Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school

Albert Einstein, by giving this quote, not only acknowledged the human being’s natural tendency to forget, but also their ability to remember only those that matters in life. So, in his view, what matters, is beyond the traditional syllabus of the schools, which is often unwritten, but is the one that helps us lead our lives. If life is like a war, then, education is like what remains after the dust has settled, because only that which remains, can lead the life forward. Not the ones that are dead or forgotten!

In this essay, we will explore the unwritten syllabus of schools; what remains after the dust settles; and importantly, if the one that got dusted, really matters or not. Also, we will see the case of what happens if everything is dusted and nothing remains. Let's get started!

Let us begin our journey from our schools!

Back to school

Traditionally, the school education was perceived to be confined to a “textbook syllabus”. So, the focus lies towards the mastery of syllabus, to be more precise, “memorizing the chronicles of syllabus”. Furthermore, the certification obtained through this memorization becomes a parameter for measurement of the education. One must realize that with time, the unrevised and unused contents will eventually disappear, leaving only some remnants to stay!

This is where one gets a question, “Did I waste all my school years?” The answer to that depends on another question, “Did you learn only the syllabus?”. This in turn raises a question for us – did we miss anything or misunderstand what education truly means?

Education Beyond Syllabus

The true meaning of education as Einstein envisioned, is beyond the textbook syllabus. While the syllabus gives us a list of intellectual contents that need to be studied, often there is an unwritten syllabus beyond textbooks that needs substantial coverage.

The first and foremost part of the unwritten syllabus is – Intellectual Probing (IP). The IP, in simple, is just synonymous to what Socrates implies as the “art of questioning”. It will help to develop critical learning ability, i.e. teaches one ‘how’ to learn something instead of just memorizing. This ‘how’ is of utmost importance because besides learning new things, even forgotten ones can be learned back if knew how to learn. And thus, beyond the traditionally emphasized ‘what’, the ‘how’ forms an important part of education.

The second part of the unwritten syllabus is – Emotional Intelligence (EI). EI, in simple, is the ability to manage your emotions and use your social skills to successfully navigate any situation in life. In life, even a simple situation can be blown up if the emotion takes over our cognition, thus hindering our social skills. And schools prepare us to such situations by often simulating it every day. We learn leadership skills through team events, pressure handling skills through jam-packed exam schedules, healthy competition through sports, and equanimity through yoga, and so on. All such learnings necessarily sharpen our EI to face those situations boldly.

Finally, the last one but also the best part of the unwritten syllabus is– Values and Attitude. In fact, the values and attitude are mostly shaped by textbook syllabus. One may forget the specifics of subjects they learned. What still persists is the permanent effects they had on the values and attitudes of the student. While the names, dates, facts and figures of the history subject vanishes, the nationalism invoked while learning the chapter of “Indian freedom struggle” can’t be erased. And such reflection of nationalism in our values and attitude, is the sign of true education. That’s why psychology defines education as the one that brings relatively permanent change in behaviour!

Thus, true education lies in the everlasting effects the unwritten syllabus had on one, when one truly pursued it. This goes well beyond the textbook content, which may be forgotten if not applied in one’s career. But this reminds us of our previous question, “If unwritten syllabus is the true education, then, the once pursued now forgotten knowledge, a waste?” Not really!

The forgotten, are mere ‘means’

While becoming an educated person is the destination, it is not possible without a journey. All the knowledge we obtain is a means to prepare ourselves for our future career. Once its purpose is done, it departs from us just like how a rocket departs from the spaceship once it reaches the space! Poor understanding of this has caused many confusions and misjudgments in the society.

One such popular misconception is expecting career-linearity. While people often criticised the mismatch between graduation and career path against a linear career, many have shown that such criticisms are baseless!

 Dolph Lundgren, famous for his role as a boxer named ‘Ivan Drako’ in Rocky IV, was actually a graduate in Chemical Engineering. When asked about this career switch, he said while he forgot most of what was taught in his graduation, the ability to handle pressure, lesson of perseverance, and work ethic were inspired from his Engineering, especially the project phase. This was of paramount importance for his acting career.

Another example is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, an Indian biologist who got Nobel Prize in chemistry, started his career as PhD holder in Physics! Here, the journey of physics taught him critical thinking, while the destination in chemistry got him the Nobel prize.

Similarly, other notable examples include Gandhi who started as lawyer to become a national leader. Dr. Lakshmi Sahgal became the leader of Jhansi rani regiment of Subash Chandra Bose’s INA, started as a doctor. She also later turned into a politician and a women rights activist.

So, all of them took what was important from their old careers, and together with their values, pursued their new career paths with conviction. If they have worried about what they forgot and deemed them waste, then, they won’t have realized the power of what they have got, nor would have got that in the first place. Therefore, the journey holds utmost importance, and being educated is just a destination!

In this context, it is fascinating to think upon another thoughtful question – then who are actually the “uneducated” in real sense?

Case of nothing remains

While true education is what one learned from the unwritten syllabus, the educated-uneducated classification depends on the degree to which it remains in them. Sometimes, nothing may remain!

Consider the example of two person. One with multiple degrees, many accolades, but is a short-tempered and self-centred. The other person has no degree, but is very sociable, friendly, and altruistic. When we think who can have better relationship with peers, the obvious answer is the second person. This answer also points to us who really is the educated ones! For the first person, despite all the achievements, the life becomes hollow and empty because true education never rested in these academic achievements. The true goal of pursuing education is to lead a better life. And for that, mingling with people around and living together with good values becomes paramount.

Thus, the real education is not the one that is constrained by textbook syllabus, but extends beyond it, encompassing the ability to critically learn, control emotions, and develop behaviour filled with good values. So, one must not worry about the forgotten texts as it was just the part of the journey to become educated. And, the truly educated one uses education wisely, leading an ethical life, thus bringing happiness to all – Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavanthu!!

