”, others will say they should worship them, remember them, or perhaps forget about them altogether because they don’t really matter anymore. Desires and emotions will become the basis of conflict between these AIs.

Thus come the world of despair perfectly portrayed by Yoko Taro where a true pacifist turn into a killing machine because of love, and a mass murderer, the machine network, turns to pacifism because of hatred.

I think the reason Adam and Eve (in the game) was born due to to the machine lifeforms’ wish is actually something to reflect on us. Adam treasures hatred while Eve treasures love for his own kin. Love and hatred is the closest interpretations of a human being by the AI because they think those are the most dominant emotions that move us. Same thing occurred in the Romeo & Juliet reenactment by the machines at the theater. Hence conflicts emerge.

Is this the kind of world we want to pass on to our legacy?

Now let’s talk about the present if talking about legacies is still too far away from the reality we live in. Take a look at the game once more, watch it on YouTube or whatever and tell me, are they not human enough?

As explained above, throughout the game it feels as though we’re looking at a mirror, but somehow the reflection is not quite right. In it we see that human is a manipulative egotistical bunch, this is indeed true but we’re not just that are we?

And I think this is where the director proved to us that we are in fact capable of supporting one another for a greater cause at the cost of our own comfort. The greater cause in this case is 2B’s desperate wish to be free of her programming. Shortly after, we discover that the greater cause is ridiculously hard to achieve alone. But then we receive a message from someone, somewhere around the globe, telling us not to give up, so we try again but fail anyway. We got a couple more similar messages from other people, and a few more after we fail again and again, until that same people offered to help us by sacrificing their save files. After accepting the help, the greater cause becomes much easier to accomplish because we are sharing the weight of the world among us. And so we continue that deed by sacrificing our own save files.

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Anyway, throughout the game I desperately wish that a real human will show up somehow, just one decent human being is enough, to explain to Pascal that he doesn’t deserve to go through all that, to tell 9S reality is cruel but you’re not alone, to tell A2 that killing a baby is wrong, and to tell 2B that it’s not her fault for doing it over and over again. Somehow I miss humanity when playing this game.

Even though there were numerous AI related story games around the time Nier: Automata was released, most of them were merely trying to define AI, how they think, how they feel, what makes them sentient, etc. Albeit some of them did a really good job in doing this like Mass Effect Trilogy, NieR: Automata on the other hand does not try to do so because it’s not about that. Instead it simply gives the player some premises,

1. There’s a bunch of non-human sentient being who are struggling to become more and more human.
2. Their struggle will become their own demise.

Could be more but just from that two premises I’m sure it will raise a lot of questions. How to prevent their annihilation? Why does it want to become human that is a so imperfect being? Why haven’t they become one already? Aren’t there programs for that? But then again, if it were programmed, is it really a human being?

I skimmed a video on YouTube about a seminar in which Yoko Taro is giving lessons about storytelling. This is how his is done. We are given only the glimpses of events, while the rest we develop it in our mind.

In conclusion, this writing is undoubtedly biased because I really love the game and I doubt we will come across this kind of masterpiece anytime soon. Really hope I’m wrong about this.

I can also see that this game is not for everyone. Hell even video games aren’t for everyone and that’s fine. Nevertheless, this was such an experience for me. At my age, I find that playing video games that heavily rely on story very exhausting. So unless it offers something new like Undertale, SOMA, or Disco Elysium, I won’t bother playing. Finally, I do hope all the players get the message Yoko Taro is trying to tell us, which isn’t necessarily have to be the same one as mine.

Glory to mankind!

October 13, 2020October 14, 2020 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

The Illusion of Moving Towards 4.0

Bureaucracy ought to be much easier these days. Severing ties with the middlemen, less papers, and definitely less time in doing it. But what happens instead is far from those, at least in my workplace.

When a term is over glorified, its real meaning became vague. And the term 4.0 seems to have crossed paths with this problem.

A beautiful illustration that I drew on Paint.

