I was reading an article on how to improve one's reading skills. What was droll is that I found reading it quite a drag.
A major area of concern with the information overload is that human nature has become acclimatized to a load of stuff much before prime . And because of this explosion of information everyone around is considering themselves experts in a lot of areas. For example, there are a load of DJ's around and so is everyone a photographer. Someone went through a set of research papers without no experience whatsoever in real time scenarios feels like researcher of quite a good order. I met a person who has read everything there is to be read about cross cultural communication, over the internet, over books, magazines, you tube videos, academic exposure &c &c &c and she has never ever stepped out of Bangalore and has met people from across India as well as abroad but only at Bangalore. Her exposure to knowing different cultures were these limited meetings on a particular day when they gathered for a conference or a seminar or something of that sorts. But she is an expert in Cross Cultural Communication. She is a PhD in that. And hence an expert.
Then comes the question what exactly constitutes an expert. who is this person who can be called an expert. What defines this individual. Is it the perception that they carry around due to some certifications or is it that the world around defines them as experts due to the ability to blabber away stuff which was written or presented by other people in a manner discernible to a limited audience. Or is it that my construct of such matters differs extremely from the world views. I am no expert in anything. I probably may have met about 10 experts all together in my lifetime. I have been exposed to a few hundred of them in myriad ways due to, again, the explosion of information.
From my point of view, the expert is someone like Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, the Nobel Prize winner from India who is a children's rights and education advocate and an activist against child labour. He founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 1980 and has acted to protect the rights of more than 83,000 children from 144 countries. Say, Mr. Richard Feynman; an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, hence scientist and also a raconteur, musician and teacher, inspiring millions not only with his physics but also his ability to keep it simple and accessible. His book ' You must be Joking' is good enough for us to comprehend his pure approach to life. Or say may be Mother Teresa who does not need many introductions or lines.
Recently I had the privilege of reading about Haldhar Nag, a 66-year-old poet and writer from western Odisha who has been named in the PhD research theses of five scholars. This poet writes in Kosli language, and at this age, he remembers all the poems and his 20 epics that he has written so far. Popularly known as Lok Kabi Ratna in Odisha, the themes of his poems are based on the rural areas and his writing are mainly on religion, nature, society and mythology. He was awarded a Padma Shri by the President of India.
These above are personalities in their fields and highly decorated and also respected. Other than this I know of people who knows good stuff to survive like a cab driver in Mumbai who knows every little path, every little area and the name of the area all in his head; the complete thriving fucking metropolis of Mumbai in his tiny little head.
Another , a friend of mine, from London, a frequent traveler and tourist who has fighting cancer on his own purely because of his will to live and has fought his way through this scourge for the last 10 years, he is weak but he still has not lost his spirit. It is pure inspiring just to meet him for even an hour as the guy just takes you to a journey of stories, places, people, ladies, booze, culture, sports and I dunno what. The energy just permeates out of him, I am his friend and so I can see how he is straining some of those body cells to continue in that vein, but you know what, what the hell, what are those cells for.
My friends mom who won all her battles because of her unrelenting faith in Jesus is an amazing example of faith moving mountains. I have never seen her question her belief with rationality, she goes about her business, does what she can do at the best of her abilities and she makes sure she says her silent thank you's to the good lord and when shit hits the fan, at times as it does, she says well Jesus shall take care and its never trammeled by anything. It is an amazing gift to be so encompassed with conviction and assurance.I have seen it work in all aspects of her life. She does it with such belief that nothing falters.
Aren't these experts, and also great intellectuals. These people are ordinary people who make life look like a piece of cake if you take it in your stride. They have their morals and values and all that other bullshit; that keeps the world afloat according to the so called historians, culture and spiritual aficionados; in place. I have never seen them falter from the primary approach. It is as simple as that.
Get real, keep it simple, and never forget to do it all for every person you love and keep the expectations aside as it all comes together and delivers if you just keep doing what you are supposed to do.
