I'm now beginning to believe, that what we do not only creates our fate, but also has the capacity to make or break the fate of our entire universe. 

        Let me give you an example. I've been reading up on  Georg Bernhard Riemann, a famous German Mathematician.What was he famous for? Well, he was the mathematician who challenged  the old geometry of Euclid where all geometric figures were two or three dimensional. He was the mathematicain who first introduced the concept of higher dimensions in the field of Mathematics. He was the person who paved the road of mathematics and physics to make way for what is now one of the most well-known branch of Physics ... Quantum physics which deals with fifth dimension of space, parallel universes, time travel. 


         If I start writing about this field, well, this blog or hundreds of other blogs would not be sufficient. So, let me come back to my original discussion ... that of connecting the dots. Riemann was born in 1826 in Hanover, Germany. He belonged to a very poor family, a family filled with mal-nutritioned and starved kids. It was not surprising that his health was very delicate. Riemann had shown his intelligence and his calculative abilities at a very early age. Like any other genius, he went through the books in his schools and college libraries in a matter of a days. 

         Now take the combiantion of coming from a poor background and being a mathematics geek, well theobvious result is being teased and made fun of at school. The result was that Riemann, who already was a shy kid, became even more reserved and as a direct result of that, immersed himself even more in the world of mathematics. Now, this is where we begin to connect the dots. Just imagine if Riemann hadn't been poor. What if he belonged to the rich and famous crowd. One theory would be that he would've had more oppurtunities to pursue his passion and it would've resulted in quicler rise to fame. But, that never happens in real life, does it? 

         In reality, rich kids are more prone to get distracted with destructive stuff ... drugs, guns, violence ... you name it, they have access to it. So, Riemann's poverty proved to be a stepping stone to the creation of a genius mathematician. 

        Another scenario that is interesting is what if he'd not been bullied? Well, he probably would've been a popular guy, outspoken, comfortable in his shoes. In fact such an event could've led him in to a career that is total opposite of what he really was ... a mathematician. He could've become a movie star or a politician and the world would've lost a genius.

          Here's another interesting fact of Riemann's life. As poor as he and his family were, his father broke his back trying to educate his son. If his father had forced him to get some job in order to help his dad, it would've made it harder for him to focus on his passion. 

           How many times have you wondered how your life could've been if you had chosen some road that you initially ignored? Life always comes with choices and every choice that we make creates our destiny. What we've to keep in mind that our destiny could've easily be changed by us, if only we'd chosen a road that we chose to ignore. It makes you think doesn't it .... just like in the game, we're connecting the dots of our life to create a certain picture ... and how that picture can be easily changed if we choose to make that change, not only in our lives, but that of entire universe!!

Previously posted at http://sanghouston.sulekha.com