My work requires me to use many web apps whether it’s for internal use only or across governmental agencies. The data I’m handling doesn’t really need complicated operations, in fact we simply send said data from one department to another. Unfortunately, the data itself contains thousands of rows of information in which they require frequent updates as a part of the monitoring routine. I spent at least a couple weeks working on data entry for over 1.900 rows of that information by manually filling out a single set of forms for each row. Imagine clicking a submit button more than 3.000 times. Not exactly the case, I’ve clicked a mouse many more times than I can count, but why did I have to do it when it can be done with less than 5 clicks? And to top it off, the website still has some bugs and even crashes at times. Some of the data that were already stored in the app almost always went missing so I had to recheck each time I’ve done an entry. A simple Ms.Excel form could’ve done a better job for that in a matter of hours at the most. But no, because we have to go 4.0. Everything needs to have an app whether it’s going to be useful or not. Of course I’ve spoken with the people managing the website but their explanations boiled down to more of a technicality issue in which they concluded that they can’t have a spreadsheet form on the app. I don’t know much about IT but what we all do know is either an app is good or just plain frustrating. 

I’m not sure what happens on the other side though. If the data recipients are having a hard time reading it as much as we are trying to put it into the app, 4 point oh might as well be -1 point shit. Even if it really does make it easier for the recipients to read the data, it’s still pointless to have an app that only helps its back end users or whatever it is. An app should make things easier for both sides. If only one side has the benefits yet the other goes crazy because of it, why bother making one?

Doing something for weeks that could’ve been done in less than a few hours is the exact opposite of technological advancement. Oh my god if Bill Gates reads this he would probably cry himself to sleep. He made a great spreadsheet app ages ago yet here we are doing grunt work like it’s the stone age.

The app itself is used exclusively within the organization, thank god for that. At least people out there won’t feel my pain.

Another app I use for work is the one that goes across governmental institutions. This one’s quite better in terms of data entries but it’s slow as hell. However, I noticed that they’ve made several improvements and are continuing to do so, technically speaking at least. The function of the app is to receive annual work plans of governmental agencies from all over the country. But every time we submit our plan, for some reason we also have to send it to this other website, owned by the same agency. It’s not really a hassle doing it but still, why do we need two separate websites to do the exact same job? If they really want the data to be duplicated I’m sure there’s a way around it without hosting another website. Anyway, not complaining too much about this one since I can see that it’s getting better overtime.

So there you go. The supposedly simpler bureaucracy is ironically hindered by technology itself. I mean come on man not everything needs to have an app for it. We’re so enchanted into thinking that everything has to operate fully online these days when some things are better left offline. Or at least until a good app for it comes up.

October 1, 2020October 1, 2020 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

Hiji Jalan Anu Kacida

Janten aya hiji jalan anu kacida poek jeung sepina. Ai sim kuring mah ngan saukur ngadenge beja tiditu tidieu we perkawis jalan ieu teh, carita anu, carita anu, kajadian itu, kajadian ieu. Tapi da alhamdulillah dina sataun leuwih sim kuring ngaliwatan ieu jalan asa can pernah ngalaman kajadian nu araraneh. Sim kuring emang kudu ngaliwatan jalan ieu unggal balik digawe da kumaha deui kusabab ieu teh jalur pangdeukeutna, jaba nikreuh deuih.

Dina hiji mangsa, sim kuring balik rada burit tina biasana. Muka panto kantor geus poek mongkleng. Cul we leumpang sim kuring teh. Sakumaha biasana jalana teh sepi. Palingan ge aya sora adan magrib jeung mobil atawa motor ti jalan raya, eta ge ni asa jauh.

Geus sababaraha lengkah sim kuring leumpang, naha ti kajauhan asa aya kalangkang jelema, duka tiluan duka opatan da poek tea. Keur nanaonan nya maranehanana popoekan kitu? Pikir sim kuring teh. Pas geus rada deukeut, rada katingali salah sahijina aya nu make kopeah, aya nu make jilbab. Wah jigana geus sarepuh ieu mah. Ai sim kuring pan langsung we “Punten, Pa.” pas ngaliwat hareupeun aranjeuna, tapi da euweuh nu ngawaler. Ngawangkong oge henteu deuih. Jol muringkak bulu kuduk.