Let us learn through Socrate's discussion. Leave your thoughts below!

A society that has more justice is the society that needs less charity

 

“The world has enough for everyone's need, not for everyone's greed”

– Mahatma Gandhi

While this quote signifies the importance of minimalism and warns about the limited availability of resources in the world, it is unfortunate that greed, which is one of the seven sins according to Catholic Christianity and also called as one of the residing places of the demon Kali post-Mahabharata, has already taken over the minds of many. This has not only led to over-exploitation, but has also brought in disparity of resources, both material and intellectual, where some possess unlimited access while others left in shadows!

Here, to obtain parity and to satisfy each other’s needs, there should be mutual sharing of resources, which is justice. Besides Government actions, from historical times, this has been achieved through charity, also called as ‘Dhaanam’ in Sangam literature. Even Vedas that were composed earlier than that proposes – “Daanam Nyayam Sthapitham” (Charity establishes Justice).

While many have considered the need for charity to bring justice, the below quote flips the coin: “The society that has more justice is the society that needs less charity”. This implies that once justice is established with the help of charity, it no longer needs charity to sustain. But is that possible? If charity is gone, can justice still survive? If so, how? If not, then should charity reform itself to stay? Let’s explore!

But before any of that, we need to understand what justice truly is, since it is claimed to self-sustain without charity, right?!

Justice as multi-faceted

Justice is a narrowly viewed, if its definition is confined only to the economic angle of money and material wealth redistribution.

Justice should be seen also in terms of social angle where it tries to bring in equal opportunities in education and employment. Government through various schemes like RTE, Skill India, etc, provides such opportunities. But if they were effective and equal access was present to all, there might be no need for free YouTube video lectures, crowdfunding for various educational institutions, educational scholarships, all these various kinds of charity.

Also, we can take the environment sector where if there was environmental justice in terms of responsible use of environment adhering to Governmental standards without over-exploitation, the green donations collected by the NGOs, another form of charity would be needless.

The justice also transcends to global issues like climate change in terms of climate justice. If the rich and the industrialized nations would have reduced their exploitation of global commons like air, sea, etc., this would have not only reduced pollution, but also could have reduced the persisting dependency of the poor and developing nations on rich and developed nations for funds and technology transfer, another form of charity to better cope up with climate change.

These cases clearly illustrates that the charity is not needed if justice was established earlier, and actions of various nations and Government are effective in sustaining them. But unfortunately, this multi-faceted justice is a dream to be aspired for, rather than a living reality due to the actions of human greed taking over as discussed before. However, this does not mean that charity is required for justice to sustain, i.e. it is again a tunnel view if we believe that besides making government welfare actions effective, charity is the best way to attain that kind of multifaceted justice and sustain it in this globalized society.

Redefining Charity

First-of-all, let us try to understand why multifaceted justice is not what we are born with i.e. why are we all not born as equals?

If we ponder into the philosophy altogether with logical reasoning for the answers, we can see that if all are born as equals, with equal resources and abilities, then, there will be barely any relationship. This is simply because no one needs the other, thus no respect for others. This leads to arrogance, which in turn breed conflicts and clashes, eventually ending humanity!

Since we are born with interdependency, we must aspire to establish justice through mutual helping of each other. This will not only breed communitarianism (sense of togetherness), but also strengthen our social bond leading to growth of all.

But to attain it, charity is not the best way. It is not because of its nature of giving, but due to the common understanding of its definition. The commonly accepted definition of charity is to voluntarily donate the excess of something that one may have to one who lacks that, expecting no reciprocity. The problem with this commonly accepted definition is that, the donor develops a sense of pride over their noble actions of donation over time. This pride, another sin in the Catholic Christianity’s seven sins, manifest into arrogance, followed by the birth of psychological hierarchy and further leading to expectations of loyalty from receiver in reciprocity (while actually charity doesn't expect reciprocity at all!).

That is why we need to redefine the word ‘charity’ as per what Gandhi has said. Also, Quran has this same concept – ‘trusteeship’. It redefines charity, from being perceived as a help or service to others, to social duty. That is, the wealthy are just a guardian of resources and they must distribute the excesses of that to the needy as a matter of their duty, not of generosity.

This definition not only eliminates the ego of the donor, but also makes them feel the gratitude for the opportunity to perform their duty of donating, rather than being prideful for it. This is well articulated by Bhagavat Gita – “Karmanyae vadikarasthe, ma faleshu kadhachana” (You have the right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of the action). Thus again, only duty, no reciprocity!

Also, while charity can become a burden in the long run, considering it as duty won't make it feel so, as the duty is the primary job of a person (like a habit). But charity is an extra-voluntary effort which fades the interest away eventually.  Just like how a business that pays regular tax and follows corporate governance practices with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) won’t feel burdened, when done as a part of duty. One example of this is the Mitti Cafe, run by Alina Alam, who employs physically challenged in her restaurants, and has brought social justice through her social duty.

Beyond economic and social justice, true political justice can be attained in if there is better political representation of different sections of society, or else, the Government initiatives will be a mere empty & irrelevant set of actions. Through political representation, the needy will help themselves by drafting inclusive policies. Thus, bringing this political representation becomes the social duty of politicians and advocating for the same is the duty of citizens. Examples of the same includes Women reservation act, Gender budgeting, JANMAN yojana, NCSC establishment, etc.

Similarly, in context climate change, the rich and developed countries must abide by UNFCCC's CBDR (Common but Differentiated Responsibility). Through this, the fund and technological transfer becomes their moral duty which helps not only to establish, but also sustain the environment & climate justice.

Thus, when charity in generosity is transformed into social duty as a moral imperative, the justice self-sustains in the society, leading to happiness of all – Loka Samastha, Sukino Bhavanthu!

