Starting today, I will be attempting to post one such comic strip a week. The character is inspired by a friend, each episode will be preceded by a proverb that His Highness truly believes in.
Before I forget, here is a disclaimer
All incidents are based on real life and are an attempt to appreciate the man’s thinking
Here is Episode 1……..
Title translates to “Sir, I did not study when I had the chance to do so”
A short leg of my journey back home from college during weekends is only possible if I make use of a certain ubiquitous mode of transport. In “namma bengalooru” this journey invariably lasts for half an hour. In a city which is largely dominated by migrants, once the driver realizes that both of us are Bangaloreans it is mandatory to tell (it isn’t a conversation, for the most part it is an impromptu speech) me how the city has lost peace and beauty.
The fact that this poor passenger isn’t responding does not diminish his enthusiasm as he continues this saddening story which always ends with him cursing his job and not having spent enough time in the education system(“Ille nilsi roughly translates to please stop here”, NO I did not cut him off deliberately, thankfully I do not have to pay extra for his monologue). Strangely nine out of ten blame themselves and not their financial state or certain incidents that forced them to quit their education. I say strangely because I did beleive that most people attribute their current state of affairs to events that are pre-determined(fate? I think some like to call it).
Is spending time in the education system a necessity? Wait, something that bothers me more is “what exactly is education?” and does our education system answer this question? I looked up my dictionary (Yes, I still am a proud owner of the pocket Oxford English Dictionary)and this is how they had defined education.
noun, 1 the process of educating or being educated. 2 the theory and practice of teaching. 3 information about or training in a particular subject. 4 (an education) informal an enlightening experience.
Interesting definitions,for those swear by Wikipedia, they cite Merriam-Webster.
Education encompasses both the teaching and learning of knowledge,proper conduct, and technical competency. It thus focuses on the cultivation of skills,trades or professions, as well as mental, moral & aesthetic development.
The reason I looked up the definition for education is, people around me seem to think of it as a process or activity that enables us to create a sociable position but for me education is understanding(broadly). I seem to think they are interchangeable and even synonyms to a certain extent. To most, as I have described education seems to be nothing more than an exercise which would eventually help them find a suitable place in the society. It is but a chisel and hammer that they use to carve their position in society.
This view of education does make sense if we look at how education systems have been modeled over time. Be it the days of kings or be it modern day society, education systems have always been sees as systems that feed society. It is the supply chain that endlessly supplies all the parts needed at the right time (calibrated to the need) in order assemble the Utopian society.I say assemble as society is as much a composition as it is an aggregation. Education here is a mere path to an individual’s role in society. Education systems are hence by logic, dictated more by the current needs of society rather than the definition of education. These systems have become more formal with the progression of time as a result of accumulation of knowledge which is a result of the rise in societal complexities. As societies become complex, there is this need to find the right reasons to educate. It almost becomes obvious that abstracting is the solution. Why? Simple, more knowledge would make it impossible to learn everything by experience. The solution is to be able to find a theme. It is much easier to be able to understand a theme and relate new situations to this theme rather than trying to have solutions for all problems. If abstractions is one way to solve this problem of accumulation of knowledge then there is this other aspect which is specialization. A microscopic view of a topic is as important as the bird’s eye-view. As strange as it may sound, this is an indisputable fact. It is essential that a concept or idea is fully understood in order to utilize the concept or to find a theme that can be seen across ideas. The process of education is formalized not just as a solution to abundance of knowledge but as a solution to specialization.
Creativity is the biggest loser in the process of formalization of education. A case in point being today’s education system. The talk by Ken Robinson humourously suggests the same. Education should foster creativity, it should enable understanding and facilitate thinking. Society needs to ask itself how it would define education, the process of formalization moulds the education system and this system answers these questions. The education system ensures that creativity is stifled, understanding through society’s glasses and thinking is narrowed by blinkers that society gifts us. Imagination is erased from a person’s vocabulary. The concept is killed and crucified. The knowledge that is imparted is selective(is it even knowledge is the question sometimes), selective to the point of being profitable to the society. The system is tailored to enforce a certain moral code which is acceptable to the society. That is a larger issue which I shall leave not discuss here. Formal education systems today do not act as tools that enable people to make choices rather it makes choices for them. Education should allow a person to adopt a certain choice based on facts, the system ensures that the choices are removed rather than allow us to examine them. Why does it remove them? Because society feels otherwise. In the conflict between an individual and society education is being reduced to literacy. This is so because society needs literates and not educated men who would think individually in different directions and tear the very fabric of society. I do not know if society is greater than an individual, since society is one that writes the rules today; education as imparted by the education system is a tool, it is a training session, a rulebook that defines morals and culture. An individual must see it not as an assimilation of knowledge but as a facilitator, one that presents facts that enables understanding and aides decision making.
