Why we can’t ever stop wondering...

We have seen so much, we have heard so much, we have sensed so much! We have known; found; and learnt so much! We have discovered, invented, innovated… and whatnot! And still, there’s no end to our wonderment. We humans can’t stop questioning, thinking, exploring and searching for answers. Even the things that we can very well call our very own creations - the man-made objects - make us wonder at our own abilities.

Isn’t it strange that the more we know, the more we feel the need to know? The more we acquire, the more we feel the need to amass? Our curiosity refuses to cease, our desires resist restraint, and our necessities defy all limitations. This innate tendency of ours to “look for more”, all the time, doesn’t seem to let us be at peace with the world. Yet it is this ability to observe, explore and experiment that sets us apart from other species on this planet nevertheless.

English writer and author of the highly imaginative epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) had said (Great-Quotes.com), “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” And that “something” could be an idea, a thought, a belief, a doubt, a perception, a hypothesis or a technology and much more…

But despite this endless search for the truth - the perfect truth, can mankind ever come up with the final solution to any problem?  With a perfect answer to any question? Can anything ever stop us from looking for thatthing and then something else and then again something and yet another and yet again another? Perhaps never!

Life is too complex and the universe, too vast, for us to find perfect answers. There is no end to learning/knowing, and therefore, no end to our desire to explore the world. If anything was perfect, it would spell the end of mankind’s intellectual evolution, and thus, life would come to a standstill. We would be stuck with the old-fashioned oil lamp, steam-powered cars, the outdated typewriter, black and white televisions and so on… If our findings were faultless, there would be no scope for development and life would be much more difficult.

Moreover, no human being is perfect, so how could anything done by them be perfect! Opinions and perceptions differ from person to person. Thus, no human activity can remain completely untouched by personal bias and small operational mistakes. Any effort is bound to be influenced by an individual’s thinking, and therefore, no two persons can ever arrive at the same conclusion.

None of our actions is perfect. Rather, the lack of perfection in everything we do lays the foundation for new endeavours and causes. It is this never-ending quest for knowledge and perfection that gave rise to all innovations in science and technology and led to immense progress in fields like medicine, sociology, psychology and economics. It is mankind’s boundless curiosity and passion for adventure, and thus, the desire to explore that drives the world.

Hence, we can never stop wondering!

Citation:

"J.R.R. Tolkien." Great-Quotes.com. Gledhill Enterprises, 2011. 28 December. 2011. <http://www.great-quotes.com/quote/62797>.

Don’t blame the innocent cell-phone, please!

Recently when reports on the harmful effects of cellular phone radiation were flashed across the pages of newspapers, and hogged TV headlines, many a whine and whisper must have rattled your eardrums – the owners of the device complaining incessantly. The poor cell-phone!

The cell-phone, or for that matter any technological device that no doubt makes life easier - if used judiciously, no matter how extraordinary an invention it is, is after all a mere tool in human hands. Then, why blame it! Why pour such scorn on it!

Technology is what we make of it and how we use it. If we lack the self-discipline to handle it in a careful and controlled manner, why blame science and technology. Rather, we should feel lucky that we humans are armed with a well-evolved brain that is incredibly powerful, and enables us to explore, experiment and experience. Not only that, our brain allows us to store the knowledge that we earn in that process - to recall and re-use that knowledge as and when we wish to and need to. Isn’t that amazing? Apparently no other species enjoys that advantage. The human brain/mind itself is the most amazing camera and the most efficient recorder.

So how can we avoid radiation? How can we keep it from affecting our health? Almost every wired/wireless, electrical, electronic device/appliance emits radiation. Changes in our lifestyle and behaviour owing to our ever-increasing dependence on technology have reached a point of no return. Therefore, we simply cannot throw away the cell-phone because it emits harmful radiation. Prudent avoidance is the best possible way to protect ourselves. Let's not become a slave of technology, let technology remain a tool in our hands!

