During a casual exchange about my previous post (ToI is eroding my faith on scientific research), it was brought to my notice that there is so much contradicting content being published everyday. That was about everyday discoveries in the arena of scientific research. However, a deeper cognitive dive would reveal that there lies enough contradiction around us sometimes obvious and sometimes very subtle. I dedicate this post to some of these observations in India (some of them may be true elsewhere too):
1. Although, most of us are ardent supporters of free speech, but we easily get offended if the other person speaks about our own shortcomings.
If free speech is about honest opinion then why do we compel our innocuous speakers (people we converse with) to be politically correct all the time?
2. The same guy who fasts 9 days and climbs bare feet to the Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine every season religiously, misses no opportunity to harass women around him.
Why do they worship female forms made up of stone and plaster when they don't have any reverence for the actual living woman? If you can't rever her as a woman then atleast give her the status of a human being.
3. We teach our children about truthfulness, originality, respect for elders, social responsibility, and other supposedly moral ways of living and everyday provide them an absolutely contradictory life experience at home, school, and at play.
Why do we teach them of truthfulness when we lie blatantly in front of them? Why do we teach them about brotherhood and respect for elders when we fight with our kin over property issues and other unimportant things? Why do we teach them social responsibility when we litter on roads, streets, parks, everyday? Are not we growing up a confused generation who would ultimately learn to not to trust us?
4. In suburban Gurgaon, host to numerous (and almost most of the prime) MNC, KPO, BPO, R&D operations, data travels @ 9.6 Gbits/sec across continents, but vehicular traffic crawls @ not more than 20-30 kmph (its not uncommon for it to jam completely at peak hours.)
We help run businesses across the globe, but fail to build sustanable & empowering transportation (to make it even worse we fail to imbibe civic traffic sense.) We speak their [our global counterparts] language, but fail to learn certain good values from them. We sell our hardwork to them, but don't buy their cultural strengths (which come @zero investment.)
5. Beauty lies skin deep, in a healthy body, in strength of character, and in the beholders eyes, yet color cosmetic brands, plastic surgeons, crash diet consultants, and anorexic models are a multibillion $ and growing industry.
Why don't we invest wisely in long term benefit plans?
6. Kids and elders need our time, attention, and care, we offer them financial benefits.
As they grow, kids witness perplexing events around themselves everyday, and they need someone to explain things as they are and why they are. As they grow old, elders have lots of observations to share with us as they are and why they are. Sometimes these questions and observations are impertinent to the daily life pressures we face as adults. But, kids are investments and elders are treasures. Why don't we take care of these garrulous yet amazing folks around us.
This comes from one of my recent social exchanges-
7. Some people bash technology for the perceived (perception may be wrong!) negative impact it is causing to the environment and to our daily life and still use it at every step in their daily life.
You drive to work in a car and don't car pool, keep running air conditioning 24x7, invent reasons to fly frequently for that 'very important' customer meeting (don't you know teleconference and now telepresence exists), take prints for every rough draft, and do many such things without which you can't be what you are today. Then you forget to plant trees, buy cheap stuff so that you don't have to pay extra for organically grown things and many more. You are the wise human. Who is causing negative impact, technology or you?
P.S. These are my heartfelt observations. No offence is intended to anyone!
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The story of another ardent lover of human values, though we dnt value them. May be we should try to be responsible & try to be good human being rather then be good scientist, engineer or researcher.'I am not stuck in a traffic jam;I am the traffic jam; I am a part of it & in a way resposible for it' The day one realise this, this post will become meaningful.Upto then its a waste.
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