Let us bring justice to democracy and start an discussion. Share your thoughts below.

Mathematics is the music of reason

“Mathematics is the way of life. It is like air, and is present everywhere.”

- [Anonymous]

We like it or not, we cannot deny the role of mathematics in our everyday life. It is present in every conscious decision we make. It echoes in the reasoning we give for every decision, regardless of whether it is a clever or a foolish reason. Just like how pleasant rhythm captures one and the noisy beat annoys, the clever reason pleases us while the foolish ones may irritate. Thus, this makes mathematics more subjective like a music, deviating it from its traditional image of objectivity.

In this essay, we will explore about the musical nature mathematics, when mathematics turns into a noise, and finally how to strike the right note to capture audience!

Before getting started, it is crucial to understand what mathematics really means.

Most of the children in schools complain about the complexity of mathematics. Some even curse the discovery of it! But this frustration is completely understandable because traditionally, mathematics has been projected as a problem to be overcome rather than as a problem-solving tool. Mathematics provides a problem-solving toolkit, comprising of various rational tools like formulas, axioms, properties, etc which are nothing but a manifestation of reasoning. That’s why it is called as “music of reason”, as just like how a music with its rhythm gives us pleasure, the mathematics with its reasoning, pleases us by giving a solution.

Consider a situation where there are 5 children and 10 chocolates. To help one distribute the chocolates equally among children, the mathematics provides variety of reasoning, or tools. Among all those tools, one can pick the formula of simple division, so that, each child gets a fair share of 2 chocolates. Thus, the mathematics has made the children rejoice with its elegant music of reason, just like how a good song with its radiant rhyme makes them dance.

But when we talk about music, however charming it may be, still the same one feels like a noise to some. Ever wondered why?

Music is subjective

Same music might not always resonate well with everyone. It often comes down to the preferences and taste of the audience who listens to it.

Consider the example of a rap song. While it may please the Gen Z (new generation kids), their parents, the older ones may still perceive it as a noise. This subjectivity is simply because of the generation gap that has altered their taste. While the older people demand peace, the younger ones thrive well in the energetic vibes of rap, thus, making music more personalized.

Well, it might be true that music can’t be completely universal enough to please everyone. But can’t mathematics not please all? It is highly objective and gives rational solutions, right?

This is a valid question that needs answering, so that, we can effectively inspect the complexity in decision making, when done at a larger scale.

Not a pleasure always

While distributing chocolates equally is a simple decision to make, when the problem is complex, the mathematical reasoning based on narrow ‘one-size-fits-all’ values often fail to address the problem effectively, thus creating noise!

Assume that there are 40 students in a class. When we apply the formula of simple division as we did earlier in case of distributing chocolates, one teacher spends the same number of hours with all the students. While this reasoning is justified in the name of equality, in reality, it actually worsens the intellectual divide in the class. This is because, it does not consider the difference in the grasping ability of each student, where some may need more time to grasp, while others may need no time at all. So, this same formula based on the narrow ‘one-size-fits-all’ value of equality, while helps some, leaves most in noisy-shadows forever.

So, here, the mathematical formula of simple division should be altered based on the broader value of equity, to inclusively share the benefits of education for all the students. Based on that, if customized teaching is done, spending time with students according to their grasping ability, then the results will be a melody for all rather than appealing just a few. Thus, it becomes crucial for us to customize mathematical reasoning based on broader inclusive values, making its musical solution more personally appealing for all.

Now, let me demonstrate similar orchestra of mathematics in government policy-making, which deals with problems of huge magnitude. Unless the bow is drawn over the strings gently in this violin named governance, the strings might snap causing chaos instead of charm!

Hit the right note

In governance, hitting the right note is crucial to please the stakeholders involved in a problem. But often, as discussed, when the values inspiring the mathematical reasoning becomes narrow, it tunnels the benefits to please only the privileged many, leaving others in ruins, thus, snapping the strings over time.

One such issue arises from dam constructions for hydropower. In such constructions, generally, the narrow utilitarian values make the mathematical reasoning to please the country’s majority. This involves concentration of the divided benefits of such construction towards them. But such a narrow value considering only the economic prosperity of nation’s majority, historically has neglected its negative impacts on various minority groups. Not only were the tribes got displaced without a suitable rehabilitation, also, animals and birds lost their habitat. Further, environmental loss was also not compensated. This in turn manifested itself in the form of naxalism, human-animal conflicts, and, climate change. While mathematical reasoning has the capacity to distribute the benefits to all the stakeholders, narrow value preferences can lead to poor mathematical reasoning, thus creating out of mathematics a chattering chaos opposed to melodious music.

Since this narrow utilitarian value was no more in tune with the expectations of every stakeholder, the value preferences of governments across the world have substantially broadened. They adopted sustainable & inclusive development as their values. This made the mathematical reasoning focus on harm-mitigation strategies together with inclusive distribution of benefits.

It provides for Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) to be conducted before such constructions to estimate the loss, based on which the rehabilitation programs are designed for the affected tribes in prior. Further, the CAMPA, Compensatory Afforestation, helps to compensate for the loss the environment has sustained through calculated plantation drives. This not only gives a new home for the displaced animals and birds, but also prevents their dangerous contact with humans. So, we can infer that while mathematics can provide us with variety of logical roadmaps or formulas; to select the right reasoning, right values are necessary, preferably ethical values. That is when one can hit the right note.

So, the mathematics is not an abstract concept, but music of reason that connects with our heart, inspiring to make better decisions. Just like how music is personalized, mathematical reasoning also is shaped by the value preferences of people. The values that inspire the mathematical reasoning should consider all the unique conditions of all its variables to attain an inclusive and just solution. Despite ‘all’ being ideal, at the least most should feel satisfied, with less being affected. Thus, when the frequency we tune is based on ethical values, mathematics will produce a magnificent melody than a malicious misnote! 