Buru-buru sim kuring nyokot HP tina saku, Der ku sim kuring teh disenteran aranjeuna, sihoreng teh spanduk partai. Ah, aing mah!

 

 

July 17, 2020 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

Resensi Buku: “The Count of Monte Cristo”

There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another—nothing more.

-Edmond Dantes

Pada tahun 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte yang ketika itu tengah menguasai Perancis, harus tunduk pada kekuatan sekutu (Austria, Inggris, Prussia, dan Russia). Dia dilengserkan dan diasingkan ke Pulau Elba. Namun setahun kemudian dia kembali ke Perancis dan berhasil merebut tahtanya walaupun hanya selama 100 hari. Setelah itu, monarki yang dipimpin oleh Raja Louis XVIII.

Sejarah tersebut berlangsung ketika seorang pelayar bernama Edmond Dantes, pulang ke Marseille menggantikan kapten kapalnya yang meninggal di perjalanan. Di Marseille dia digadang sebagai calon kuat kapten selanjutnya oleh si empunya kapal. Selain itu juga dia akan segera menikah dengan wanita kesayangannya, Mercedes. Edmond Dantes berasal dari keluarga kelas menengah ke bawah. Pencalonan dirinya menjadi kapten sesaat sebelum menikah kontan membuat dirinya bahagia. Taraf hidupnya bisa jauh lebih sejahtera dibanding yang sekarang.

Akan tetapi, salah seorang awak kapalnya, Danglars, tidak menyukai hal ini. Menurutnya dialah yang pantas menjadi kapten Pharaon (nama kapal tersebut). Dia menemui seorang pemuda lain bernama Fernand, yang dia ketahui cemburu terhadap Edmond karena dirinya akan menikahi Mercedes pujaan hatinya. Dari sinilah dimulai sebuah plot untuk menjatuhkan Edmond sehingga merubah hidupnya 180 derajat.

Sistem yang korup, pengkhianatan, dan balas dendam sepertinya merupakan motif ditulisnya buku ini. Bahwa dengan kekayaan melimpah, orang bisa melakukan apa yang dia mau dengan segala kemudahan dan relasi yang dimilikinya. Akan tetapi dibalik itu semua, ada sebuah pesan moral yang ingin disampaikan oleh Alexandre Dumas, bahwa seringkali dunia memang tidak seperti yang kita harapkan. Bahwa kita harus mengorbankan banyak hal sebelum bisa meraih apa yang kita inginkan. Dan bahwa setiap keputusan di masa lalu akan menimbulkan konsekuensi pada waktunya.

The Count of Monte Cristo sangat menghibur dengan pengembangan plot silih berganti antara cepat dan lambat. Alur memang berpusat pada Edmond Dantes namun tokoh-tokoh di sekitarnya juga memiliki peran dan kisah yang signifikan, menggambarkan kompleksitas yang terjadi pada tatanan masyarakat Paris kelas atas. Pada pertengahan novel ini kita akan dibuat berpikir, ternyata menjadi mastermind itu tidak mudah karena setiap orang punya kepentingan dan rencananya masing-masing.

Adanya beberapa statement deus-ex machina tidak mengurangi ketertarikan saya terhadap karya klasik ini. Walaupu ada beberapa bagian yang predictable, namun saya tetap menikmati membacanya dan semakin penasaran untuk membuka halaman berikutnya. Selain itu, kekurangan Alexandre Dumas memang dalam hal kronologi, tapi saya pun sejujurnya tidak menemukan hal itu terlalu mengganggu karena tidak paham betul sejarah Perancis.

