Knowledge- The Limiting Factor?

Here I start with a very small anecdote about my friend, his name was Knowledge. All respected him because of his easy grasp of all information. All seemed fine with him until one day he came to know that people behind his back were all calling him by different names (barring me), as days passed by he became aware of all the names he was called by:

Kooky
Nerdy
Oddball
Wobbly
Lackadaisical
Empirical
Deranged
Gauche
Egregious

These names were invented to explain his actions with some finding him isolated, boring, crazy at times, careless and shy. Till now he had always been aware of what only he thought of himself, but now hearing what others think of him, he was worried.

We have so often heard that Knowledge is perhaps the most important thing to all of us. There are infinite places that you will find having written about the importance. I am not going to contradict that ever, but is it all green grass on this side of the fence? Does knowledge have some limitations? Yes, I do feel it has.
You might have seen during your younger age, cartoons which showed that, the lack of knowledge of gravity, allowed one to walk high in the air with no physical support, which is actually not possible, but still, in a similar fashion knowledge does draw some unexpected boundaries...

Am I going to put knowledge in new light? No!

Knowledge can sometimes be inconvenient. For example: In my country, it has been common to eat fast/ junk food sold near the road-side for at least many decades, but of recent this has been reducing. Partly it's because people have come to know that these foods are unhealthy in various ways. This has caused people who used to eat the same food near the same road side shop/ cart to stop eating that anymore, or even if they eat their stomach's have become more sensitive to these foods due to these occasions becoming rare occurrences.

Knowledge leads to a confused state of mind as we are spoiled for choices. These days, there are innumerable sources for gaining additional knowledge, but many end up being contradicting. This does not mean that knowledge should be put away by all. It only becomes the job of the receiver to sieve through them (the choices) and decide which path to follow. For example, some say dieting helps in reducing weight but others say it does not. At the end, this has been argued about a lot, but at the end it is hard to argue the basic fact that exercise can healthily bring down one's weight or at least keep it constant.

For those of you reading this article too, some might find it in contradiction to what they believe in, but in places like this it becomes important to know that though there are many ways to interpret information, there are only some ways which actually give out the intended meaning. In this case, I am not castigating knowledge, but just approaching it from a slightly different viewpoint.

As can be seen here, knowledge can become a limiting factor unless properly chosen, used and interpreted. This knowledge molds all of us into what we are, and hence knowledge becomes all the more important and is the deciding factor making each of us unique in what we are. This topic though hasn't been given its due as it will require pages upon pages to describe its true effect but I hope I have done justice with this minimal space that I have used.

Change Hypocrisy

The questions I aim to put out are something along these lines

•           Are changes from generation to generation destined to happen at this rate?
•           But is the body able to cope with these changes?
•           What is happening to our culture then?
•           Does common sense always prevail these days?
•           Has the virus infected only select individuals?

Have you ever felt that you are increasingly being surrounded by Hypocrites? Perhaps you too are one. Don’t be alarmed cause you aren’t alone, this is the mania gripping all of us. As many of us say- “Easier said than done”.

The most recent example can be when people were baying like hounds when the anti-corruption movement came up. Thousands joined in but how many of them can actually say that they are corruption free. “Ok”, it is nearly impossible to be corrupt free these days because one is forced at some point to not toe the line when they have something to be done (considering all the corruption all over) , but still, how clean those people thronging the protests were themselves? The media too keep bawling about corruption, but it doesn’t mean that they are free of it themselves. We are asking for change without realizing that change needs to come from within first, this is where hypocrisy creeps in.

Forget about these major changes; let us think about those small changes occurring among us from generation to generation. People are becoming a lot more modern, but at what cost? Is the body able to cope to these changes? In general, the answer is a simple “No”. You might wonder “what is this guy talking about?” I am talking about small changes in lifestyles that are happening gradually but perhaps more so over the last one or 2 decades. This is leading to increased amount of stress levels, which is leading to lot more suicides and killings too. People have become very jumpy, and the phrase “on your toes” comes to my mind, but sadly that too has its limits after which we lose balance.

In this manic society, even culture is being sacrificed and lot of common sense too. No one is saying “no”; to adopting western ideas… but to what extent do we adopt them? Let me give you the latest example- Recently after a particular film was released, there was a hue and cry for adopting “Tomatina” festival into our lives, which was ridiculous considering the spiraling prices due to food shortage, increased consumption, etc over here. Luckily people with common sense in that respect decided to quash any such ideas. Our basic inner core varies for people from region to region, and our tendency is astonishingly begun to take in things from other cultures but only keeping the wrong things of our culture in mind. Hence the discrepancy in the so called clones.

Now I too am babbling about things outside my control, but I do realize with change within myself, things will get better. It doesn’t mean that we need to stop our demands, but we need to demand things of which we know we are clear and aware of.

