Syntax makes it simple for you to read this sentence. Syntax outlines computer language and the associated programs (python, C, C++, etc.) on our devices. One error in the syntax, and you’ll see things break or change quickly on your precious computer.

I consider things like love, faith, hope, ego, and personality, a part of the human syntax. It seems like the syntax updates with changes in the times, much like the first sentence in Dickens’s Tale of Two Cities. But personally, what I find these days are constant, minor errors in my syntax that eventually culminate to create major crashes.

No one person’s syntax is perfect. We all need debugging more often than we care to admit. And oftentimes, it’s not until we crash, that we deal with the multiple, minor issues we put off for so long.

As I contemplate this topic, I’m reminded of how often I’ve tried to reboot my computer when it leaves me fucked. Half the time it works, and the other half, it doesn’t. But, when I take time to figure out what’s going on, I usually find the root of the problem. Sometimes it’s something I simply overlooked. Sometimes, an outdated program causes the issue. Sometimes a new program comes along and simply performs better than my old, reliable one. But at the core of each issue, I find a constant: Taking the time to figure it out never fails me. But when I look for quick fixes, it’s like a band-aid on a gunshot wound.

The problem with life’s syntax errors is that we’re not machines. we’re not ML/AI wrapped in meat sacks. But we surely do perform, in many ways, like machines.

But our syntax is a little bit different. And our rules compute a little differently. But the nature of our language will never change. We just have to nurture it and pay closer attention to each of our keystrokes.