Membaca novel klasik dalam bahasa asing bagi saya memang memerlukan konsentrasi ekstra. Kendala bahasa yang tidak familiar mewajibkan saya untuk sedia kamus setiap membacanya. Terutama di awal-awal. Tapi lama-kelamaan akan terbiasa juga karena bahasa tersebut akan sering digunakan nantinya.

ISBN                      : 978-1-4472-9064-3

Tahun Terbit      : 1846 (Woodsorth Classics 2002)

Penerbit              : Wordsworth Classics

Penulis                 : Alexandre Dumas

Genre                   : Fiksi

Tebal                     : 894 halaman (paperback)

Pembatas buku : Tidak ada

Estimasi waktu

membaca            : 20 jam

Rating                   : 8/10

February 27, 2017February 27, 2017 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: ResensiTags: Alexandre Dumas, Ayo Membaca, fiksi, Resensi Leave a comment

Resensi Buku: “Cantik Itu Luka”

Halimunda. Nama sebuah desa di tatar Sunda. Di Halimunda ini, tinggal seorang wanita paruh baya cantik yang sedang hamil tua. Tiga putri yang telah dimilikinya, semuanya cantik jelita. Banyak dikejar laki-laki di dalam dan luar Halimunda. Namun sang wanita hamil itu bosan memiliki anak-anak yang cantik. Ia berkeinginan keras agar anak ke empat yang tengah dikandungnya ini lahir menjadi perempuan buruk rupa. Keinginan wanita itu terwujud. Lahirlah seorang anak perempuan yang tidak sedap dipandang, bentuk wajahnya tidak jelas, apalagi menarik kaum adam. Anak perempuan ini kemudian diberi nama Cantik.

sumber: ekakurniawan.com

Berkunjung ke Halimunda mengingatkan saya pada desa di film-film Kabayan yang dibintangi almarhum Didi Petet. Hamparan sawah hijau, hutan belantara, bukit-bukit tinggi, dan pemandangan asri lainnya. Bedanya, Halimunda memiliki pantai.

Berlatar di zaman penjajahan Belanda dan Jepang, Cantik Itu Luka seperti hendak menghipnotis kita kembali ke masa penuh kepercayaan mistis. Sebuah kepercayaan yang kian memudar saat ini dengan maraknya kemajuan teknologi dan informasi. Ada banyak keanehan yang terjadi dalam kisah-kisahnya, yang seringkali tidak dapat dijelaskan melalui akal sehat. Akan tetapi, konflik yang menarik dan alur cerita yang apik menjadikan karya Eka Kurniawan ini sesuatu yang memukau bagi saya.

Karena latar tempat terjadi di satu desa saja, hampir setiap karakter memiliki hubungan atau pernah berinteraksi satu sama lain. Konflik yang diangkat juga menarik dan kompleks namun tetap bisa diikuti dengan baik. Inti alur cerita sebenarnya berada di silsilah keluarga. Dimana perbuatan masa lalu suatu keluarga dapat berdampak positif atau negatif bagi keturunannya kelak.

Cantik Itu Luka merupakan hiburan fiksi dalam negeri yang segar bagi saya. Seperti membaca dongeng untuk orang dewasa rasanya. Saya sangat berharap karya ini dapat diadaptasi ke dalam bentuk film, tapi kelihatannya belum ada tanda-tanda akan diwujudkan meskipun novel ini telah diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Inggris, Jepang, dan Malaysia.

ISBN                      : 978-602-03-1258-3

Tahun Terbit      : 2002

Penerbit              : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Penulis                 : Eka Kurniawan

Genre                   : Fiksi

Tebal                     : 479 halaman (paperback)

Pembatas buku : Tidak ada

Estimasi waktu

membaca            : 6 jam

Rating                   : 8.5/10

February 20, 2017 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: ResensiTags: Cantik Itu Luka, Eka Kurniawan, fiksi, Resensi Leave a comment

Resensi Buku: “Bilangan Fu”

“Tahukah engkau, sebelum nol disempurnakan oleh orang-orang Arab, ia memiliki asal sebuah tanda di India: tanda shunya.”