Most of this writing might seem pertinent only to a particular region, but actually it is true all over the world with only the situations and events changing.

Personality Crash Simplified

Have you noticed that one becomes much alike to the person they despise? The more they despise the one, the more alike they become. Now what brings about such a change? Can it make one totally different from what they actually were? Is it justified? Some people say that it’s not a change brought in because of the other, but its because that feeling always existed within all people, not just that individual… Could that be true?

Now considering the last point mentioned above, let us approach it from a different perspective, which arguably I stand by. And to those who do not agree with me even partially, I think they are in the wrong.  Now what is so special about what I am going to say? It’s just this, people change as per their surroundings, and such a change can only occur if they have gained knowledge of those surroundings. Humans like all other animals were born with the natural tendency to survive, as they became aware of what went on around them they began to evolve. Slowly, things have become much more globalised with various things and news spreading to all parts of the world. So, all this information gets shoved into individuals at an increasing rate these days due to increased proximity to other individuals and the information spread. What can the person do, with this much information flooding the brain? He begins to choose and make decisions based on what has been fed into him either directly or indirectly. That’s when things go awry.

Gone are those days when people used to live in communities independent of other communities and hence had a fixed style when dealing with situations. How does one then go about dealing with situations when they are aware of often contradictory reactions to that situation? That’s where things perhaps look to get random, but I’m certain that the reaction chosen also depends on the weight of information for each reaction that gets into the head from childhood. To make you understand more better, lets consider an example- if for situation 1, there are two reactions/ solutions Sol A and Sol B… If Sol A has been given lot more importance in some way or another, then the tendency will be to go with reaction Sol A.

What 0makes a person go even perhaps to the wrong path, once again it’s the question of survival and information fed in. Therefore, a poor person with no food to eat will automatically tend to try to pinch some food if he has seen another individual do the same or is in dire need of it. Slowly, he becomes aware of the chances of getting away with it if he got away with it the first time, and gradually he becomes bold and even goes on a robbing spree (for things which are not required for actual survival), once again here to information is being fed into him (by his own mind) that he can rob and get away with it.

Coming back to my very first point, what actually makes a person become so alike the person he despises? The answer has already been clearly indicated above… Are you still wondering where the answer is? Let me explain that to you; when Person A despises Person B, then Person A naturally tends to think a lot about Person B. What does he think? He thinks about Person B’s actions over all time he has known him. What happens then? Unconsciously, person A is molding his thought process along the lines of that of Person B. Therefore, the two slowly start becoming alike in actions and then we see the likeness being directly dependent on the amount of thought pertinent to Person B (due to the increased importance).

For those of you wondering, “is there a possible solution?” Yes there surely is. We need to give less thought to the person or thing that might push you to become something you weren’t earlier.

Musings of a harassed kid

Have you felt the sinking feeling… one from which you find it impossible to come out from……… I have!!! I feel it everyday….

Reminders…

Replies….

Answers….

Questions….

Refreshes…..

Mails….

More refreshes….

This is what life has amounted to. But i dont blame that... Technology has developed a lot since what my parents and other elders say it was before I became alert to my surroundings. Now there is technology everywhere. So you can’t blame me for naturally moving towards technology due to my curiosity.  

This post too has become hard to write for me by myself, I am forced to rely a lot on spell checks with language dictionaries and repeated corrections. Soon our language will become too hard for even technology to comprehend, hence reversing the trend of earlier when humans found it hard to comprehend machine level language (though I find it hard to believe that ever such a time existed).

Now, I am moving away from my main topic, so hard to concentrate nowadays…

All things are done electronically and I am quite sure that all of you are familiar with this. Now let me get to the first point… aah… reminders… now what would my life be without them… I even need a reminder so as to remember to eat my food… these mobiles are great, no? just type in –eat and set reminder for 2pm, and the buzzer sounds so that I can turn my face away from the game I am playing) on my newest playstation) and fill my stomach. This is just one such case but I use it regularly (at least 6-8 times a day).

Over to the next few points, these are quite a few points but it governs my life nowadays, come on!!! I have some friends, and they need chatting or mailing to… I msg them or comment on their status, and wait for their reply… You know I have more than 200 friends on fb but my friend Arun has more than 500, I tried to compete with him but finally gave up… and though I send mails to some of them, social n/w sites is the shorter way and we can keep posting updates, I am already running to 246^th comment with my friend Praveen… I know what you are thinking… NAAA!!! He isn’t my best friend, I haven’t even met him… but he is a friend of my friend and he seemed funny…

I don’t understand the concept of meeting people when I can just chat with them, I have contact with friends even from kindergarten… so who are you to give me lectures?     I keep everyone happy b that, and not only that it saves me unnecessary time and energy in going all the way and meeting them. These old people… BAH!!! Just good in giving lectures and moaning. They say my weight is more, I am only 52 kgs (and 13 years old) but my friend Goutam from school is 75 :O!!!