Like how music emerges from friction between strings, the democracy thrives only via constructive discussions. So, share your views below!

Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team

 

One may wonder what separates humans from animals? The answer is straightforward, yet a complexly simple one – thinking. It is complex that the process expects the neurons in our brain firing. Yet so simple, that we can do it with ease.

Thinking is a voluntary cognitive action of generating thoughts in an attempt to reason something or some happenings. If it was just limited to generating thoughts, then it might have been called as dreaming. But because it involves voluntary efforts to reason, it is called as thinking.

While humans are capable of thinking, does that mean the thinking begin in itself? Or does it require some motivation, like an opposite team, to trigger its beginning? If so, what if there is no team in opposite? Then how one thinks in such cases? Let us start our journey into the exploration of many such thought-provoking questions for getting a deeper understanding.

One cannot understand the game of thinking without knowing why to play this game in the first place. It is a commonly known fact that the sixth sense is the one that helps the humans think. This sixth sense is given to us so that we can all behave sensibly, at least try to do so. When one is in a traffic, s/he refrains from jumping a signal while the red lights are still on. This basic sense of why to stop in the red light will help to save a life of a pedestrian crossing the road.

Other than for a sensible behaviour, thinking is also important to bring progress in various domains. An artist cannot survive if s/he is not creative enough to please the audience. Also, a scientist cannot bring new technological developments into existence in society if s/he is devoid of reasoning. Similarly, a reformer cannot bring social change if s/he cannot find ways to spark a mental revolution. In all these cases, thinking becomes non-negotiable.

Now that we understood the importance of the game of thinking, that brings us to the next question. Does this game begin by itself? Certainly not. In my poetic words, “reasoning needs a reason to begin”.

A reason to begin

We tend to refer the reason that compels this beginning as an opposite team. Without competition, a system will not be motivated to improvise. Without the need to improvise, there is no reason to begin reasoning, i.e., thinking. Let us consider an entrepreneur is running a business. When will this entrepreneur introduce new and efficient ways of running a business? Only when the competition is outperforming her/him.

Similarly, in a football match, the players will have the motivation to improve their game strategy only if the opposite team is stronger than them. Thus, the competition helps induce thinking.

But many of us do think in many occasions without an opposite team. Then what makes us think?

Game beyond competition

Many a times, it is not an opposite team but a cause beyond self that stands tall in our mind that ignites the drive to think. Rajaram Mohan Roy was one such person, who begun to think not because of any competitors, but to bring a social change. This social cause drove him to contribute to the Intellectual Renaissance (liberation) in India. His thinking helped awaken rationality, thus breaking many superstitious and evil practices like sati, child marriage, female infanticides and so on.

Besides the socio-cultural reform, even the scientific advancements require a cause to ignite thinking. As pointed out precisely by an old saying – “Necessity is the mother of all inventions”. One beautiful example that illustrates this saying is when Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam contributed to the development of light weight prosthetic leg for polio-stricken children. Thanks to his emotional intelligence that helped him think of an alternative for the heavy 3 kg prosthetic leg, in a 300 g composite material used in missile tech.

While in the game of thinking, Nobel causes help bore fruit to the society. One must also be wary of the risk of losing their mind due to extreme causes or toxic competitions.

Risk of losing the mind

We all are aware that mind is the one doing the thinking. What if the cause is narrow and negative? The answer again is very straightforward – Chaos.

We all remember this dark event in the Indian history, the Direct Action Day. This was the result of a man whose narrow communal interest started to dominate broader national interest. We all know him as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who led to such a bloodshed for India-Pakistan partition. When one plays the game of thinking initiated with a wrong cause, the consequence is always catastrophic.

Not only confined to history, even in the present times, many driven by wrong cause consider their opposite team as an obstacle to be eliminated rather than an opportunity to improve. For example, athletes opt for doping rather than thinking for a better strategy to win in combat sports. In doing so, they not only affect their health in long-term but also become dangerous to their opponent due to the disproportionate physical advantage it provides to the user. This further degrades the reputation of the sport causing a larger harm to legitimacy of the sport. So, it is necessary to think but without losing one's mind to the extreme cause driven by negativity. That brings us to our final question, how to think without losing our mind?

Let the conscience guide

In the game of thinking, the rules are always clear, to play fair and just. To do that, our actions need to be guided by our conscience which is enriched by ethics from childhood. In this context, the part of parenting becomes paramount. Parents should not only aim to raise an intellectual child, but also a child who can think within ethical boundaries. Adding to that, the importance of moral education is never felt more relevant than in this globalized-modern world. It can help in enriching the conscience with morality, inspiring them to play for a cause beyond self-interest in this competitive society.

Further, it is important to develop the culture of healthy competition rather than rivalry among the children. Even in the school exams, we can see how some parents expect their child to top the class at whatever cost rather than ethically. These unfair expectations not only push them into malpractices, but also lead to mental health crisis on failing the exam. While the expectations should shift from winning-at-all-cost to ethically learning, it is also necessary to foster mental resilience to make the child endure the highs of success and the lows of failure with equanimity. In this game of thinking, this will help them not only to play within their ethical boundaries, but also keep them unshaken mentally while doing so.

Thus, thinking is a process beyond dreaming that involves reasoning. Thinking is what has brought in necessary societal changes for the evolution of the world. It needs an opposite team or a cause to begin. But one must also be wary of the risk of losing their mind if played for wrong cause, which may lead to devastating consequences. So, to train our mind to play within the ethical boundaries set by our conscience is crucial. This also requires the parents and our education system to nurture and raise ethical thinkers in the children in a healthily competitive environment. Such a child will always play the game of thinking not for the self but for global rejoice – “Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu”!