-Suhubudi, Bilangan Fu

Bagaimana kalau ternyata hal-hal berbau mitos itu sebenarnya bisa dijelaskan melalui fakta sejarah dan budaya? Atau paling tidak dicari hubungannya dengan rasio manusia modern. Bahwasanya mungkin ada penjelasan lain dibalik mitos-mitos tersebut jika kita membuka pikiran.

Diskusi demi diskusi dapat kita temukan dalam buku ini. Isu-isu yang diangkat sangat menarik. Mulai dari konservasi lingkungan, sejarah kerajaan Sunda dan Jawa, Nyi Roro Kidul, monoteisme, dan masih banyak lagi. Alur cerita tetap berjalan seiring dengan diskusi tersebut.

Bilangan Fu mengajak kita untuk berpikir terbuka dan lebih obyektif dalam menentukan apa yang kita lihat/dengar sebagai suatu kebenaran atau bukan. Tidak serta merta semua mitos itu bohong dan semua fakta itu benar adanya.

Berkisah tentang seorang pemanjat tebing bernama Yuda. Yuda kemudian bertemu dengan seorang pemanjat lain bernama Parang Jati. Sepintas tidak ada kepribadian yang menonjol dari mereka berdua, tapi saya kira mereka adalah pemikir ulung. Termasuk dari sinilah kita menyimak diskusi  mengenai topik-topik tersebut di atas. Terkadang saya merasa ini adalah sebuah skripsi atau karya ilmiah yang dibuat ke dalam bentuk novel. Sangat menghibur dan juga memberikan wawasan serta pandangan baru bagi pembacanya. Gaya peulisan Ayu Utami mengingatkan saya kepada Eka Kurniawan pada novelnya Cantik Itu Luka, namun Ayu Utami lebih menekankan sisi ilmiah dibanding fantasinya.

Salah satu contoh analogi yang ada di Bilangan Fu adalah ketika membahas ikonografi satria, atau kesatria, atau heroes. Dalam persepsi Amerika atau barat, satria digambarkan dengan otot-otot kekar seperti Superman, Batman, Rambo, dkk. Dalam pewayangan Jawa, tubuh satria digambarkan sebagai sosok yang ramping liat. Sama seperti pemanjat tebing, walaupun tidak memiliki dada yang mengkal, mereka tetap kuat, karena dada mengkal tidak dibutuhkan untuk memanjat. Dia cuma dibutuhkan untuk menarik wanita. Dari analogi ini kemudian berlanjut kepada pembahasan masuknya Islam ke dalam perwayangan Jawa dan bagaimana pengaruhnya terhadap penggambaran tokoh-tokoh yang ada di dalamnya.

Banyak lagi pesan kuat nan memukau lainnya. Bilangan Fu adalah komposisi cerdas yang memadukan antara filosofi, budaya, mistik, sejarah, sains, dan agama. Fu sendiri tentu saja memiliki arti dan akan dijelaskan di dalam karya Ayu Utami ini.

ISBN                      : 978-979-91-0122-8

Tahun Terbit      : 2008

Penerbit              : Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia

Penulis                 : Ayu Utami

Genre                   : Fiksi

Tebal                     : 536 halaman (paperback)

Pembatas buku : Tidak ada

Estimasi waktu

membaca            : 6 jam

Rating                   : 9/10

February 19, 2017February 19, 2017 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: ResensiTags: Ayo Membaca, Ayu Utami, fiksi, Resensi Leave a comment

Resensi Buku: “How To Win Friends & Influence People”

Pengetahuan teknis memang penting untuk memimpin suatu tim. Akan tetapi, kemampuan untuk menghadapi, berinteraksi, dan berkolaborasi dengan orang lain adalah sesuatu yang wajib dimiliki oleh setiap pemimpin yang disegani. Disegani ya, bukan ditakuti.