Technology has its disadvantages though, I get so frustrated when the page doesn’t load or a message that a friend types doesn’t reach me immediately when we are chatting… I even broke my old PC because I got angry but my parents bought me a new one which is faster and can store more games, so at least it is better now… Thank God!!!

Hmmm… it’s getting hard for me to continue typing as I am used to short lines or words, so I am getting bugged writing. I don’t know why though I still have that odd feeling like things are not what it should be; ohkayy… coming!!! I got to go for my bath (my mom is calling)… it must be the constant bullying by all my elders…

--Signing off--

Its Your.........

While you are going alone on the street, basking in your solitude, unknowing of what’s around you, all of a sudden you hear a loud noise from behind which extracts you out of your reverie. It is dark and lonely; you get this uncomfortable feeling that you are being followed. IS it a spirit, you do not know. You feel it creeping towards you. You seek refuge but wherever you go, you know you are still being followed. Turn right, turn left, over a wall, dodge a vehicle parked on the street, up a tree, up a tree, behind a door, no matter what you try, you have the same sinking feeling. At this moment you are most vulnerable and you start to run. You find a lantern and turn it on, now you realize that you don’t feel that presence anymore. Content and relieved you continue towards your initial destination. Unfortunately, after some time your light is extinguished. Once again, you sense its presence, in desperation you once again run. You believe he is trailing behind you, but soon you feel its presence ahead too, then to your right and even to your left.
No matter what you do it keeps snapping at you, cause It’s Your ……… PAST.

Seas Of Education

Both are well established systems. One is diverse and multi-cultured, one is not. One is producing more and more top talent whereas the other is adding talent to what already exists there. Wondering what I am talking about? I am just introducing the differences between the American and Indian educational systems.
There have been various things that have been copied from the west and have become part of our daily lives back in India, many of them have been beneficial but many have not been so (of course these opinions differ from person to person).
But, today I am not going to talk about all of the above mentioned points. Only one point is in my agenda and that is about the diversity in education (not people) that exists in the American system which is not much present in our system. From when I remember, there has always been a push right from school that the career for the future is always that of being an engineer or a doctor. So it becomes such that the people who do well in subjects related to these streams will assumingly become good engineers and doctors in the future. But what about those people who struggle in these (above mentioned field related) subjects, they are still expected to become the equivalent engineers and doctors. These compulsions are not exactly unfounded. There are very few worthy institutions that provide good education for other fields, and hence, fewer employers who would employ them. Therefore the employers might go for students who might not necessarily be specialized in that (the company’s) field. This will naturally bring out the standard of work done by that company which acts as a barrier for students who would have thought of pursuing this field. OH! What a vicious circle. Confused? You are not alone.
The solution to this problem would perhaps be for a couple of daring entrepreneurs to set up institution systems with world class teaching for varied fields and in many regions around the country. Naturally if this turns to be a success, this will slowly and steadily spread to other regions. This will clearly open the flood gates for rapid development of our country. The system with such improvements will definitely give lot of choices for students to pick from.
This solution might sound very slow and perhaps implausible, but no solution will change things overnight. Additionally, there are certainly certain top institutions that are there in the country which might already be doing that. But those are very few and perhaps mostly for the privileged. It is time for change and this change will make the vicious circle into a naturally productive one with our country producing not just top engineers and doctors, but also top people from other fields as well.

Slow Death

 One often wonders as to how the world would have been without the industrial advancement. All advancements have lead to more complexities rather than helping to solve the problems. For us only it has become tough to cope up with these, then what about for the other life forms? With the large amount of deforestation taking place and with the increase in pollution and human population, animals and in general all species are dying a slow death, with life being eked away from them painfully and forcefully. It has become a thing of the past to worry about the after affects of some so called achievements (as in huge construction projects, converting villages to towns and then to cities, etc...). We humans have become so greedy (but foolish) that fame has become the ultimate goal, not stopping to think for one moment its consequences.

It does not mean that if other life forms had been given larger brains and more power, they would have followed the right path and made right decisions. However, being the so called supreme species makes us more responsible for our actions and more answerable to one and all. This is what initial education was based upon and needs to be continually stressed in current education, but unfortunately that is not the case.

Slowly voices are being raised at these atrocities being done day in and day out, but these are far too few and rare. As the saying goes, easier said than done, one should convert his own words into action which is the most difficult part. Only when this is done, will there be harmony in this world.

It perhaps now is too late to bring about such a drastic change in society but it should begin with small changes that we should bring about in our actions, which will lead to benefits later on. One should realize the importance of all species around us; this is when we will get true satisfaction.

Different countries have different rights but these are only for us human beings. Then what became of those basic unspoken rights that are required so as to uphold the balance in nature?? Without these, it can be said that our planet is dying a slow death.