pARODy of aSSUMPtioN

“If you think you are indispensable, go to the nearest graveyard and read the tombstone. He had also said so.”

My secondary school English teacher once told us the above lines. Though I have completely forgotten the context of her saying the above, I remember the line vividly. Even after living with the line for years and mentioning it in many a consolation speeches to people, it is today that the brutality of the line’s truth is haunting me.

Many theories have faced flaks and battled brickbats of criticism because of the fallacious assumptions they base their premises on. The assumptions are sometimes too idealistic to be real, often too utopian to be practical or just too expectant. Theorists are not ignorant men, rather all men of wisdom and intellect. Yet, they err because they assume. The paradox of assumption is that lack of it makes the formulation of a theory impossible, and it makes the theory impractical.

The most FAQ again- to DO or NOT to DO…?

To assume or not to assume. It’s a hard choice between the deep sea and the devil. But, then isn’t it all about making choices ?

I made mine. I chose to assume. I assumed that I was difficult to dispense off. I faulted. They need me as much as I needed them. I erred. But, then the assumption was sine qua non for me to embark upon my march towards my goal. When I started off, it was bright and sunny. Everything around was warm and embracing. Only if that day had hinted of today, probably I would have revised my assumption. But then, there would be nothing left to critique. It is with criticism alone that theories are revised, corrected and reworked to pave way for newer and better theories. The new theories never repeat the mistake of their predecessors. They promise better explanation and fetch more nods in agreement. So, “yesterday” veiling the hint of “today”, though has ruined “today”, but is a boon for a possible brighter “tomorrow”.

Again I make an assumption. I assume a better tomorrow. It’s definitely fallacious for the unseen holds no guarantee, nor assurance of its success. But, I still make it. For my theory of happiness today bases its premises on that assumption. For today’s sake, I take the risk of being ridiculed for my assumption tomorrow. But, then it was a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

I couldn’t agree more with Annie Dillard when she says-

“If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be too cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.”

I jumped…and survival was dear for the sake of dear ones. So, I’m building my wings to touch the ground again.

I am a nerd( wtf ???)

Never before had a single, short sentence remain etched in my memory for so long. It has been many many days since I read it somewhere. I still distinctly remember where I had read it. With no colorful word used, no intellectual meaning conveyed, this sentence (I wonder if it fits the bill of English grammar to be called a sentence at all but I shall refer to it as the same in the absence of any suitable substitute to the contrary) does not have any of the quintessential requisites to keep it in memory for so long. Probably, it has something beneath.

I don’t exactly know who is a nerd or who ought to be called a nerd. As per the popular perception, a stereotypical nerd is a bespectacled geek who is invariably a bookworm drowning forever in a sea of books with a smile, an undisputed class topper in academics, and most importantly one with no or few friends. The rest of the herd comprising of the non-nerds , better referred to as “cool” dudes and dudettes on the other hand are smartly dressed, popular students of the class who excel in activities “non-academic” and are always in company of a battery of friends.

I wonder if this stereotype holds true reflection in subjective reality, why on earth would someone label him/herself as a nerd. It would repel people and one would hardly have company of friends. Won’t it amount to demeaning one’s own self???

Swap sides….

The girl who included this sentence in her introduction on a social networking site(which is from where I read it and registered it in my memory book) was not in the least a “nerd” by stereotypical barometers. She is pretty, sexy, gorgeous…in short she was GOOD looking. She isn’t bespectacled and has a long list of friends. She excels in extra-curricular activities like singing and dancing…which are not remotely academic. And besides every other adorable quality of hers, she is a student extraordinaire. She tops her class and loves reading. She is a regular in attending classes and is extremely passionate about her career.

But she is different, or at least she dares to be. She has shed hypocrisy and is audacious enough to stand up and scream-

“I am a nerd. Wtf???”

Perhaps her audacity that was so evident in her writing…..or the sense of pride that I felt for her on reading that. May be she just glorified “nerds” by calling herself one…

Cheers to her !!!

For all nerds who are reading this….the next time someone calls you a “nerd”, don’t forget to thank him. C’mmon he gave you a compliment.

For all “non-nerds” who think they are cool, brush up…..there’s competition for you….there are cooler “nerds” in the making.

p.s.: for all those who find this write-up biased in favour of nerds……yours truly would like to clarify……it indeed is a write-up FOR the nerds. An attempt to give the miniscule minority a dignified position among us. I think they deserve one and it’s long due.

Shades of Gray

We the people are- good, bad and ugly. What do you think you are?

Well…..i’m good (i can’t label myself as a bad person).but then, you are my dear friend ofcourse n to be honest……I ain’t think I’m good nuf to be called “a good person”. You know I’m so bad at PR ?(always prone to being misunderstood u see….), acads(well had almost screwed up my career till SLS saved it),……temper(how often I lose it for no reason).

But I think you are simply a lovely person……a great friend …..a good student(you always score tons more than me)……in a nutshell…..you are not good ……you are one the best I’ve ever come across…..

They are both describing the same qualities of the same person. But their representations couldn’t be more different. Raison de’ tre : The two are two different persons with two different pair of eyes , which plausibly share little in common apart from their anatomy(making it easier for the ophthalmologists), their creator(whose existence though without any evidence to support still remains prima facie unquestionable)….It’s strange how with the same near point and far point (assuming that all those eyes suffering from myopia and hypermetropia have got ‘em corrected)…..men(include us….women folks as much as men)can see such myriad aspects of the same thing. But then that’s what we call the enigma of human nature(so enigmatic, sophisticated and in short so very intriguing is the variety in the behavioural pattern of homo sapiens that we have an entire subject dedicated to it…”psychology”).

So…I guess we’ve had enuf beating about the bush (did I jst hear that we almost covered the entire forest).
The answer to all variety is that no man…..or no woman is all black or all white…he who appears white to this pair of eyes appears black to that .So, with no bias…we can safely conclude that all homosapiens are gray(albeit in different shades )

P.S.: All those who just accused me of being a colourless n dull personality must hereby note that colours , black and white have been used as analogies merely for the sake of convenience and their usage has no connection , real or apparent with yours truly’s personality. She loves colours and they will enfold subsequently as she knows you better.