Looking past differences

Generation gap, cultural divide, intellectual gap and  religious divide. As I list out these very common catch phrases I can only see  the one clear fact in front of me; the petty differences that divide and segregate us humans.

The juvenile behaviour you sometimes see from the best of adults (an uncommon phrase used to describe the  exhaustively composed individuals) surprises you to the point of awe and gape. Silly people fighting with auto drivers, scolding people on the road, making profane gestures and signs. I would say even the best of us are caught unawares. These are the common paradigms we come across in our daily lives. We start to shout and honk at people who are driving slowly on the road. We look at a temple and immediately bow down to the lord, sometimes even remove our slippers or shoes before doing that, and if we are driving slow our cars down .to see the lord. This is acceptable and the norm, but if someone slows down to find parking or drop off someone we are irate and annoyed. I have seen many a times people pass comments on the auto drivers as being illiterate brutes, a substantial generalization and demeaning attitude in my point of view. As educated and cultured folks we should be understanding of others and accepting of weaknesses and strengths.

Stemming from the streets of bangalore; one frustrated commuter to another, next time, "think before you honk". Not all auto drivers are brutes or cunning foxes who use some magical mind control techniques to veer into your path. A little patience and a great deal of calm will go a long way.

Age of Criticism

I was talking to one of my friends the other day and came upon a rather unique critique. This in many parts was a  discussion on the critique itself. The argument stressed on the point of expert critiques of the day and age. The first point of consideration was how good Rajeev Masand and Karan Thapar are, presenting an objective view to any argument.

Digressing a little from the topic we went on to talk about the opinionated world we live, everyone I know has a opinion on everything be it sports, entertainment, politics or scandals. No one even flinches once but is ready to give an opinion and debate on a unknown topic, and before there is a barrage of criticism against this let me clarify, I am also among the people who criticize and debate on varied topics.

The point I am trying to make here is this, we all criticize the government, the bad roads, the traffic jams, bad movies, bad songs, Himesh Reshamiya, Emraan Hashmi and of course Shashi Tharoor. We are ready to make a rap sheet and list the qualities in dry sarcasm or witless humor, sounding condescending or downright irate. The bloggers are especially the most unforgiving ones, one small scandal or wrong step and there are a flurry of posts presenting their varied opinions. A few tactful people pull off am amazing round up of the events but the rest are just left staring at their opinion drowning in the ocean of mindless drub.

The opinionated are more concerned about voicing their opinion however callow they might be. Its no longer about putting a valid argument but just putting an argument. You can say "the bird is flying" or "the cat is singing" in response to Tharoor's dismissal from cabinet and viola you are an epitome to Thapar's legacy of journalism and Kushwant Singh's humour.

All I am saying is its sometimes best to just shut your mouth and swallow your pride.

Real Progress

There is a fractal calculation for satisfaction and progress. In the geometric terms satisfaction would be sustained within the fractals and bound by a desire of fulfillment, progress would be beyond the fractals in a grey area of dissatisfaction and a move towards remediating it.

Real progress only stems from the trade between a desire to achieve and a desire for happiness. The phenomenon is quite a surprise, as we tend to achieve more we are seeking to further our achievements. The satisfaction we derive is only by furthering our achievements. Our goals tend to be never ending and our drive for satisfying this urge takes us beyond capacities we never imagined. If we were only to be satisfied with one goal and stopped after achieving it, the world might be a happier place but would definitely be the duller for it.

From the times of Da Vinci and Franklin to Einstein and Bardeen. These were individuals who were not satisfied with their surroundings and wanted to change them. They were not happy at the way things worked and sought to improve on them. These individuals had knowledge which they gained from various sources and used them to garner real progress for the human kind. They were people who transgressed science, art and philosophy to achieve things which most of the people during their only laughed at.

In the name of real progress we see a lot of inadvertent skulduggery. The many shenanigans people try to pull off and the way people tout to mark progress makes me vile and sometimes take a hit where it hurts the most. As I advent on my journey of discoveries and propositions I only hope to have the broad view and the great skills of observation and analysis these giants in history possessed.

The Gre English guy syndrome

I think this might be a new term I have coined and someone will eventually conjure up a study on this. This title of the Gre English guy was not actually coined by me although the syndrome part was gracefully added and the recurring social phenomenon identified, probably I am the next Freud in making.

To explain this new "syndrome" I have to delve into a few finer details. I have the tendency to use a simple flow in my language using words as appropriate. Sometimes the usage of my vocabulary borders on the proverbial Cambridge scholar (I think the oxfords are a bunch of goofs). In effect over days of reading garbled nonsense on the internet and the times of India, my vocabulary and my keen sense of judgment has suffered major setbacks. I just might be rebuffed by the oxfords too now.

Coming back to the issue at hand, recently I took up the GRE, a test of your abilities to continue education. Anyone who has written or even remotely heard of the GRE has definitely heard of Barron's. I was set with the arduous task of roting the entire damned list of improbable words which would never be used any learned person in normal daily conversation. The grueling task which I was never able to complete found me a reputation among my friends; I was counted among the so called GRE English guys, although I would prefer to be associated with the English rather than the Americans.

Now anytime I use the remains of the vocabulary I have left, I am taunted with the title "The Gre English guy". The syndrome I have envisioned is when someone actually responds to the taunts with a dull and boring dawdle, trying to suppress the detritus remnants of their vocabulary.