Why science journalism is suffering

Contrary to the truth that most of them are Jack-of-all-trades, master of none, many journalists tend to harbour a misconception about their own abilities. They have a propensity to believe that they are not only the most well-informed in every imaginable field, but also the most rational thinkers on Earth. They have a rather elevated idea of their own importance and their versatility.Their incurable arrogance and scant respect for the truth, compounded by their sheer ignorance, and the desperation to get hold of catchy headlines, cause them to distort the facts and jump to the wrong conclusion. They are eternally trapped in an air of self-importance, and therefore, perennially suffering from myopic vision. Hence, it becomes the greater responsibility of the scientist to ensure that whenever her/his communication to the journalist about research findings takes the form of a news story, it must not be allowed to go to the press without her/his approval. The contents of the article should be thoroughly checked for accuracy.

Two minutes with an egoist

It was a rain-drenched day. Monsoon had just checked in, making the skies unleash a torrent. Delhi looked awash - shivering, quivering and ‘river’-ing. Waterlogged roads, overflowing drains and multiple traffic snarls across the city made for a pitiable picture. The sun had moved beyond the skyline and I was trying to gear myself up for the long hard night I was about to spend in office.

As I got down from the (auto) rickshaw, soaked and exhausted (on duty for the seventh successive night), I must have looked like a drowned rat. Darkness had set in but rain was in no mood to relent. The watch read seven. ‘Move on,’ I told myself. And as I wend my way through the muddled groups of people spread in the parking area, a not-so-familiar figure drew near me. It seemed I had met him the other day. In office? Well…where else do you meet such frosty and chesty people? I was already late because of the rain but this swollen-headed person managed to stop me without showing any common courtesy. For a reason, perhaps. Oh yes! A pen was the need of the moment and I obliged him readily. In return he gave me a stoic glance. Then he walked away. No ‘thank you’... nothing! As if I owed him something. His obscure demeanour left me confused.

How I wish I could write like Hemingway and rhyme like Wordsworth…!!!

Image source: Cuba-junky.com

Ever since I got the taste of a good book, I have had this cherished desire… Yet it has taken me so long to understand that neither your ravenous reading habits nor your command over a colossal vocabulary guarantees your becoming a good writer. Writing great poetry or profound prose doesn’t happen at will. You have to have the knack for it. It should come instinctively. Even your ability to understand great literature and your inclination to play with words is not of much help. You need to be creative, and creativity can’t be taught, cultivated or acquired. One is born with either a lot or very little of it. And that’s what decides your luck with writing.

Darwin in my dreams

Last night I met Charles Darwin in my dreams. I wished him HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wide-eyed and damn surprised, I asked him a simple question: Are we still evolving?

Mutiny in Mumbai's air

There's mutiny in Mumbai's air following the terror attacks (26/11). People look tired of having to listen to the same old empty words. The angst… the disgust… is clear. So is the urge for change. Fair enough. But why blame others? Every time there's a big crisis in the country, the blame game begins. People blame politicians, political parties blame each other and our government blames Pakistan. Then, to top it all, one has to gulp down a daily dose of utter nonsense dished out by the TV channels. A bunch of uncouth, unfeeling and sensationalism-hungry journalists trying to make things appear as gloomy and ugly as possible. Busy as ever, trying to grab a slice of the cake - whenever, wherever and no matter at whatever cost.

Pity it took a crisis of this magnitude to awaken us. But who's responsible for the current mess? And who is supposed to clean it up? The system is ours, we have voted our leaders to power, and most importantly, we are the make-and-break of it. Our thoughts and actions play a crucial role in shaping and keeping the system. Following a tragedy like the Mumbai attacks, how sensible is it to go on pointing fingers at each other? How does it help when you distance yourself from the system and begin mounting hails of expletives on the bureaucrats, political leaders, the country's effete intelligence, so on and so forth...?

Do discussions matter? Do rallies and protestations help?

Take a pause. Look within and ask yourself: am I playing my part well? How many of us do our job with honesty and sincerity? How many of us respond to the call of duty with perfect promptitude and complete commitment? If you don't, you have no right to expect the same from others, absolutely none to claim the moral high ground. At the end of it all, aren't we equally responsible for what's happening in the country?