Join the game of thinking, let my views be the opposite team. Share your views below in the comment section.

All ideas having large consequences are always simple

 

We all are aware of Albert Einstein’s formula E=mc², which unified mass and energy which were seen as unrelated and distinct concepts earlier. This simple idea became the foundation for nuclear energy, quantum physics, space-time theory, not only transforming the modern science but also the geopolitics. This might be one among the many such simple ideas, that has triggered “domino effect” i.e. one consequence leading to another, either good or bad, some intended while others unintended, some lasting while others lapsed. But this reiterates the quote well – all ideas with large consequences are always simple.

In this line of thought, one often wonders why is it always a simple idea that begins the domino effect of consequences? Are these consequences always predicted before? Is there a way to forecast such consequences? In this essay, we will try to explore all these questions to gradually build a deeper understanding.

Let us begin by trying to explore on why simple ideas become consequential.

When we think on such a question, the answer is actually simple! Simple ideas are those that are easily understood by any common person. It can easily be implemented and practiced in their life. Those kinds of ideas are the ones that become sustainable. One such simple yet consequential idea was the concept of Satyagraha given by Gandhiji. It literally means to be truthful and follow Ahimsa, that is non-violence. But who would have imagined besides Gandhiji and few others that it could become a major push factor for the Indian independence in 1947. That is the power of simple ideas when it reaches people and gains their acceptance!

Another reason for a simple idea for being that consequential is because of the butterfly effect they create. Butterfly effect is like a chain reaction caused by one simple moment or idea. Another simple example for one to understand this concept is the invention of wheels. Everyone knows how the invention of wheels was inspired by the idea of rolling the stones from slopes, may be hills. But did that end up only with the invention of wheels? Certainly not! Wheels led to the transportation, which in turn led to globalization, which in turn led to awareness of the world and beyond, further fuelling many inventions.

This butterfly effect also tells us that nothing in this universe goes unheard, un-viewed, or in vain!

Lord Krishna explained this concept in Mahabharata. He explained how Bhishma's simple resolve to sacrifice the throne to pacify his stepmother, led to a series of miseries and clash for throne, finally leading into one of the deadliest battles painted in blood, the Mahabharata War. But one can argue that Bhishma did not predict such a consequence. If he predicted it earlier, he might have prevented such a massacre. That brings us to the next question. Can we always predict all the consequences of our simple idea?

The answer is both yes and no. Most of the times, these simple ideas are pondered without knowing their consequences at large.

Unintended, yet impactful

            One such instance where people can recall is the story of Newton and the Apple. He proposed the law of gravitation as a simple idea behind the falling of Apple. But I am sure that even he would not have imagined that we would send rockets to moon, satellites to space, and humans to outer world, building upon that idea! It is a matter of fascination that all these space missions were born out of his simple idea of gravitation.

But it is also to be noted that every time these consequences were not this sweet, we saw bitter experiences too in our world. One such instance was during the aftermath of World War I. The harsh treaty of Versailles was imposed on the Germany as a retaliation by the Allied powers, that is the winning countries of World War I. But they did not imagine that it would create even worse war in World War II. The reason for the rise of Hitler's Nazi army was majorly attributed to the harsh conditions this treaty made Germany to endure. But this was totally unintended and was unpredicted at that time.

But that does not mean that every consequence of simple ideas can't be predicted. While history warns us about unintended consequences, there are also cases where our gut feelings enriched by our worldly experiences and the awareness of the surroundings can help us forecast certain consequences. One such instance was the invention of light bulb by Thomas Alva Edison. His gut feeling forecasted a light revolution that can replace the dirty, dangerous kerosene lamp that almost lit up houses and offices with a safe and affordable electric light. And we know how this simple idea illuminated the global society fuelling many more worldly events.

While gut feelings can give one a vision of future, it can at times manifest as fear to warn against the dangerous consequences of a simple idea. The fear of scientist Oppenheimer that his Manhattan Project might trigger the nuclear arms race instead of nuclear deterrence was a valid one, indeed becoming the reality in the present global stage. But this consequence despite an unintended one and was not desired by him, it was indeed a predicted one as know from his famous likes, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”. That brings us to the next question. How can we predict the unintended consequences to minimize harm?

Minimize unintended negatives

            It is easier said than done as to even predict those unintended consequences, one needs to face a series of challenges. Let us unfold them with an example of governance policy idea of building a dam.

The first challenge is the availability and accuracy of data related to construction of dam and on the variables that affect such an activity. This includes the climatic patterns of that area, water availability and distribution from the river, forest area required, potential impacts on the ecosystem, etc. Even if accurate data for these are available, the interplay with next variable makes this challenge more dynamic – the stakeholders. A policy needs to look at who are the intended beneficiaries, who gets displaced (mostly the forest dwellers and tribes), how to rehabilitate them, how it affects the birds and animals, how it affects the forest cover and the ecosystem, etc.

Thus, despite being a simple idea, it has to go through such an elaborate forecasting and considerations in order to make that idea to thrive sustainably.

In this effort of forecasting possibilities to minimize harm, the AI and data science shows enormous promise. These models can help to predict countless possibilities, thus making the decisions data-driven. And further adding that with feedback loop mechanism helps to evolve ideas as per ground realities constantly and reduce forecast errors, thus largely preventing the negative consequences.

Besides the governance policies, even the individual decisions also have many impacts that needs the harm minimized. So, to make one's simple idea more positively impactful, it must be driven by selflessness and aimed at the common good for all. This was successfully demonstrated by Ashoka 2300 years ago via his Dhamma concept (Justice) where he propagated ethical values aiming to build a harmonious society. So, his simple & altruistic principle helped to maintain harmony in his empire.