The driver was talking about education as a method that would enable him to gain a higher position in the social ladder. Is the education system established by society in order to slot people into roles?
I asked myself the question “Why did I go to school?
Age 2 : I have lots of people to talk with(Apparently I used to talk too much, mom thought she could buy peace for a while and for some strange reason she still enjoys telling me this).
Age 6 : The idea of packed lunch is exciting for a while. All children are supposed to go to school(if their parents can send them to one)
Age 10 : No Clue.
Age 16 : I was told that in order to live a “good life” I need to study hard and choose a profession(a means to an end?). Begin to question the reason or need to go through the system.
Age 18 : Haven’t decided if it was a necessity but do know it will open certain doors in modern society.
Age 23 : I am still in school!! Interestingly, I am not in school because today because of societal dictum but am here as a result of my ignorance.
The Oxford English Dictionary seems to have an abstract for education. Definition one and four are close to my thoughts about education, definition two talks about the need to teach formally (as a result of abundance?) and definition three talks about specialization. I still stand by my definition for education.
Powered by ScribeFire.
My first ever attempt at this, 5 straight hours on GIMP 
…. He was supposed to look like …. ummm… well never mind 
I finally got to watch this movie. This is precisely what my earlier two posts have been all about. “Ignorance and fanaticism need to be fed”, true in it’s entirety? The reason this movie strikes me is not because it paints the religious as fanatics rather it just asks people to be allowed to think. Fanatics can be bred on either side of the fence. Atheists have enough fanatics to match those on the religious side. Spencer Tracy questions this kid who has been taught about Darwin’s theory, goes on to ask him if this knowledge enabled him to murder. Some might argue this borders on the ludicrous but when dealing with such an issue it would only be blatant attempt to mock them that would make them sit up and take notice.
Spencer Tracy isn’t even allowed to present scientific witness to further his case by the prejudiced court and the way he gets back at them is brilliant. He quotes from the Bible and questions “Brady” about his brand of religion or should I call it faith? There are flashes of brilliance, one such instance that strikes you in the face is when people burn Cates’ effigy outside the courtroom. There are very few issues that seem to unite people in such a vociferous manner, it is unfortunate that most of these issues need the zeal of a fanatic or a the power of “blind faith”. This scene is typical of the way witch hunts were portrayed. All I can tell you about the trial was it was a witch hunt in essence.
In the end Tracy says something to the effect of snatching away the freedom to think in the future as a repercussion of this trial. We definitely can’t argue with that line of thought. Looking back, we do know where fanaticism of any form leads. I still don’t understand the underlying reason for people to take up a cause as vociferously as to be able to blind themselves to the externalities. Fanaticism can arise only when we are completely truly swamped in the reasons for a cause. How does that arise? Ignorance. Only when we do not question, or when we do not see the flip side can we completely believe in it. How does this happen? Ignorance. Only when one is ignorant of the other facts can this happen.
All I have to say, “Ignorance feeds Fanaticism”.
A day, a month, a year;is it a measure of time lost or is it the measure of experience gained? The last days of a man may be the most cherished or they may well be regretted. If not cherished, there is a desperate attempt attempt to enjoy those remaining days. A man on deathrow will never know what was to be ?, does he dread each passing minute or does he repent and is willing to move on? The pain that he epitomizes will never be understood nor will there be an effort to to do so. Why? Now, that is a simple one, because he is evil and evil shouldn’t be explored. After all we are brought up with the ” See no evil…Do no evil…..”. Pray, tell me why is this part of the human psyche a taboo? Why do we distance ourselves from hate,anger or jealousy ? Why are these attributed to a man with an unstable mind? Why are these emotions never tolerated? The act of the devil is what the religious folk would want us to believe. Talk of the devil and this strange being seems to unit all the warring faction vociferously in their approach to pin it all onto this devil ( We, that is me and the “anointed” religious authorities have not reached an amicable solution as to the gender of this devil since they have not been able to establish that fact that a devil actually exists …. ) .
