Revisiting Old Thoughts

Revisiting Old Thoughts

 

27/7/15

 

In one of my very early recordings of this space I had mentioned about for whom I am writing. Just to rethink and restate the ideas: I treat this space like a scrap page, a journal, a diary. It will be useful to elaborate to say this is not a secret diary where I would not want other to visit and read some things which I do not want to share. Obviously putting in a publicly accessible place is not the way to go about that. The musings are almost something which are published (as in deliberately intended for public reception) or broadcast. So far I have covered what the designs are not. Let me try to come to what it is, and why. It is a place to record my thoughts, observations, concerns, etc. I am not expecting that some/ all of the difficulties and challenges I touch on will be solved when readers come to know of these and have the power, authority and willingness to erase / cure / correct them. If so, why put them in the first place? Well, as I mentioned, it is only a record which can / maybe accessed at some later point in time, which can provide an opportunity for rethought, correction or elaboration. (This piece being just an example of this possibility.) A second and important reason is that regular writing improves writing. But to know what is regular, one needs a record. This space provides that, which can be used for assessment which is required for improvement.

Tara Gray’s book on Publish and Flourish talks about guidelines for academics to hone their writing which is required for career progression. Some important and counter-intuitive points: “While doing research, start writing from the first day.” It is a common perception (at least this is the way I learnt it) that research goes from thought to idea to plan to experiment, collect data, interpret and communicate, as a linear process with very little lateral mixing. In this process, the skill of writing is employed in various stages – as in writing the procedure, data recording, etc – in a minor way, and mainly at the last stage – that of communicating for publication. Thus, it is common to enquire research students “are you writing manuscripts”, implying have your experiments gone well and have been able to analyze data, and assuming you have got good questions to work with. But the idea of writing as the research begins gives a different perspective (and perhaps a better way of conducting research). Writing allows one to think and convert fuzzy ideas to crystallized chunks of ideas which can be shared with others a little more easily. This also allows one to identify and get rid of biases or fallacies in one’s models and thinking.

 

Research, Writing

Thoughts on Freedom

Thoughts on Freedom

 

15/8/15

 

Today the country is celebrating the day of Independence – a national festival to remember the handing over the administrative charge of the country to its natives by the colonial masters.

What is the opposite of ‘independence’? Is it ‘dependence’ or is it ‘slavery’? According to language convention it must be the former, but it terms of political ideas it could be the later, but may be not. The opposite (the situation before ‘independence’) could be alien government / administration or foreign rule – as in a contract or a service, even if imposed. Our history books do not tells us that we had slavery, it was in the US where people (slaves) were treated / traded as commodities, but our situation was more like a different set of rules and privileges for the rulers and the ruled, being treated differently. But a more appropriate naming of the event could have been ‘Freedom Day’ – when the citizens were given the right to administer themselves as they saw fit. This event also included that the monarchs were made defunct, which was a great move to diffuse the situation which could have otherwise led to a great anarchy. After 68 years of ‘independence’ the current generation gets a chance only to reminisce about the situation and sacrifices of a few individuals, but don’t have any direct experience or expectation of being independent. The concept of freedom is still very vague for the majority, as most believe that their fate is in someone else’s hand. Whether it is education, employment, policies, public participation, etc., the majority feel that they have very little choice, and depend on some authorities to plan all things for them.

 

16/8/15

The value of freedom is only when it is earned (and not gifted). It used to be said in pre-independence days by freedom fighters that one day people will be born in an independent state. That is, independence will be given to one without any asking.  But somehow its value is neither understood nor utilized. The new born child is dependent at least for a few years. The harsher the struggle at this stage of dependence the sweeter the freedom that comes later. For example, in the area of education, it is at the early stage in life education is enforced by the parents or state. During this time an individual is dependent on some authority – a parent, a teacher, a coach, or a peer to be forced into certain habits or behaviors of learning. It is a very indirect way of training one to become independent in thinking, learning, doing. In my mind this model works like compressing a fuel to high pressure before it is ignited. The role of the catalyst (spark) is often overlooked or not seen. This is the reason for so much variation in the level of explosion one sees. You see a very small number of quick explosions, a little more of slow burning and a vast majority of unburnt fuel, unmet potentials. You see in the education system in the country that in spite of pre-selection of potentially productive individuals in areas of profession and training, the majority turn out to be unburnt fuel or  under performers.

 

Human Potential; Performance; Education

The Triumph of Mediocrity

The Triumph of Mediocrity

 

19/7/15

 

When I look around and see man-made creations, irrespective of the field, including all kinds of creations – music, writing, gadgets, buildings, services, jobs, etc. – anything and everything – one idea emerges consistently. There is more of everything – poetry, prizes, pottery; and they are not better than the ones they have taken over. Why is that? Let me explore with a couple of samples.

 

All creations are the result of multiple skills converging to produce something. An essay, for example is a product which can be produced only stage-wise, step by step. The ‘good’ creators implicitly understand this and are able to devote time and effort to work on and improve each aspect of the skills that combine, and also work out the interface of association between the skills. For writing you start with an idea – a core or a kernel or a seed – which is pulled and pushed in different directions mentally, to be verbalized into contexts and examples and models and consequences. While this process is on, the next process of recording these words on a medium is undertaken. Till this stage the only tangible activity seen is the record on paper or PC. Usually this is followed by revision or restructuring or editing before the product is ready for sharing by submission or publishing. For this process there are many tools available which have made the tasks easier and many barriers removed. But these tools are helpful in processes that can be automated; i.e., the ones which can proceed in the absence of human intervention, the ones which can be taken over by machines; and this is no doubt a sign of progress. However, the most critical part of creating essays is the very first step, the act of imagination, the skill of coming up with a seed or a kernel. Transforming that into something tangible, as a draft. When machines begin to do these activities they appear repetitive and uninspiring.

Quality is an ephemeral concept. Is it true that quality is inversely proportional to quantity? Is the Taj Mahal a world-wonder only because there is only one of it? If we were to replicate it a thousand fold, will its quality diminish or deteriorate? When more essays are available for sharing, you find the ones that can be treasured and appreciated is becoming rarer. Is the reason for this our inability to mechanize / develop tools for the most critical and creative first step of imagination?

 

Creativity; Writing; Creations