Berbeda dengan pengetahuan teknis, kemampuan memimpin orang lain sangat minim diajarkan di sekolah-sekolah kita. Biasanya beberapa siswa mendapat pelajaran, atau lebih tepatnya pengalaman, ini dari kegiatan ekstrakurikuler. Tidak semua siswa berpartisipasi aktif dalam kegiatan ini kan?

Pun demikian dengan kondisi Amerika Serikat di tahun 1915, dimana kondisi perekonomian sedang jatuh dan pendidikan pun tidak jelas arahnya kemana. Bahwasanya sebagian besar orang memang punya keahlian teknis, akan tetapi tidak semua orang dapat menjadi pemimpin yang baik. Tidak semua orang bisa membuat orang lain mau melakukan apa yang diperintahkannya.

Dengan segala kesulitan tersebut, seorang pemuda yang berasal dari desa sederhana, sangat tertarik dengan seni berbicara di hadapan orang lain.  Awalnya, dia merasa sangat gugup ketika mengikuti lomba pidato di kampusnya, akan tetapi, lama kelamaan dia menjadi juara tidak hanya sekali, namun berkali-kali setelahnya dan berturut-turut pula. Kawan-kawannya memohon pada pemuda ini untuk diajarkan cara berbicara yang baik. Hal inilah yang menginspirasi Dale Carnegie, nama pemuda tersebut untuk memberikan pelatihan-pelatihan tentang bagaimana cara berbicara di hadapan orang lain dan cara menjadi pemimpin yang baik.

Mungkin terdengar klise ya. Sangat banyak iklan-iklan yang bermunculan dengan tema seperti ini. Akan tetapi, semua orang kala itu, yakin bahwa kelas/seminar Dale Carnegie berbeda dengan pembicara lainnya. Peserta yang hadir berasal dari berbagai kalangan. Tua, muda, amatir, profesional, pedagang roti, sampai eksekutif perusahaan. Semuanya tertarik mengikuti kelas Dale Carnegie karena dinilai simpel, cepat, dan sangat aplikatif dibandingkan dengan mempelajari psikologi manusia secara umum yang mungkin memerlukan waktu lama untuk dipelajari dan terlalu fundamental diterapkan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.

Di sela-sela kegiatannya sebagai pembicara dalam seminarnya ini, Dale Carnegie menerbitkan sebuah buku. How To Win Friends & Influence People. Bagaimana cara mendapatkan teman dan mempengaruhi orang lain. Mempengaruhi orang lain sama sekali bukan berarti memanipulasi atau menipu ya. Justru sebaliknya, kita berusaha untuk jujur kepada diri sendiri.

Salah satu  contoh kasus, ketika ada rekan kerja kita yang melakukan kesalahan, berkali-kali, yang membuat kita naik pitam, seringkali kita langsung melompat kepada inti permasalahan dengan cara mengkritik atau mengeluarkan kalimat yang tidak enak didengar. Kita seakan lupa akan kebaikan atau kelebihan rekan kita tersebut selama bekerja bersama. Lebih tepatnya kita memilih untuk melupakan kelebihannya dan berfokus pada kekurangannya saat itu. Ini namanya tidak jujur terhadap diri sendiri. Yang terjadi selanjutnya adalah adu mulut diantara kita dan rekan kerja kita sampai entah kapan. Manusia tidak tahan kritik, tidak bisa menerima kritik apalagi yang dibawakan dengan cara merendahkan seperti itu.

Salah satu instruksi Dale adalah, sebelum kita menyinggung kesalahan orang lain, sebaiknya kita awali dengan memuji kebaikannya. Intinya adalah menurunkan ego kita agar orang lain bisa mendengarkan kritik membangun yang akan kita sampaikan. Apakah ketika kita mengkritik pedas orang lain, dia akan melakukan apa yang kita inginkan? Kalau orang lain itu bawahan kita, bisa saja dia akan tetap melakukan pekerjaan yang diperintahkan. Tapi apakah dia akan melakukannya dengan senang hati? Tidak mungkin. Yang ada setelah itu malah terjadi pergunjingan di antara karyawan kita sendiri atau dia akan resign beberapa minggu kemudian.