Man being a social creature tends to have certain norms which are certainly the the boundaries defined by that group itself. Isn’t it strange that he lives by rules that he hasn’t made , by rules that he doesn’t even know about for the most part of his life, by rules that he realizes exist only after being ostracized for breaking ? A person breaking these rules is an outcast , a criminal and many other things which tends to make him closer to being an animal than a man.
It is this very society that brands him as a criminal and then they are the same people who will then brood over the fact that he was a victim of circumstance. Why can’t a criminal be born ? Why should he always be the one who picked the short straw? Why does he always have o be the one who got the raw deal ? There are a number of instanced wherein the rules of the society are either completely reforged or they are ignored. All it takes is one powerful character to enforce a complete recompiling of the society that he doesn’t like and to make new rules for the society that is close to his Shangri-La. It is only a matter of time when society regroups and will decide that these new set of rules don’t seem to make sense and will fall back to those time tested commandments.
A house burnt, a family slaughtered ,the only emotion man feels is vengeance. One emotion that is unquestionably strong within him and the only one that seems to be logical. This man has the right to act in a manner he deems justified and not in a manner society decides. But then it is not he who is deciding right now is he? Ofcourse not, it is the devil who has rolled the dice again. At a time when man is psychologically at his weakest what does the devil do ? Play truant ! So you see it was the devil directing this whole tableaux to ensure that society and man loose at the end of the day. Since we are such creatures who are unable to even ensure that we follow are own will (that is if we do have one) , why pray to the gods to protect us? Shouldn’t we actually pray to the Devil who will eventually help us to ruin ourselves ?
“God is that, the greater than which cannot be conceived”
- St.Anselm
Poor St.Anselm, he never realized that the 21st century man will outdo himself so many times that even the great Lord will have to take a bow. These are the exact sentiments of half or even greater part of our race. Aren’t we at the top of the pyramid of animals? Haven’t we become the toughest, the meanest, and the cleverest of beings on this small planet of ours? Haven’t we reached the edge of our Solar System (which was destined to be our farthest point of contact)? Haven’t we killed living beings more than anyone else on this planet?
We were gifted with the most superior brain. The maximum number of chances to evolve given to us, is by far the most. The only race to not witness natural disasters on a global scale which could wipe out life on the earth is ours. We rose to the top of the world only by proving our superiority over other life forms.
Sky, sun, moon, stars, space have always been the subjects of our fascinations. They have fuelled this mind of ours to come out with the best. The greatest of civilizations have been known to worship celestial bodies. Poems and songs can be found in plenty when it comes to these areas. Arguments and debates are abundant in this field. Yet our dream was to see these objects closer, feel their presence, to dominate these bodies as we dominated the earth. To conquer them, to fly over them, to reach past them were our intentions. All the Apollos, all the Mirs, all the Voyagers are only our stepping stones to our destination. The outcome of this long journey of our’s will always be shrouded in mystery. Astronauts, Cosmonauts, Taikonauts are the new age scouts who wage war against the unknown. They realize the dreams of the other six billion like minded creatures of their race.
It is not we who have come a long way; it is our minds which have come a long way. The progress we have made in the field of science is the true manifestation of the power a small mass in our cranium possesses. We have only harvested a millionth of its rich produce. The virgin powers of the brain still hold us in awe and we gasp at the raw power it has. Is it not amazing that we progress and yet are backward. It is only right to call ourselves toddlers in this field. The touchy subject of cloning seems to have once again brought out the daggers between the scientific and religious community. Ah! Back in the Renaissance aren’t we (We are repetitive creatures aren’t we?)? The biggest of all of our ideas (field of biology) so far has been cloning and stem cell research. The temptation to play God by “creating” ourselves is tremendous.The far stretching consequences are even greater for us to digest.“An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop” fits us to perfection. Why else could there have been so many disputes, battles, wars which took the lives of many of our kind? The battles which took place in the time of kings were just a frivolous attempt by the rulers to enhance their egos, to wet their insatiable appetites for killing. Why do you think the world is plagued by nations who fiddle and dominate other nations?The modern world wars were the result of the meddling and unmeddling of the great powers. It seems that the US of A will never learn from history. They were humiliated in
God was astounded at the power of his best creation but he knew that we were prone to try and challenge him when we were not anywhere near his might. Hence he did not meddle in our unholy affairs. He had already GIFTED us with the ability to self-destruct.
I bow to you, St.Anselm
(With the sincerest of apologies)
Ps : - I am oscillating between being an athiest and agnostic..