Hence simple ideas are always the ones that lead to large consequences. Such idea’s simplicity leads to further building upon them triggering a butterfly effect. Though the consequences cannot be fully predicted always, the unintended ones can be minimized if given due consideration. Such minimization not only leads to less harm but also to more sustainability of that idea. And if everyone is truly altruistic, then the fruit of such idea will most likely be sweet for all of humanity. Thus, it is important to remember Krishna’s advice on these lines before we take any simple decision – Nishkama Karma, i.e. selfless action!

Let me know your take on this topic in the comment section!

Visionary decision making happens at the intersection of Intuition and Logics

 

“When mind reasons and gut guides, your decision becomes visionary!”

 An old quote by an Indian philosopher resonates quite well with the topic. It unfolds a carefully protected secret of making visionary decisions by leaders with the help of these poetic lines. It emphasizes on how the interaction between the mind and the gut becomes important for making a sustainable-futuristic decision. This essay intends to discuss about how such interactions occur and how to find out the right proportion of such interaction.

Firstly, let us start by understanding about what a visionary decision mean and why it is important. One can define vision simply as an imagination of how one wants their future to look like. When one decides to paint that imagination into reality, that decision becomes visionary. Such vision gives us a purpose to live, a target to achieve.

It can be an individual career choice where one wants to see oneself as ‘so-and-so’ in future. Or choice to contribute to a common cause to paint a shared future. Take the instance of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. From his career choice of becoming a lawyer to his historical contribution in drafting the constitution of India, all exemplified his visionary decisions.

These kinds of decisions require the interaction and intersection of intuition and logics to create such a magic!

Intuition – Logic Interface

          One can consider the intuition as the gut feeling of what is right or wrong. It is generally shaped by the experiences one had in their past and by their value system.

          When we say logics, one can call it the ability to reason any subject-matter, to analyse it and derive conclusions out of it. This is generally shaped by one's knowledge on that subject-matter rather than their past-experience.

          While logics helps one to critically think and reason to see the feasibility of options, it is the intuition which will ultimately guide them to take the right path.

          Consider Indian freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi had various options for protesting British rule in 1920s. This period was also marked by world war elsewhere, rise in revolutionary activities within, and unrest of peasants & tribals in many parts of our country. Considering all these logical options carefully, he chose satyagraha and believed it as the right way to attain freedom even if it delays it. Though violence was perceived as faster option, his intuition made him realize Ahimsa (non-violence) as being sustainable in the long run, which proved to be correct. But intuition and logics also play a role in evolving the path to the vision. This is also demonstrated by one such instance where Gandhiji logically predicted that Britishers will retreat with suppression against the satyagrahis. Thus, he did not stop the Satyagrahis from resorting to violence for self-defence during Quit India Movement. That is why, in his 11-point demand earlier, he wanted to restore firearms license for Indians for self-defence. This is how he demonstrated a successful logics-intuition interface for a visionary decision-making.

          There are also other instances where the logics and intuition had successful collaborations. Amul was one of the most famous cases considering the imprint it left on our country and beyond. The decision of Amul of starting a cooperative movement and then spearheading the White revolution in India, was a perfect union of vision and data-driven planning supported by intuition. Later it became so impactful that even countries like Kenya tried to replicate its model.

          These instances not only prove that logics-intuition collaboration help at making the right choices at long term, but also on how much impact it leaves behind.

          While thinking about this collaboration, one may wonder what would happen if logics overtake intuition in a decision making. Will the decision still be visionary?

          Take the example of making a policy. If government is fully data driven, it might come up with an ideal policy which might not have a connect with the ground reality. During the 2004 Tsunami, the logical disaster management practices failed while the local people’s intuition saved them from the disaster. So, government learned from this to integrate local people’s knowledge into the disaster management policy after that.

          Another issue of too much leaning into logics is that it can lead to sacrificing of values. Imagine what would happen if the government privatizes the police duty in the name of bringing logistical efficiency. This will not only compromise public safety but also will make justice inaccessible to those with no purchasing power. This makes the decision making a ruinary rather than visionary!

 But it is not fair to say such ruinary occurs only if logics overtake intuition in decision making. It may also happen if the coin is flipped. Thus, we also need to understand the flip side of the coin i.e. case for intuition over logics.

If intuition overtakes logics……

          This scenario is not something new in the history of India. During the 1970s and 80s, the government of India was pumping its money into sick public sector units (PSUs), hoping it would get revived someday. They did not stop this intuition-driven approach despite data showing poor performance of those state-run PSUs. Such an action added with other external (global) factors finally led India into severe BOP crisis by the end of 1980s. Thus, when logics questions the intuition, it is wise to re-evaluate the course of action.

It not only leads to such irrational decisions, but believing in pure intuition also will lead to loss of confidence among the followers, thus losing the support to achieve such a visionary goal. It is like a captain sailing the ship to hunt the treasure without a map but asking the crew to believe in his intuition about this unknown place. Over the time, the crew will lose confidence as intuition won't guarantee the path to the treasure like the map does. At least map helps to make the crew confident of their destination in this unknown place. That is why we need to find a right balance between the data and the experience to set the sail right!

Intuition – Logics Balance

          One has to be trained to see a situation without bias and emotions. This helps the mind to see the facts objectively in the options available. Here is where the modern science comes into play where data science and artificial intelligence gives a helping hand. It helps to interpret the statistics and data with minimal emotional hook, thus bringing objectivity.

After that, besides the objectivity, the choice activity needs to be guided by one's gut feelings. The gut feelings or the intuition is trained with ethical values and past experiences. So, it will help to make ethically justifiable decisions at the right time. A good decision that is ill-timed is equal to a worse decision. Example of one such decision was LPG reforms-equivalent that broke the Soviet Union in 1990s. But similar reforms were majorly successful in India because of its political timings and the socio-economic backdrop which led to its acceptance.