A major area of concern with the information overload is that human nature has become acclimatized to a load of stuff much before prime . And because of this explosion of information everyone around is considering themselves experts in a lot of areas. For example, there are a load of DJ's around and so is everyone a photographer. Someone went through a set of research papers without no experience whatsoever in real time scenarios feels like researcher of quite a good order. I met a person who has read everything there is to be read about cross cultural communication, over the internet, over books, magazines, you tube videos, academic exposure &c &c &c and she has never ever stepped out of Bangalore and has met people from across India as well as abroad but only at Bangalore. Her exposure to knowing different cultures were these limited meetings on a particular day when they gathered for a conference or a seminar or something of that sorts. But she is an expert in Cross Cultural Communication. She is a PhD in that. And hence an expert.
Then comes the question what exactly constitutes an expert. who is this person who can be called an expert. What defines this individual. Is it the perception that they carry around due to some certifications or is it that the world around defines them as experts due to the ability to blabber away stuff which was written or presented by other people in a manner discernible to a limited audience. Or is it that my construct of such matters differs extremely from the world views. I am no expert in anything. I probably may have met about 10 experts all together in my lifetime. I have been exposed to a few hundred of them in myriad ways due to, again, the explosion of information.
From my point of view, the expert is someone like Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, the Nobel Prize winner from India who is a children's rights and education advocate and an activist against child labour. He founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 1980 and has acted to protect the rights of more than 83,000 children from 144 countries. Say, Mr. Richard Feynman; an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, hence scientist and also a raconteur, musician and teacher, inspiring millions not only with his physics but also his ability to keep it simple and accessible. His book ' You must be Joking' is good enough for us to comprehend his pure approach to life. Or say may be Mother Teresa who does not need many introductions or lines.
Recently I had the privilege of reading about Haldhar Nag, a 66-year-old poet and writer from western Odisha who has been named in the PhD research theses of five scholars. This poet writes in Kosli language, and at this age, he remembers all the poems and his 20 epics that he has written so far. Popularly known as Lok Kabi Ratna in Odisha, the themes of his poems are based on the rural areas and his writing are mainly on religion, nature, society and mythology. He was awarded a Padma Shri by the President of India.
These above are personalities in their fields and highly decorated and also respected. Other than this I know of people who knows good stuff to survive like a cab driver in Mumbai who knows every little path, every little area and the name of the area all in his head; the complete thriving fucking metropolis of Mumbai in his tiny little head.
Another , a friend of mine, from London, a frequent traveler and tourist who has fighting cancer on his own purely because of his will to live and has fought his way through this scourge for the last 10 years, he is weak but he still has not lost his spirit. It is pure inspiring just to meet him for even an hour as the guy just takes you to a journey of stories, places, people, ladies, booze, culture, sports and I dunno what. The energy just permeates out of him, I am his friend and so I can see how he is straining some of those body cells to continue in that vein, but you know what, what the hell, what are those cells for.
My friends mom who won all her battles because of her unrelenting faith in Jesus is an amazing example of faith moving mountains. I have never seen her question her belief with rationality, she goes about her business, does what she can do at the best of her abilities and she makes sure she says her silent thank you's to the good lord and when shit hits the fan, at times as it does, she says well Jesus shall take care and its never trammeled by anything. It is an amazing gift to be so encompassed with conviction and assurance.I have seen it work in all aspects of her life. She does it with such belief that nothing falters.
Aren't these experts, and also great intellectuals. These people are ordinary people who make life look like a piece of cake if you take it in your stride. They have their morals and values and all that other bullshit; that keeps the world afloat according to the so called historians, culture and spiritual aficionados; in place. I have never seen them falter from the primary approach. It is as simple as that.
Get real, keep it simple, and never forget to do it all for every person you love and keep the expectations aside as it all comes together and delivers if you just keep doing what you are supposed to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment