I’m sure most of us remember the time when we were kids and imagined ourselves to be superhero’s with super powers to do stuff nobody else could. Was it just me or did everybody just wished they could make a difference in the world around. I remember I imagined myself as several bollywood hero’s from their leading roles in movies.
Well just sit back and hear me out here.
Later in life as we grew older our singular achievements in life gave us solice in knowing that we had done what few others had acheived. I’m sure everybody has a moment from 5th or 6th grade they remember. A part in a school play, an atheletic acheivement or something to do with acheiving good grades. Well did society bundle us up to think that all those things were unique. Well sure I played a really great part in a school play but I’m not an actor today. I won the 100mts dash but I’m not a sportsperson or I got good grades in school whatever happened. Those singular achievements that we are so proud of, Are they really making that difference. Are we in pursuit of what society makes us think we want. Just so that it can then just pop the bubble. It’s like, “Sorry kid you just don’t cut it as an athelete or a actor or a playwrite or whatever”.
A few years further away is your angry young martyr thing. This is when they make you beleive you really can make a difference right now. You start to discover real world problems and solutions and you start looking for/beleiving in this one thing you think can really make a difference. I mean social and animal rights activists. Those nerds who figure out that cold fision may not be a myth after all. It’s like a whole set of passionate paths are handed down to us. But again we bide our time awaiting to be taken seriously.
Even later and you find yourself in college doing stuff you never knew existed as a kid. and you go through more drills like a semester project or a survey or a garage project which you could sell to like billions of people.
Ok not everybody reaches there but the rest of us are still biding our time. And all this time we are supposed to fiegn interest and motivation for the benefit of those evaluating us. I mean, project evaluations are a joke. You take a seniors report and reprint it and you get the same grades as the guy who came up with this brilliant new idea and spent 4 months of flesh and blood implementing it. You get the same reactions as him too. Your 50 page report is checked for content(read contents page) and presentation and so is his. I saw this senior of mine submit a project which was an example from a software which was being taught to the class for 6 months. The teacher didn’t know and the fellow got top notch grades. Let me put this in light I personally know that senior and he was positively brilliant the kinda guy with those new ideas I was talking about. But as usual we are all biding our time and he saw no point in sweating unnecesarily for something which was not gonna matter to anybody anyways.
It seems like all this time we bide is just an excercise. Is it not to say that we are just killing away genius waiting to make that “one big contribution to the world”.
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Bulls Eye! Nothing like reading a good post first up in the morning.
Here’s something relevant I was thinking ’bout yesterday:
Many of the geniuses you mentioned don’t do justice to themselves because they’re scared – scared of the society, of failure, of themselves. But there are some equally (or less) talented people who dare, and do manage to break the shackles & implement what they think. Decisiveness & self-belief are more important qualities than talent in today’s world, it seems. (Bobby Fischer is an example)
Thanks dude. It’s been a really long time but I’m gonna try n write in more often.
Well subconsciously, I think what I wanted to talk about is the relative insecurity suffered by societies in 3rd world countries which make it harder. I mean you have child prodigies from many developed nations. But have you heard of even one from India.
Do you remember Tathagat Avatar Tulsi? He finished his M.Sc. when he was like 12, but where is he now. Is he employed? is he doing research? What happened to that brilliant alternative theory to relativity that he was coming out with?
Almost pleased to know you are alive !
-nerdy
PS: By when are you expected to reach Bangalore ?
ya alive and kicking exams are due next week so I might go underground for a bit more time.
I’ll reach B’lore in the middle of next month 15th 16th type.
Pretty true, whatever you have said.
I guess I was going through pretty much the same thing that you talked about, and it was impossible to manage grades as well as do sumthing neat that u liked at the same time. So decided to call quit. Started doing things I really liked to do, an after some time my profs understood that giving me the leeway would definitely help
Though my grades were nuthing to talk home abt but they were pretty decent, even compared to CSE standards…
In the end it boils down to how much u believe in sumthing, and what you want to give up for it.