Another way to attain such balance is to learn from the past. India came up with nuclear deterrence after it encountered various wars during 1960s and 70s despite being a peace-loving country. This inspired it to make such a visionary decision of becoming a nuclear power not to harm the enemy, but to protect its citizens as a matter of self-defence.

Though vision can be called the imagination of the future, to make it a reality one needs to take a firm decision. This decision must be taken at the intersection of logics and intuition with their right proportion. Over-intuition may lead to irrationality while too much logic forgets the human factor. Thus, a balance between both needs to be fostered to truly bring the vision into limelight, making it shine. Let us knit our visionary fabric Viksit Bharat with the threads of logics and intuition!

Let us foster the vision of democracy and discuss! Comment your thoughts below.

Not all who wander are lost

 

       

        Not all who wander are lost…. A purposeful paradox captured by this beautiful poetic line. One may think of wandering as non-purposeful act. But many wanderers are seekers of something that they might not possess. Many get lost in the process while others survive. Some also re-find their self. This essay intends to gradually explore all those dimensions.

Many define wandering as where the eyes see, the legs go. But it will be a narrow view if the wandering is confined to such a physical dimension.

          It in fact extends beyond what eyes could see! Not speaking about the blind, but about our mind. Mind is so powerful that it can take us beyond our vision to the imagination or a step beyond it to the metaphysical world (spiritual experience or journey).

          In general, the wandering is associated with a purpose to find something or to search for something that is lost. But sometimes, wandering itself is to find a purpose. Such wandering is called as self-actualization, something that we think is a spiritual department and not for commoners. If you think so, you might be wrong!

          Self-actualization is something everyone must strive to attain, that is, to find a purpose in life. This can be done by analysing and self-evaluating one’s past to find our strengths and weaknesses and determine what one can do meaningfully in this life. Thus, to do that, wandering becomes necessary.

Where to wander?

          Most of the seekers in the ancient times do go for a physical journey to distant lands to seek understanding of their purpose. They try to find a spiritual guru for guidance. One such example was our national hero Swami Vivekananda, who found his guru in Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, which later led him to give the spiritual call for India to awake!

          Consider the India visit by Steve Jobs before finding Apple. He said that the simplicity and minimalism preached by the Indian philosophy, gave birth to his Apple company.

          But such spiritual travels need not be done physically anymore in this modern-technocratic era. The social media becomes a repository of spiritual knowledge giving us not one, but many online gurus for guidance.

The learning does not need to be through physical preaching, but could be through online seminars, audio-video means, as well as through e-books. One can go through many, if not vast ocean of resources in this online world.

But still, if the compass is lost, the forest turns into a maze.

Might go lost

          Just like a ship left in the middle of a vast ocean without a map, so can be the people who lose themselves in the puzzle posed by the social media jungle.

          The purpose to use the social media is like a compass for the user who sails through. Once that compass is lost, so is the captain! Once upon a time, we started using social media to share our happiness with others by sharing our achievements. But now it turned into an obsession to post content and seek constant validation, thus losing the self in it. Now people plant trees not intending to conserve it, but to post its picture and get likes. Once the seeker of and with purpose, now reduced into merely self-obsessed showpiece!

This takes a catastrophic turn when the validation is attained no more, leading to mental health issues and deterring the quality of life.

But fortunately, this is not the case for all.

Not all go lost

“Captains with compass, sails through the ocean!”.

Everyone who intends to wander must have a moral compass and their purpose mapped. Even if an artist wander on streets for ideas, the morality is the one that lets him/her resist temptations and seek what s/he came for. Similarly in the social media, the self-control acts as a moral compass and the purpose gives one the tunnel vision to look for what is necessary for the self in this ocean rather than what can possibly be attained in random.

One such example is the online education or research. There are free lectures and research papers available from many top universities in the world like MIT, Harvard University, etc. This can help students access content at virtually zero cost. Even the internet is free in India through BharatNet. The wise will voluntarily search for specific video or material rather than letting the algorithm to recommend/decide on behalf.

Similarly, spiritual wandering can also be through online. But the challenge is posed when the Web algorithm markets one specific ideology repeatedly making it more attractive. This increases the chances of getting carried away by such one which may or may not suit the self. The wisdom alone helps one to understand that spirituality is contextual and situational. There is no one-size-fits-all approach as everyone's experience is vivid and different.

This understanding about the spirituality becomes the core for the captains to not get lost in their journey. Such people won’t be carried away by any one ideology but deeply reflect on if that fits their situation well or not. Mahatma Gandhi was one such person who experimented with different value system while wandering, eventually finding what suits him the best, which was ‘Ahimsa’.

Many seekers in India now mimic the same. They seek for information from many sources taking what is useful for them and discarding the rest, as once said by Bruce Lee.

But how much ever these captains sail through successfully to attain self-realization, India cannot become enlightened unless those who were lost are found again!

Find the lost

          To find the lost back, it is necessary to search for them in the place where we lost them and to find what made us lose them.

          When lost physically, a search and rescue team can be sent to the exact location to find the wanderers, like a police complaint or military action could help. But this becomes challenging in the social network world due to its vastness compared to the physical space.

Since a person is carried away by the glitters of social media, the first enemy is the emotions that responds to those glitters. One such emotion, as discussed before is the ‘lust of validation’, or called as the ‘fear of insignificance’. It makes one forget the purpose of self-realization and pulls into a ‘circus of visibility’. Constantly seeking visibility gives subtle time for self-evaluation and discovery. It, in fact, dilutes the mental as well as the physical health of oneself.

Another issue is the click-bait. The random scrolling of content and clicking on random videos is a trap. One must be aware of the difference between curiosity and temptations. Curiosity is something that helps in deeper learning but temptation deviates one from actual content one searched for.