Memang diperlukan latihan untuk bisa menurunkan ego tersebut. Begitupun dengan semua intruksi yang ada di buku ini. Tetapi jangan khawatir, instruksi yang diberikan cukup mudah untuk diikuti dan diterapkan dalam keseharian kita.

Buku ini terbagi atas empat bab. Masing-masing bab terdiri dari beberapa poin prinsip yang bisa kita latih. Mulai dari menghindari argumen (argumen ya, bukan diskusi), melemparkan senyum, cara menangani komplain pelanggan, cara memberikan perintah pada orang lain, dan masih banyak lagi. Dale Carnegie juga menuliskan pengalaman-pengalaman peserta seminarnya sebagai contoh kasus yang berhasil. Jadi dalam seminar ini setiap peserta diwajibkan untuk berbicara dalam batas waktu tertentu untuk menceritakan pengalamannya menerapkan prinsip yang diajarkan oleh Dale.

Harus diakui tidak semua orang dapat dipengarhuhi dengan cara seperti ini. Yah namanya orang, ada saja kelakuannya kan. Dale juga tidak menjanjikan keberhasilan 100%. Namun respon positif akan jauh lebih sering didapatkan jika kita menerapkan prinsip-prinsip tersebut.

ISBN                      : 978-1-4391-9919-0

Tahun Terbit      : 1936 (cetakan Pocket Books tahun 2010)

Penerbit              : Pocket Books

Penulis                 : Dale Carnegie

Genre                   : Nonfiksi, pengembangan diri

Tebal                     : 276 halaman (paperback)

Pembatas buku : Tidak ada

Estimasi waktu

membaca            : 4 jam

Rating                   : 9/10

February 18, 2017October 4, 2020 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: ResensiTags: Dale Carnegie, inspirasi, Resensi 1 Comment

Resensi Buku: “Sang Alkemis (The Alchemist)”

Novel yang sudah sangat populer yang membawa nama Paulo Coelho melejit. Namun demikian saya tetap tertarik untuk meresensi Sang Alkemis.

Berkisah tentang seorang anak laki-laki gembala bernama Santiago, yang kerap mengalami mimpi bahwa di Piramida-Piramida Mesir terdapat seonggok harta karun menunggu ditemukan olehnya. Dia kemudian berpetualang mencari harta karun tersebut.

Ide ceritanya boleh saja sederhana. Akan tetapi, Dalam perjalanannya ini banyak pelajaran yang dapat diambil dari kisah-kisah orang yang ditemui oleh si anak gembala. Serasa semua orang yang ditemuinya adalah filsuf haha. Tapi sepertinya memang demikian gaya bahasa yag dipakai oleh Paulo Coelho.

Saya membaca versi terjemahannya, yang menurut saya cukup enak dibaca. Mungkin memang cocok dengan versi aslinya. Berbeda dengan novel terjemahan yang berasal dari Bahasa Inggris pada umumnya, yang menjadikan bahasanya kaku. Diterjemahkan secara harfiah.

Buku ini sangat recommended. Berisi pelajaran hidup berharga serta untuk memberikan masukan dan perspektif mengenai pemikiran mendasar manusia, seperti tujuan hidup, cita-cita, dan ilmu tapi tentu saja tetap dibawakan dengan pengembangan plot yang menarik.

ISBN                      : 978-979-22-1664-6

Tahun Terbit      : 1988 (cetakan pertama PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama tahun 2005)

Penerbit              : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Penulis                 : Paulo Coelho

Genre                   : Fiksi

Tebal                     : 213 halaman (paperback)

Pembatas buku : Tidak ada

Estimasi waktu

membaca            : 3 jam

Rating                   : 8.5/10

February 15, 2017February 15, 2017 by Wilman Fathurochman Categories: ResensiTags: Ayo Membaca, fiksi, Paulo Coelho, Resensi Leave a comment