So, there is need for awareness on responsible use of social media. Parents must restrict their children’s screen time, set timers, and switch off recommendations. Meditations must be taught to kids from a young age to channelise their thoughts, control their desires and move towards self-realisation of their goal in life.

Although wandering starts from the eyes and legs, it is the mind that determines if one is lost or not. From music to MNC, education to enlightenment, all of them may have started wandering barefooted, but it was their mind that led them channel their thoughts into action. Their self-control and tunnel vision of purpose made their sail easy. Even the lost one can be found when the click-bait temptations are turned into purposeful curiosity. When we start to seek reforms in our mind and not elsewhere, that is when the wanderers become yogis!  

 Lets me know your perspective on the comment section!

Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane

 

The story of a young boy and an apple tree is something that the world remembers, not for the apple which fell on his head, but for his scientific temper that led him to enquire into its reasons. This mundane apple event could be considered the beginning of the renaissance of creativity.

The widely known scientist, Isaac Newton was this young boy who discovered Laws of gravitation from that ordinary apple, highlighting that the creativity arises from the effort to look for unusual things from the usual, i.e. the magical from the mundane.

This essay will explore how creativity arises from ordinary things, how it differs from common thinking, why is it necessary, and how the obstacles for its development could be overcome.

Extraordinary from the ordinary

One can observe many ordinary things throughout the day. But these ordinary things have the potential to become extraordinary when a little thought is invoked to transform them. This little thought may be enough to solve many simple problems that we encounter in our daily life. Consider a chair with one leg slightly broken. This can be fixed by a well-folded paper placed beneath that broken leg.

By a little thought, a paper, which is traditionally used for writing is turned into something that can fix a chair. This illustrates how the magic arises from mundane.

This can also be illustrated by another example. A girl can use her bangles as a geometry tool to draw circles in her mathematics exam. This further reaffirms the presented argument.

A natural question arises in one’s mind after these examples – is the above thinking not the general thinking?

The answer lies in understanding the difference between creativity and general thinking. The general thinking is involved in utilizing a product for the purpose it was designed for. The creativity is involved in both the process of designing the product and utilizing it for reasons other than for which it was designed for.

This can be demonstrated with an example of soda can. The general thinking is invoked when the soda can is used to contain beverages, which is its primary purpose. But the creativity is required to select the best shape among the cylindrical, spherical, and cuboidal soda cans for the optimized output, i.e. for maximum volume at minimum cost of production. The used soda can, when reused as a pen stand is also an example of creativity.

Necessity of creativity

While a pen stand may not be a big necessity, the idea to create that is invaluable. Creativity is the basis for the survival and growth of the humans from turning a stone into a wheel to building rockets carrying humans to space. Consider an IT graduate becoming an IAS officer. Despite having different background, the officer can bring his/her IT skills and tech knowledge on AI (Artificial Intelligence), MIS (Management Information System), Data analysis, etc. to better tackle the challenges in the governance. Thus, can aid in realizing the vision of Digital India through the out-of-box thinking, which is the creativity.

The creativity aids a commoner to lead a sustainable life. A farmer can utilize the dung of cattle as a manure in the agricultural field. This will help reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure of the farmer, thus increasing the income on one hand and maintaining the sustainability of the field on the other.

It can also become a tool for empowerment of women. The Namo Drone Didi program of the government provides the women self-help groups (SHGs) with drones to provide it for rental services to farmers. This not only gives the women financial empowerment, but gives them the skills to operate it thus providing them technological literacy. This affirms that if empowerment is the goal of the government, then the creativity is the path to achieve it.

Further every country’s overall growth is dependent on Research and development (R&D), thus creativity is not an option but a necessity. But despite its significance, it cannot be denied that there exists a demand for creativity in the market.

Reasons for the creativity famine

As mentioned before, creativity is a form of out-of-the-box thinking. But it takes a moment for oneself to think out-of-the-box. That moment is a luxury of time. But unfortunately, the traditional education system seldom gives that moment, i.e. the time to stop and think.

It seems only to make the students race to obtain grades and certificates rather than acting as a transformational tool to shape oneself into skilled thinker. Such race leaves very little room to pause and think, thus letting the transformation, to rarely occur. The certificates may obtain the student a job, but for persisting in that job and excelling in that, transformation becomes necessary. Such transformation requires constant self-reflection through the thought process.

This helps both in the job and in life because the evolving challenges require adaptable methods to tackle them. This shows the significance of the role of creative thinking in achieving such an adaptability.

Thus, the goal of a good education system must be to prepare its citizens to transform themselves into creative thinkers rather than rote learners.

Attaining such an education system needs the rewiring of the traditionally followed colonial education model in most of India. A more flexible curriculum may be suitable for students that might help them control their course choices and the pace at which they finish their courses. This might make the learning more relevant, engaging, and transformational in this new age. The National Education Policy, 2020 is widely considered to have many promising solutions like the above feature including other ones like Academic Bank of Credits, multidisciplinary learning approach, multiple entry and exits, etc. This scheme aims to grow more active thinkers over rote learners, whose role is more relevant in this globalized world than ever before.

Creativity is not a bolt out of blue but a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. From apples to the bangles, paper to the cattle dung, soda cans to stone, every single mundane object could be turned into something magical if it is seen beyond its utility. And such an out-of-box thinking makes creativity different from general thinking. It also becomes necessary for the growth and prosperity of an individual, a society, a country, and the world. But unfortunately, it is lacking in many individuals as the education system has mostly restricted their time to pause and think out-of-box. A strong educational reform can help transform the rote learners into creative thinkers, who can be resilient, adaptive, and can solve the problems posed by this ever complex and interconnected global village. Creativity is not a certificate course, but a thinking skill that tries to reimagine the reality of the mundane into the magic!

Let us keep alive the democracy! Comment your thoughts below.